Top of the Town 2019: Services

Hair Salon

Editors’ Choice
Fox & Jane
With its sleek, stark white interior and Instagrammable entrance (an accent wall of faux vines), Fox & Jane boasts a New York City vibe. Indeed, its first location opened on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 2011. Founders Lorean Cairns and Billy Canu are native Coloradans, however, and Cairns partnered with Brittany Jones, from Durango, to open this Jefferson Park spot in 2018. But Fox & Jane is so inviting and stylish we wouldn’t care if it were a true transplant. Unlike other salons, Fox & Jane does not tier its stylists, ensuring every service is carried out with the same expertise. Its genderless menu charges by length of hair and time of service, keeping prices fair. And the atmosphere is fun and amiable. It’s not uncommon to have lengthy, laughter-filled chats with the stylists and receptionists, which—no matter from whence Fox & Jane hails makes the salon feel like home. 2443 Eliot St., 303-458-3751

Readers’ Choice
The Glam House
4085 E. Mississippi Ave., Suite F, 720-484-1372

Interior Design

Editors’ Choice
Dadō
Megan Moore, Dadō’s principal, recently has been exporting her magic to locales beyond our rectangular borders, expanding her business, boundaries, and proclivities with projects in New York, Seattle, and Los Angeles. But the Colorado designer remains committed to bringing a livable, comfortable, and understated aesthetic to mile-high homes. Moore’s clean lines, neutral palette, and touches of eccentricity—whether she’s overhauling a downtown penthouse or transforming her own 1950s-era Park Hill home—simply uplift the soul. And thanks to social media, your spirit can get a boost just by visiting Moore’s Instagram feed, @dado.design, which is basically a vision board for those who nerd out over modern details and dissertations about texture.

Readers’ Choice
Studio Thomas
7355 E. Orchard Road, Suite 375, Greenwood Village, 720-467-0131

Bike Shop

Editors’ Choice
SloHi Bike Co.
Walk into either of SloHi’s locations, in City Park and Sloan’s Lake (SloHi Coffee & Bike), and you’ll find many of the typical bike-shop offerings. The stores offer full-service tunes, quick turnarounds, and various models of road, mountain, and gravel bikes. SloHi is special, though. Or, we should say, it has a specialty. Since opening its first store in 2013, SloHi has become a premiere local outfitter for families. It carries a large inventory of cargo bikes and is making a move toward the electric variety. Yuba’s Spicy Curry Bosch ($4,500), for example, can haul 250 pounds of kids or their gear on its rear rack at 20 mph—up a hill. SloHi also offers a program especially for kids: Buy a tyke bike, and once your little rider outgrows it, trade it in and get 50 percent of your original purchase price toward a new, larger model. 3217 E. Colfax Ave., 720-726-6588; 4434 W. 29th Ave., 720-484-5359

Readers’ Choice
Bike Shop Girl Family Cyclery
10255 E. 25th Ave., Aurora, 720-580-2453

Barber

Editors’ Choice
Bellwether Barbers
Unfortunately, you will never be Jamal Murray, the young, handsome star of the Denver Nuggets. You could have his haircut, though—and a slew of other local sports luminaries’—by visiting this speakeasy-style five-chair shop on East Colfax Avenue. Bellwether debuted in 2015 as a private co-working/bar/coffeeshop/barbershop space, but about a year ago, the owners opened its doors to everyone. Ordinary folks now have access to three of the most creative, in-demand haircutters in the Mile High City, who charge $35 for a standard, meticulous trim—a small price to pay for an all-star coiffure. 5126 E. Colfax Ave., 720-398-9251

Readers’ Choice
Semion Barbershop for All
507 Lincoln St., Suite 102, 303-284-8954; Stanley Marketplace, 2501 Dallas St., Aurora, 720-531-2918

New Hotel

Editors’ Choice
The Source Hotel & Market Hall
We’re constantly sending out-of-towners to RiNo art, shopping, and dining destinations, so we were thrilled to see a more convenient place for them to sleep open in the heart of the red-hot neighborhood in September 2018. After a recent staycation at the 100-room hotel, however, we wouldn’t blame visitors if they never left the premises. Soothing Scandinavian-inspired sleeping quarters, some with operable garage-door windows or Japanese-style soaking tubs in the bedroom, make it difficult to drag yourself even as far as the first floor. There, hipster-magnet retail stalls—e.g., one hosting Denver’s Winter Session, which crafted many of the hotel’s textiles—and Safta’s mouthwatering modern Israeli fare await. On the rooftop, which boasts mountain and skyline views, we were having so much fun enjoying made-on-site experimental pours from New Belgium Brewing Company in the saline hot tub that we didn’t even notice closing time had arrived. 3330 Brighton Blvd., 720-409-1200

Readers’ Choice (tie)
The Maven
1850 Wazee St., 720-460-2727

The Ramble Hotel
1280 25th St., 720-996-6300

Dispensary

Editors’ Choice
L’Eagle Services
If Whole Foods had a cannabis section, the Baker neighborhood’s L’Eagle would own the shelf space. Not only has the nine-year-old dispensary received a Clean Green Certification—ensuring its products (flower, concentrates, cartridges, and edibles like Love’s Oven cookies) and processes adhere to the same standards as those the U.S. Department of Agriculture uses to certify goods as organic—but it’s also the first dispensary to be named a Certified Green Business by the city of Denver. Oh, and then there’s the fact that L’Eagle recently won an Excellence in Innovation Award from the National Cannabis Industry Association for its organic cultivation techniques. In short, when it comes to the cannabis industry, this husband-and-wife-owned cultivator and dispensary is defining what it means to go green. 380 Quivas St., 303-825-0497

Readers’ Choice
Lightshade Dispensary
Multiple locations

Ski/Snowboard Tune

Editors’ Choice
Crystal Ski Shop
When disaster strikes, it’s sometimes worth it to go a little out of your way. We learned this lesson after a high-speed turn ripped our binding’s heelpiece clean off the ski. Every Front Range shop we called told us they couldn’t help—until we dialed Crystal, a family-owned outfit that’s been operating in Boulder since 1976. Crystal’s unflappable techs combed through the back of the shop until they found the used parts we needed, and our skis were slope-ready the same day. As far as basic maintenance goes, Crystal’s staffers have a combined 50-plus years’ worth of experience—so they’re able to expertly handle everything from a basic tune with a complimentary wax ($25) to a full tune with polyethylene filling ($45). 1933 28th St., Unit 101, 303-449-7669

Readers’ Choice
Denver Sports Lab
15744 W. Sixth Ave., Golden, 720-383-8999

Mani/Pedi

Editors’ Choice
The Nest Nail Spa
The ideal nail salon checklist seems imminently doable: comfy chairs, sterilized tools and a sanitary facility, amiable-but-not-too-chatty technicians with reasonable artistry, fair pricing, and air unpolluted by noxious chemicals. Yet so many places, from strip plaza outlets to fancy day spas, get it all wrong. Enter the Nest Nail Spa, which so perfectly fulfills its patrons’ desires that owner Brenna Massa was able to debut a second location (the first, open since 2014, is in Lakewood) 13 months ago in the Denver Tech Center. Laser-focused on customer service (first-timers get goodie bags with nail swag!) and wielding products that don’t harm your nails (like CND Shellac), Massa delivers a comfortable, clean place to get some well-earned pampering—which is all anyone could ask for. 4950 S. Newport St., 720-524-4046; 180 S. Union Blvd., Suite 106, Lakewood

Readers’ Choice
The Nest Nail Spa

Massage

Editors’ Choice
Renew Massage Studio
Many mainstream massage studio menus can come across as a little one-note. It’s a glorious, knot-relieving tune, but sometimes we’re in the mood for a melody we haven’t heard before. That’s what you’ll find at this nine-year-old Washington Park studio, where each of owner Alicia Marsicovetere’s 14 therapists specializes in a few specific styles. Translation: The service lineup is enormous and unexpected. Sure, you can opt for a standard therapeutic massage—ours was damn good, performed by a master who predicted pressure change requests before we could make them. But we encourage branching out with a raindrop massage, during which approximately 10 essential oils are applied to your spine and legs and absorbed into the body, a technique purported to boost immunity. The menu also boasts cupping, CBD bodywork, and even lymphatic drainage massages (light pressure and circular movements to reduce swelling and stimulate flow in the lymph nodes). All of them come with an additional feel-good factor: Renew’s eco-friendly practices, like using biodegradable laundry detergent to wash its organic cotton sheets, mean your hour of calm puts less stress on the Earth. 1221 S. Clarkson St., Suite 200, 303-990-0841

Readers’ Choice
Elements Massage
Multiple locations

Pet Services

Editors’ Choice
Canine Rehabilitation & Conditioning Group
Don’t let the name fool you; this isn’t fat camp for Fido. In fact, it’s more like a Four Seasons spa. For 14 years, Canine Rehabilitation & Conditioning Group (CRCG) has provided everything from acupuncture to massage to chiropractic work to help injured pups get back on their paws. But your furry friend doesn’t have to be ailing to benefit from the programs at CRCG’s two locations (in Englewood and Broomfield). In addition to an indoor playground, each spot has a heated pool, so if you’re not interested in cleaning Cherry Creek State Park muck off your mutt, go instead to one of CRCGs open swims ($30 for a first-timer’s orientation session; $15 per hour after that; check the website for the schedule). Your pet will get a watery workout with other aqua dogs, and your abs will, too: Just try not to laugh at the antics that inevitably ensue. 8855 W. 116th Circle, Broomfield, 720-407-8680; 3760 S. Lipan St., Englewood; 303-762-7946

Readers’ Choice
Ancillary K9
720-239-2424

Florist

Editors’ Choice
Banister’s Flowers
Rosie and Josh Orblom watched their parents run Banister’s Flowers in Englewood for more than two decades before taking over the family business four years ago. The apprenticeship helped the siblings understand the artistry required to craft both traditional bouquets as well as complicated contemporary arrangements from blooms sourced near (Grand Junction) and far (New Zealand). More important, they also learned to employ a deft personal touch with customers. When, for example, they have a recipient who is admitted to the intensive care unit, where flowers aren’t permitted, the Orbloms work with the hospital to have an arrangement delivered immediately after the patient returns to a regular room. That’s the sort of service that can only blossom over generations. 4495 S. Broadway, Englewood, 303-781-8330

Readers’ Choice
The Perfect Petal
3600 W. 32nd Ave., Suite B, 303-480-0966

Spa

Editors’ Choice
Jalan Facial Spa
We could feel our stress dissipating the moment we stepped off bustling 17th Avenue and into this three-year-old Uptown oasis. The Asian-inspired pampering begins almost immediately, when you’re greeted with hot lemongrass and ginger tea and a coconut cookie. Next, a foot soak; then, you await your therapist in a serene meditation room with plants, a rock garden, and cushy seating nooks. The $69, hourlong Signature Facial—far from the borderline painful, clinical procedures we’ve had elsewhere, thanks in no small part to Jalan’s heated massage tables—mixes a blissful amount of gentle shoulder, neck, and scalp work with soothing applications of lotions, cleansing oils, mists, and masks, all chosen for your skin’s specific needs. Finally, a steaming cup of rooibos herbal tea and a warm neck pillow back in the meditation space (stay as long as you like) seal in the bliss. 801 E. 17th Ave., 720-476-5593

Readers’ Choice
Facial Aesthetics
4600 Hale Parkway, Suite 110, 720-513-0448; 7447 E. Berry Ave., Suite 160, Greenwood Village, 303-791-1820

Person of Note: Bobby Stuckey

Located in a geographic area known for its forgetful, can’t-be-bothered servers, Boulder’s Frasca Food and Wine never leaves its customers feeling anything short of special. That’s because Stuckey, the celebrated restaurant’s partner and master sommelier, won’t allow it: In May, Frasca won the James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Service, Stuckey’s second such award (the first came in 2003, when he was a sommelier at the French Laundry in California).