Colorado has a reputation for altitude, outdoors, and craft beer. The bakery part is newer to the conversation, but it has arrived. In the last decade, the state has produced some of the most technically accomplished bakers in the country: James Beard nominees, New York Times picks, gold medalists at international bread competitions, working out of everything from food halls to historic grain mills to strip malls that have no business producing croissants this good. 

At the start of the year, Denver’s housing market signaled cautious participation. The March 2026 Denver housing market report answered back. Pending sales jumped nearly 30% month over month. Closed sales followed. New listings rose both month over month and year over year. Active inventory reached its highest level in some time. And on February 26, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate touched 5.98% (the first time it had closed below 6% since 2022).

Denver Restaurant Week has been running since 2005, when it launched with a $52.80-per-couple prix fixe, a nod to the city's elevation that was charming then and would be a steal now. The format has grown: multi-course menus at $25, $35, $45, or $55 per person, spanning everything from a Cajun seafood boil in Lakewood to a rooftop Pan-Latin tasting in RiNo.