IDAHO SPRINGS, Colo. – Life has changed so much over the past few months that we wanted to take a moment to stop and reflect. Coffee shops have long been a gathering place in the community but now people are gathering in a different, more socially distant way.
When we first started working on a story about the Frothy Cup in Idaho Springs in January, no one had even heard of social distancing. The story we were working on was intrinsically social and involved a series of inspirational notes that strangers would leave behind on the walls of the store.
“So, we put this little board up on the wall, cork board, and people could write something on a note — whatever it is they wanted to write, and tack it up there,” said Randy Watson, co-owner of the Frothy Cup during an interview in early March.
Back in January, his shop was buzzing with skiers and snowboarders as they made their way up to the slopes. Watson and the rest us had no idea just how different things would soon be in a matter of weeks.
As we put together this story and looked at video of ski traffic on I-70, it seems like so long ago since so much has happened since then.
Watson and his wife Glenda would end up making the decision to temporarily close their shop in March. With ski resorts closed and stay-at-home orders in place, no one was coming up to the mountains, so they decided it was best to pause operations.
“It went from the business showing a nice level of growth compared to last year, to just getting the brakes getting thrown on really fast,” said Watson.
Watch the video below to see how this little coffee shop is rebounding and how the owners are navigating life during a pandemic: