Outside The Box Olde Town Arvada

09/07/2026

Lots of stores take off on Labor Day, but not us! We’ll be open most of the day for you and your family or shopping besties to do a little retail therapy! See you Monday!

09/04/2026

**OLDE TOWN ARVADA PAID PARKING FIGHT UPDATE**

Great write up by the Arvada Press on the paid parking proposal. For the record, we acknowledge that city officials continue to say this is not a done deal, but given the actions to date, we do not trust this city. We ask that you continue to help us fight this proposal.

The leaders of Arvada are largely absent in Olde Town, but they don’t hesitate to ask you, our customers, to fund their parking cops. Instead of meeting us, the business owners of Olde Town, that work so hard each day to create the magic of our community, they prefer to work remotely, sitting in their offices at City Hall and getting all of their data from paid consultants, who did a study about a decade ago.

I mean, what do we small business owners really know, anyway?!? We only interact with you, our customers, each and every day. We only bust our butts to create an amazing place to shop, eat, live and play… which in turn, just happens to bring a lot of tax revenue to the table.

If you have already taken the public survey, we ask that you take it a step further and start filling up their inboxes and voice mails. You can email the council, city manager, mayor, etc. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A RESIDENT TO VOICE YOUR CONCERN! In your email or voicemail, if you do not live in Arvada, let them know that you are a visitor and why you come here. This is data that we feel they should know.

From all of us small business owners in Olde Town Arvada ... THANK YOU FOR YOUR PASSION AND SUPPORT! **Remember we have until Wednesday, Sept. 9th to give feedback**

Council: 720-898-7000
[email protected]

City Manager: Don Wick
[email protected]

Deputy City Manager: Linda Haley
[email protected]

Deputy City Manager: Allison Scheck
[email protected]
720-898-7500

Mayor: Lauren Simpson
[email protected]
720-961-3779

A proposal by the City of Arvada to implement paid parking in Olde Town has drawn alarm from local business owners, who say that doing so could cause them to

09/03/2026

The city survey closes Sept. 9 and we continue to ask for your help to shut this idea of paid parking down… frankly the survey is a joke and is not designed for true feedback, but outside of calling council, it is all we got. Ideally, fill it out AND call/email council.

1. The city argues paid parking will increase turnover in prime spots … we argue with the current 2 hour limit on all prime spots, there is plenty of turnover. In fact that time limit is designed for turnover.
We physically watch vehicles constantly come and go. Our fear is if people park and pay for 3, 4 or 5 hours … we will no longer see the current turnover we have with 2 hour
parking.

2. The city says a move to paid parking will improve safety, lowering the amount of cars circling to find parking. We have never witnessed a safety issue with cars circling and argue they circle because there is no signage to direct you to other parking, such as the 600 space garage that they say is underutilized.

3. The city says their 600 space hub “garage” is underutilized. We agree - and the reason why is there is little to no signage to guide you there. When we ask them to resolve this, they say big information signs would violate code.

Bottom line… the city wants to essentially TAX you to come shop, eat and play in Olde Town … by charging you to park. The reality is we have plenty of parking spaces between two public lots, 7 streets with parking, and the 600 space garage.

Survey link:

https://www.arvadaco.gov/1575/Olde-Town-Paid-Parking-Project

You can contact the Arvada City Council by emailing [email protected] or calling the City Hall main line at 720-898-7000.

Arvada said charging for curb spaces could improve access and turnover. Some merchants fear it will drive customers away.

09/03/2026

We are with you every step of the way! The city has flat out lied to the hard working small businesses of Olde Town. Instead of apologizing and saying let’s work together, they continue to lie and just say this isn’t a done deal. They see money and nothing else. It is disgusting! We will fight until we are heard, and do whatever it takes. If our media tour doesn’t get their attention, the we’ll be forced to advance our fight to the next level. Stay tuned!

Life Update:
I should be prepping our HUGE Labor Day weekend sale in order to clear the racks for our Fall collection but instead I’ll be on Fox and 9 News tonight at 9PM. Maybe you heard my incredible neighbors and I interviewed on KOA yesterday?

This past Friday I filmed one of my daily walk-in videos and expressed my outrage for how it feels the City of Arvada is trying to push in paid parking for Olde Town without genuinely caring about the business owners’ and nearby neighbors’ opinions on the matter. The night before I attended a meeting that was supposed to just be to gather feedback, but it was patronizing how the issue already felt decided and many important partners in our town weren’t even in attendance to hear public opinion.

Our Clubhouse neighbors shared a video reacting to mine and it basically went viral. We can’t let this just be pushed through without anyone noticing! So we’ve been on a bit of a media blitz—NOT a strength in my comfort zone. The anxiety has been so real. But exposing city procedure and keeping barriers-to-entry OUT of Olde Town is far too important to let my anxiety win.

Please make your voice heard if you have an opinion on paid parking in Olde Town! ➡️There’s a terribly biased survey on the city’s website but at least they’re paying attention to the fact people are taking it: https://www.arvadaco.gov/1575/Olde-Town-Paid-Parking-Project
➡️Write your council member.
➡️Contact one of the amazing organizations in place to make sure Olde Town remains a destination that makes Arvada special.

Also remember, YOU'RE a badass! Tell your anxiety I said so.

XX,
Ali Joy

09/01/2026

Our neighbor, Mermaid Walking Boutique, is more than just a cute clothing store. She has built a clubhouse for to you visit when you need anything from a little inspiration to a place where you can feel inspired to dream big. In that spirit, the owner (Ali) is starting an “I am her” 100 day challenge… and it all starts with a fun, interactive night where she’ll talk about how habits actually shape your lives. You’ll also do some eye-opening activities to uncover what your best self looks like, turn big dreams into small doable actions, laugh a lot, and leave seriously fired up about what’s possible. Please consider supporting her by marking your calendar for Sept 21!

08/31/2026

New outfits have arrived! If you own a Giddy The Goose or have been waiting for us to get more stock - the wait is over! So many cute, new ones!!

08/29/2026

We have added a few new little “add on goodies” to our Mason Cash selection. You can get sourdough starter and a fun bag of pasta from Pastabilities to create that perfect gift!

08/28/2026

Help us tell the city … NO to paid parking!!

08/27/2026

We got a nice restock on our super popular BriLi Joi cork from Portugal!!

08/26/2026

Now at Outside The Box (in the doorway of our Too side) … the Arts & Culture Commission from the City of Arvada has loaned us their short story dispenser! It will print you a free 1, 3 or 5-minute short story! The material can range from a spicy romance novel to content for kids. What you get is random! This machine is extra special because it was made in France and there are only a few hundred in the entire world! We are excited to host the short story dispenser for the next several weeks! Check it out the next time you visit us! Olde Town Arvada Arvada Press VisitArvada