Yes, I’m a millennial, and yes, I love avocado toast. I suppose I’m a cliche but let’s be honest, avocado toast is one of the few luxuries we have these days. None of us can afford to have a kid or buy a house, so can you just let us enjoy our avocado toast? Anyways, here are a few places in and around Denver that serve great avo toast:
Thump Coffee
Photo by Thump Coffee
1201 E. 13th Ave. and 601 N. Broadway, Denver
Starting with my favorite, Thump Coffee which started in Bend, Oregon with two locations there and having expanded to Denver with two locations here, has insanely good toast. The bread is by Jackson’s Corner sourdough bread— aka you can taste the freshness and that it’s crafted with care and expertise. Then it’s coated with quality butter, smashed avocado, sea salt, and Aleppo crushed red pepper. It melts in your mouth — it’s so simple yet so flavorful. You can also add a poached egg, but I’d argue it’s better plain.
Alpine Modern Cafe
Photo by Alpine Modern
904 College Ave. and 1048 Pearl St., Boulder
I recently visited its College Avenue location, which I was drawn to by its beautiful facade and area with great views of the neighborhood and the Flatirons. Alpine Modern is just like its name — a modern, Nordic-style cafe. If you’re a lover of avocado toast, you must try this place. The menu consists of several varieties of tartine: prosciutto, smoked salmon, egg, nut butter, and of course, avocado. The avocado tartine is served with shaved radish, fresh dill, smoked paprika, and drizzled with a healthy serving of olive oil. Pair it with a CBD-infused coffee, and savor every last bite.
Port Side
Photo by Bridget Douglas
2500 Larimer St., Denver
Port Side is one of the coffee shops in the hip RiNo neighborhood alongside Stowaway Kitchen, Crema, and Denver Central Market. It is a small space serving local Huckleberry Roasters coffee, quality lattes, and boozy drinks like mimosas and white Russians to go with your breakfast or lunch. And the food is the winner here with creative breakfast and lunch sandwiches, and more. The avocado toast is hearty and delicious, served on sourdough with lots of avocado smash and covered with radish and togarashi. It’s a must-try.
When it comes to witches and witchcraft, many of us think of the Salem witch trials, the movie Hocus Pocus and the evil queen in Snow White. Witches are associated with Halloween and the dark side, but in reality, most witches use their practices and spirituality for good, not bad.
In our modern culture, practicing witchcraft can mean many things: tarot, palmistry, meditation, art, astrology, holistic medicine, making potions, crystal healing, and more. The ultimate meaning is about employing plants, herbs, rocks, and other elements to shift energy to manifest change.
I’ve rounded up seven beautiful shops in the Denver area that celebrate witchcraft, whether wholly or partially. There are a few other shops in the city that I’m not listing; this list speaks to me authentically. If you’re interested in the occult or just pretty things, you should check out these shops:
Arcana Herbal
Photo by Arcana Herbal
2836 W. 44th Ave., Denver
A cute little space in the Sunnyside neighborhood houses an occult apothecary run by three women. Open four days a week, making it an even more sought out place to check it out, it is full of handmade goods produced by the shop owners. Here you can find beautiful candles made with essential oils, herbs, and flowers — and bath salts like the Black Moon Lilith made with charcoal, rose, and cypress. In addition, it has soaps, smelling salts, herbal teas, and more. Often the shop holds events like its ‘Tarot and Tinsel,‘ which is a day of tarot readings and getting tinsel put in your hair. Check out their Instagram to stay updated on events and new products.
Alchemy Ritual Goods
Photo by Alchemy Ritual Goods
2536 Champa St., Denver
In an unassuming residential spot on Champa, a few blocks from the RiNo district, Alchemy Ritual Goods is the cozy little magic shop of dreams. Alchemy means transforming essential metals like lead into gold, so essentially it’s magic. The goods and services offered here are meant to make you a more enchanted, whole being. Here, you can find tarot decks, crystals, incense, candles, books, homemade herbal kits, and more. On top of that, it has a weekly schedule of readings (walk-in or call) ranging from tarot to ancestral medicine to spiritual readings — and even hand poke tattoos on Fridays.
The Terrorium Shop
Photo by Bridget Douglas
3611 W. 49th Ave., Denver
Denver is home to many plant shops, some more unique than others. A few blocks the Regis University and around the bin from the popular Noshery bakery and cafe — is The Terrorium Shop. The owners are a husband and wife duo who have blended their gardening and taxidermy hobbies into a business. Terroriums are glass bowls filled with sand or soil, succulents, plants, and other objects. Here, the majority of them have a tiny skull inside them from animals like foxes, raccoons, and more. You can also find floral arrangements, individual plants — and ‘preserved mini worlds’ with things like bones and preserved beetles and butterflies. If you’re into this stuff, it also offers several terrorium and taxidermy classes.
Ritualcravt
Photo by Ritualcravt
7700 W. 44th Ave., Wheat Ridge
Ritualcravt is THE witch shop in Denver. All the shops I’m listing have some elements relating to the occult — but this place is ALL about witchcraft. Once in a small space in Denver, it has now moved to a bigger space full of all the metaphysical goods you could ever need. It has books, tarot cards, incense, crystals, candles, oils, soaps, and all kinds of oddities. Everything is very well curated, meaning it is majority handmade and ethically sourced. In addition, it hosts events several times a week relating to different aspects of witchcraft, such as moon rituals, ancestral healing, working with herbs, and more.
Spirit Ways
Photo by SpiritWays Metaphysical Shop
3301 E. Colfax Ave., Denver
In the heart of East Colfax, near the Bluebird Theater and several bars and restaurants, is a charming, bright, mystical shop —Spirit Ways. You can’t miss this spot with its colorful decorations in the windows. It’s chock full of stones and crystals, incense, candles, oils, books, and tarot cards. In addition, it has jewelry, clothing, accessories, journals, cards, pottery, archangel, and goddess figurines. It’s a fun place to walk around and gawk at all the pretty stuff. Tarot readings are offered almost daily as well as other services such as reiki and guided shamanic meditation.
Apothecary Tinctura
Photo by Apothecary Tinctura
2900 E. 6th Ave., Denver
If you’re an aspiring herbalist, whether for health or witchy potion-making — Apothecary Tinctura is the place. This herbal shop has been around for over 20 years as both a shop and clinic, helping clients heal their ailments through a holistic approach. Here, you can find bulk herbs from A to Z as well as tons of herbal tinctures. In addition, handmade essential oils, herbal extracts — and a section full of healthy chocolate bars and tarot cards. It holds workshops weekly about different topics around health and spirituality. Be a healthy witch, folks.
Rosehouse Botanicals
Photo by Rosehouse
14 S. Broadway, Denver
One of the first shops I ever stepped foot in in Denver is Rosehouse Botanicals, and it’s still one of my favorites. In the heart of South Broadway/Baker, surrounded by thrift stores and bars, is this gorgeous little shop. The colorful exterior and the plants in the window draw you in, and inside, it’s full of beautiful plants and a magical witchy vibe. It is an apothecary and botanical shop with a large selection of home and garden plants ranging from succulents to orchids to medicinal plants. In addition, it offers handmade teas, green beauty products, terrariums, and other goods. It hosts many events, and the owners even have a plant podcast called Up the Plants. It has a resident black cat as well.
Bridget Douglas 