Briefcase — January 2019

PRODUCT UPDATE

The Green Solution, which has 17 dispensary locations including one in Fort Collins, launched a de-alcoholized, cannabis-infused beer. The Grainwave Belgian-style White Ale by Ceria Brewing Co. has its alcohol removed from the beer during the brewing process, which is done with orange peel and coriander. Cannabis extract is added. Each 10-ounce bottle contains 5 mg of THC and is priced at $7.95. The Green Solution is the beer’s first retailer.

Panacea Life Sciences, a maker of hemp oil extracts, launched a line of new products. HealX Nutritionals is a line of premium CBD products made by the Louisville-based company. Panacea is a vertically integrated hemp company: it manages the entire hemp extraction process in-house to give itself control over product testing and quality assurance.

Louisville-based Accurence Inc., a software-as-a-service-company specializing in automated adjusting and insurance tech, was granted its fourth patent. The patent grants the company exclusivity on the use of a system and method of performing video or image analysis on building structures. Specifically, the system creates automated roof estimates with the use of video and photo analysis, a weighting engine and carrier guidelines. The results pass through an automated settlement engine to ensure the estimate is written to meet carrier requirements.

Weller, a Boulder-based CBD-infused food and beverage products brand, launched its first product line: CBD Coconut Bites, which are available in three flavors. The new products are available in single-serving (five bites) and multi-serving (20 bites) packages. Each bite is infused with 5 milligrams of CBD from full-spectrum hemp extract.

Oskar Blues Brewery launched the first national craft hard seltzer with the debut of Wild Basin Boozy Sparkling Water. Wild Basin is made in Longmont and uses water from the St. Vrain River. Each drink has a 5 percent ABV and 100 calories, with zero grams of sugar and one gram of carbs. They are also gluten-free, have no artificial ingredients and use only natural flavors. Varieties include Classic Lime, Cucumber Peach, Melon Basil and Lemon Agave Hibiscus. Oskar Blues is donating $1 per case to its charity partner, The Can’d Aid Foundation, to support river-preservation initiatives.

Louisville-based Vaisala Inc. developed a new platform for the autonomous-vehicle market, which can provide road-condition data to various users from multiple sensors and sources.

Boulder-based Warfighter Hemp, a maker of CBD products from industrial hemp, developed a new product for pets. The new Warfighter Hemp CBD Tincture for Dogs is a naturally flavored 150 mg tincture that can be given to pets with a droplet or mixed into food, treats or liquids. Each bottle of 15 ml is expected to retail for about $40.

OtterBox and PopSockets partnered for the holiday season. OtterBox Symmetry cases were paired with matching PopGrips from PopSockets.

Cue Marketplace, a Boulder-based one-stop shop for recommending and purchasing software for small businesses, launched Cue Cannabis, which  offers a marketplace of software geared toward new and established businesses in the cannabis industry.

Boulder-based Wana Brands is expanding beyond the edible, releasing four disposable vapes, now available in dispensaries across Colorado. The lineup includes Sativa Diesel, Indica Kush, Hybrid Haze and Balanced 1:1 CBD/THC.

Organic India, a maker of supplements, launched the world’s first fair trade-certified supplements during the Expo East trade show. The herbal supplements include Tulsi (also known as Holy Basil), Cinnamon, Ginger and Trikatu.

Ball Corp. is building three new wind turbines to provide power at the Broomfield-based firm’s Findlay, Ohio, beverage packaging plant. The plant currently has three existing turbines that were built in 2015. Together, the six turbines will use sustainable wind resources to supply about 30 percent of the Findlay plant’s power needs. Ball, along with partner One Energy Enterprises LLC, began construction on the $9 million turbines late in 2018.

Boulder-based Indigo Education Co., an education-tech company that provides comprehensive surveys about the skills and traits of students to help them better understand themselves, is automating the interpretations of its survey results using artificial intelligence. It’s also developed online courses students can take, typically when they’re college freshmen, that teaches young students how to know themselves, where they’re going and how to get to that goal.

Webroot Inc., a Broomfield-based cybersecurity firm, launched a virtual private network product called Webroot WiFi Security. It is designed to protect wireless Internet users from malicious threats that could steal financial and personal information and passwords, or infect a device with malware. The VPN also hides IP addresses and encrypts data.

Fort Collins-based Decibullz launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for its latest customizable wireless earbuds, and surpassed its goal of $50,000 in one day. The Black Diamond True earbuds mold to a listener’s unique ear shape using a heat-activated system. The earpieces can be heated in hot water, snapped into the earbuds and then pressed into the listener’s ear to fit them exactly. They will also hold their shape until they are reheated.

Broomfield-based Swisslog Healthcare, the tradename for Translogic Corp., which manufactures systems for material transport and supply-chain management for health-care systems, developed an autonomous service robot to pick up and deliver pharmaceuticals in health-care settings. In conjunction with robot developer Savioke Inc., Swisslog launched Relay robot, which can operate elevators and doors and navigate in busy public corridors. It can deliver medicines, blood, lab specimens, snacks and documents 24 hours a day.

LogRhythm, a Boulder-based cybersecurity firm, was granted U.S. Patent 10,091,217, which acknowledged the company as the creator of data monitoring methods that enable risk-based classification of data. It’s a component necessary to enable security operations center teams to focus resources on the most critical and impactful security events.

Marizyme Inc. (OTC: MRZM), a Fort Collins-based biopharmaceutical company, has acquired its first assets. The company purchased a novel protease drug platform that uses a new combination of enzymes, first developed by Pharmacia Corp. in Sweden. The treatment has been tested in more than 551 patients and has shown efficacy in wound healing, thrombogenic disease and anti-viral applications. The company’s first product candidate based on the protease platform is MB101, a patented, first-of-its-kind localized enzymatic therapy initially being developed for use in wound debridement and healing. The company’s second product candidate based on the platform, MB102, is a patented formulation of proteases delivered endovascularly to quickly and safely remove clots causing ischemic blockages.

SERVICES

UCHealth teamed with CertaScan Technologies LLC to create electronic identification records of newborn babies’ feet. The health-care company will use CertaScan Technologies at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins and Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland — the first in Colorado to use the technology to scan footprints electronically minutes after birth. UCHealth also launched an online portal and mobile application that provides patients with individualized, insurance plan-specific price estimates. In Northern Colorado and the Boulder Valley, besides PVH and MCR, UCHealth operates Longs Peak Hospital in Longmont, UCHealth Medical Group in Loveland and Broomfield Hospital. It will open a new hospital in Greeley this year.

BDS Analytics, specializing in cannabis market intelligence, launched the first Cannabis Retail Price index, which it intends to serve as a benchmark for retail pricing in the cannabis industry. BDS Analytics also launched a Cannabis Consumer Sales Report that outlines monthly spending across Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington.

Boulder Community Health officially launched Foothills Community Midwives, a new clinic that guarantees patients a midwife-attended birth in a hospital setting. Its office locations are in the Foothills Medical Building, 4745 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder, and Buffalo Ridge Medical Center, 16677 Lowell Blvd., Broomfield.

Food from three dozen Fort Collins restaurants is available for delivery from Grubhub. The service replaces an online ordering system with drivers employed by Grubhub. GrubHub already is available in other Colorado cities including Boulder, Broomfield, Erie, Greeley, Lafayette, Longmont, Louisville and Loveland.

Colorado Springs-based Ent Federal Credit Union was granted approval by Colorado’s Division of Financial Services to begin taking on members in Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer, Weld, Adams and Elbert counties. Previously, Ent’s field of membership included Arapahoe, Denver, Douglas, El Paso, Fremont, Jefferson, Pueblo and Teller counties, as well as select communities in Weld and Adams counties. Ent operates a branch at 11211 E. I-25 Frontage Road in Firestone.

CLOSING

After more than a decade on Pearl Street in Boulder, The Cup Espresso Cafe closed after New Year’s Eve. The café opened in April 2007.

Meininger Art Supply closed its doors at 1135 Broadway in Boulder as the University of Colorado prepares to buy the property. CU regents approved the acquisition in early November, with the sale expected to be finalized by Jan. 31. The purchase price was capped at $4 million. Other tenants in the building include Freaky’s, Free Range Geeks and Roxie’s Tacos. CU has not yet finalized what it will do with the property.

The Colorado Charter School Institute board of directors voted to formalize a determination that Global Village Academy in Fort Collins has failed to meet certain agreed-upon financial-viability and enrollment milestones. As a result, the school will be begin the process of closing effective June 30. The school opened in 2013 as a dual-language immersion program authorized by CSI, Colorado’s statewide-charter authorizing entity. But during a charter renewal in 2017, CSI identified several financial and operational risks.

Performance Bicycle will close all of its 102 stores across the country, including locations in Boulder and Fort Collins. That decision comes after the store’s parent company, Advanced Sports Enterprises Inc., filed for bankruptcy in November. The stores will liquidate their inventory and offer discounts on bikes and accessories.

CONTRACTS

Longmont-based UQM Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UQM), a developer of alternative energy technologies, won an order from a major fuel cell system supplier in China. UQM will produce its Fuel Cell Compressor System, a combined electric motor, inverter and compressor module. The new contract will have deliveries this year and the initial order is valued at $1.8 million. Additional details such as the name of the customer were not disclosed.

Information and Real Estate Services LLC, a Loveland-based multiple listing service that operates in Northern Colorado and the Boulder Valley, will share home-listing data with Pikes Peak Realtor Services Corp., a multiple-listing service in El Paso and Teller counties.

SomaLogic Inc., a Boulder-based bioscience firm, is partnering with Amgen subsidiary Decode Genetics to help improve understanding of how proteins impact human health and disease. SomaLogic will analyze up to 40,000 Decode samples with the company’s SOMAscan technology, which can rapidly measure the levels of 5,000 proteins in each sample. Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed. Decode will use the data gleaned from SomaLogic’s analysis for therapeutic drug discovery and development.

Rowdy Mermaid Kombucha Inc. expanded its sales into California and Texas, the 13th and 14th states where the Boulder-based beverage is sold. The company also hired Charles Condon, formerly the specialty beer brewer at Upslope Brewery, to be the new director of manufacturing.

Left Hand Brewing Co. is expanding its footprint outside of Colorado: The Longmont brewery has signed an international distribution agreement into Sweden. Left Hand partnered with Great Brands to bring its Milk Stout Nitro to Systembolaget in 12-ounce bottles.

Visual Health Solutions Inc., a Fort Collins-based company that designs three-dimensional animations and other multimedia content to help patients understand complex medical information, entered into a strategic partnership with Silicon Valley health technology firm Windancer Technologies Inc. Through the partnership, Visual Health Solutions’ medical animation library will be integrated into Windancer’s HarborMaster platform. HarborMaster is a cloud-based health care management and patient care platform. Visual Health Solutions and Windancer also plan to partner in the creation of new customized animations.

Alpine Urology — which has practices in Boulder, Longmont, Louisville and Lafayette — is now an affiliate of the Maryland-headquartered United Urology Group. UUG recently announced it also will absorb Advanced Urology and Foothills Urology. The three practices, made up of 17 urologists, will operate under the Colorado Urology Associates brand.

Avid4 Adventure, a Boulder-based adventure-camp firm, selected Longmont-based Formidable Media as its agency of record. Avid4 selected Formidable to promote its day, resident and expedition camps, located on Colorado’s Front Range, Wyoming, California’s Bay Area and Portland, Ore., a location that is coming in spring.

DEADLINES

People interested in nominating distinguished women to the 2019 Women of Distinction awards in Northern Colorado have until Jan. 7 to submit their applications. Women of Distinction is a BizWest program designed to recognize the achievements of women in business, government and nonprofits. Winners will be recognized at a celebration breakfast from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. April 2 at the Embassy Suites hotel and conference center, 4705 Clydesdale Parkway, Loveland. A candidate is eligible if she lives or works in Larimer or Weld counties, is nominated for only one award in any one year, was not an honoree in a previous year but may be re-nominated, and is not nominated for a category in which she has previously been an honoree, but may be nominated for a category in which she was not previously honored. The April event will honor 10 women, plus a mentor to professional women.

Nominations of outstanding business leaders who shape our community are being accepted for the Boulder County Business Hall of Fame until Jan. 31. The hall’s board of directors is looking for names of those from the past and present whose business efforts have resulted in communitywide economic, social or cultural benefits to Boulder County and its citizens. Nominations may be submitted at halloffamebiz.com. Honorees will be announced in March and inducted at a luncheon on April 26. The hall also will donate scholarships to students from the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business at the luncheon. To become a sponsor of the program and event, contact Jeff Nuttall, 970-232-3131 or jnuttall@bizwest.com. Tickets to the induction luncheon may be purchased at halloffamebiz.com.

EARNINGS

Broomfield-based Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) reported losses of $107.8 million for the first fiscal quarter of 2019. Those losses for the quarter that ended Oct. 31 were significantly higher than the $28.4 million loss posted in the same period last year. However, Vail reported a boost in season pass sales. North American ski season pass sales increased approximately 21 percent in units and 13 percent in sales dollars as compared with last year.

Webroot Inc., a cybersecurity company based in Broomfield, reported 11 percent year-over-year annual recurring revenue growth for the first quarter of its 2019 fiscal year, ending on Sept. 30, 2018. The revenue growth marks the 19th consecutive quarter of double-digit, year-over-year company growth for Webroot. The company’s products are used by 300,000 businesses worldwide. Webroot’s business segment annual recurring revenue grew by 22 percent, and its consumer segment grew 5 percent.

EVENTS

Members of the public will have a chance to meet the people behind the bylines on Jan. 22, when BizWest conducts the fourth in a series of “Meet the Newsroom” events, this time in Longmont. The gathering will be conducted from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at Brewmented, 900 S. Hover St., Unit C. Attendees can learn how to submit press releases, how to get their companies in BizWest lists and directories, which reporters cover which beats, essential information to include in a press release, what types of stories the publication is seeking and what BizWest events are upcoming. Attendees can RSVP using the BizWest Facebook page.

The 2019 Economic Forecast for Northern Colorado will be Jan. 30 at Embassy Suites, 4705 Clydesdale Parkway in Loveland. Richard Wobbekind, associate dean of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business, will keynote the event. Early-bird tickets sell for $49.49 until Jan. 7, when the regular-priced tickets go on sale at $54.49. The forecast event will start at 10:45 a.m. with networking and conclude by 1:30 p.m. Lunch will be served.

KUDOS

Affordable housing developer Housing Catalyst was recently recognized by Fort Collins Utilities for the energy-efficient construction of the Village on Redwood, a 72-unit multi-family development in north Fort Collins.

The American Institute Of Legal Counsel has recognized the performance of attorney Jennifer Lynn Peters, a partner in the law firm Otis, Bedingfield and Peters LLC with offices in Loveland and Greeley, as one of 10 Best Elder Law Attorneys for Client Satisfaction.

Haven Marsh, who teaches high school equivalency classes at Front Range Community College’s Center for Adult Learning in Fort Collins, is the Colorado Adult Educator of the Year. She was recognized by the Colorado Adult Education Professional Association.

Outgoing Weld County Assessor Chris Woodruff was named 2018 Assessor of the Year by the Colorado Assessors’ Association. He will leave his position after serving three terms as assessor.

Webroot Inc,, a cybersecurity company based in Broomfield, received IOS 27001 certification, one of the highest internationally recognized standards for information security management systems. Established by the International Organization for Standardization, this process-based standard specifies the requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving an information security management system.

Tim and Sally Warde of Greeley were honored as United Way of Weld County’s 2018 Humanitarian Award recipients at the 30th annual Tillers Club Reception on Dec. 4 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Greeley at Lincoln Park.

Boulder-based LogRhythm Inc. was selected by Gartner Inc. as a leader in the 2018 “Magic Quadrant for Security Information and Event Management” research report.

Twenty-three businesses and four nonprofits from Northern Colorado and Wyoming have been named candidates for the 2019 Better Business Bureau Torch Awards for Ethics. Award winners will be selected this month by an independent panel of judges comprised of BBB board members, past Torch Award winners and community leaders. Winning organizations will receive their awards at the 2019 BBB Torch Awards for Ethics celebration, a luncheon event set for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 18 at the Embassy Suites in Loveland. This year’s presenting sponsor for the BBB Torch Awards for Ethics is First National Bank. Northern Colorado-based candidates for the awards for business are GPROfessionals in Greeley; BG Automotive, Independent Plumbing Solutions, Journey Employer Solutions, Madwire Media, MenuTrinfo, Merit Electric, Neuworks Mechanical, Schrader Oil Co., Sears Trostel, The Women’s Clinic and Volk Insurance Benefits in Fort Collins; High Country Beverage and PFS Insurance in Johnstown; and LC Home Inc./LC Real Estate Group in Loveland. Nonprofit candidates are Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer County, Food Bank for Larimer County, Fort Collins Habitat for Humanity and Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Center, all based in Fort Collins.

The Joint Commission, a national nonprofit accrediting organization, certified North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley as a primary stroke center. The two-year certification indicates NCMC’s stroke response team follows best practices for patient care.

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

Louisville-based Molecular Products Group, a portfolio company of Arlington Capital Partners, acquired the Sodasorb business from a fully owned subsidiary of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA. The Sodasorb product range includes carbon dioxide absorbents used in the health-care and safety industries. The products remove carbon dioxide from anesthesia systems, diving equipment and industrial equipment.

Sovrn Holdings Inc., a Boulder ad-tech company, bought San Francisco-based VigLink. The combined portfolio includes more than 50,000 independent sites, 250 million daily active consumers in reach and $1 billion in annual consumer purchase behavior. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Avoka, an Australian banking-software company whose U.S. headquarters is based in Broomfield, was sold to a Swiss company for $245 million. Temenos (SIX: TEMN), based in Geneva, has agreed to purchase Avoka, including the Avoka (USA) Inc. Broomfield subsidiary.

Expedition Water Solutions Colorado LLC, based in Greeley, acquired water-infrastructure assets that further expand Expedition’s position in the Powder River Basin. Expedition acquired Bluegrass Water LLC and Bluegrass Southern Cross LLC, which collectively offer more than 10 million Bbls of capacity in the PRB and Wamsutter basins.

Fort Collins-based DataSplice LLC was purchased by Prometheus Group, a provider of software to heavy-equipment operators for optimizing plant-maintenance operations. Prometheus Group, based in Raleigh, N.C., also acquired Ottawa-based Solufy Information Technologies Inc. The combined company will use the Prometheus Group name. Terms of the acquisitions were not disclosed.

EKS&H, a Denver-based accounting firm, completed a merger with Detroit-based Plante Moran. The combined company now is the nation’s 11th largest accounting, tax, consulting and wealth management firm. EKS&H has offices at 1155 Canyon Blvd. in Boulder and 1321 Oakridge Drive in Fort Collins. Each office has roughly 40 employees. The firm, founded in 1978, also has two offices in Denver and one in San Francisco and employs a total of roughly 750 people companywide. Plante Moran has about 2,300 employees in offices in Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Japan, India and Mexico.

Tulsa, Okla.-based BOK Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: BOKF) completed its acquisition of CoBiz Financial Inc. (Nasdaq: COBZ). CoBiz operates bank locations throughout the metro area, Boulder, Louisville and Fort Collins. BOK is the parent company of Colorado State Bank and Trust, which has a presence in Boulder. The deal is worth about $1 billion in stock and cash.

Guaranty Bancorp stockholders approved a $1 billion acquisition by Independent Bank Group Inc., according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission document. Denver-based Guaranty has more than 30 branches in Colorado, with locations in Berthoud, Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins, Greeley, Longmont and Loveland. Independent operates throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin and Houston areas of Texas, along with operations along Colorado’s Front Range after its April 2017 acquisition of 18 Northstar Bank locations. Guaranty stockholders also approved a compensation package totaling more than $14.2 million for Guaranty executives Paul Taylor, Christopher Treece, Michael Hobbs, Cathy Goss and Anthony Pizzichini.

The Egg & I restaurant at 2055 Ken Pratt Blvd. became a First Watch location. First Watch, a breakfast-centric restaurant chain headquartered in Florida, acquired The Egg & I in 2015 and has since been converting select restaurants. The Egg & I, which opened its first restaurant more than 30 years ago in Fort Collins, already has seen several Colorado locations transition to First Watch. Conversions of The Egg & I’s two restaurants in Greeley and one in Cheyenne are expected in the coming months. However, those restaurants will not be First Watch locations. Rather, they will be a new restaurant concept called Epic Egg. Locally, there are remaining The Egg & I locations in Boulder, Broomfield, Loveland, Fort Collins and Estes Park.

MOVES

Hobby Lobby, a chain store catering to crafters and hobby enthusiasts in central Loveland and currently occupying the original Walmart location in the city, will move operations to Johnstown Plaza next year. The other large retailer from the Loveland Marketplace shopping center to move east was Tuesday Morning, which moved in fall 2017.

BizWest Media LLC moved its Fort Collins office to 736 Whalers Way, Building G, Suite 100, in the Boardwalk Office Park.

Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE: ETH) relocated its Westminster design center to a new 12,000-square-foot location at 500 Marshall Road in the Superior Marketplace.

Tharp Cabinet Co. will move to a larger facility at 380 W. 37th St. in Loveland early this year. The cabinet manufacturer currently occupies about a total 93,000 square feet in seven buildings on Denver Avenue. The new facility will be a single, 170,000-square-foot building. The new location is the former home of QuadGraphics Inc. (NYSE: QUAD), which operated a regional telephone directory printing business.

Molecular Products Group Inc. moved its global headquarters to a 63,000-square-foot facility at 633 CTC Blvd. in Louisville. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of devices for the treatment of breathable gasses. It makes products for carbon filtration in air respirators, as well as carbon-dioxide absorbers, among other products. Molecular Products had been headquartered in Boulder, where it moved in 2009. The company has also been based in Lafayette and the United Kingdom.

The Tea Spot, a maker of loose tea and tea sachet products, moved from its former headquarters in Boulder’s Gunbarrel neighborhood to a 12,800-square-foot space on Cherry Street in Louisville’s Colorado Tech Center, more than double the size of the previous headquarters.

Cornerstone Farm, which offers horse training and riding lessons, moved to 8270 N. 87th St. in Longmont, at a facility called Maple Del Nero. Cornerstone Farm, which has been in operation since 1996, operated at its prior location on Nelson Road west of Longmont for more than 13 years. It has been owned by Jennifer Shannon since 2001.

A company that builds and maintains the nation’s dams and hydroelectric power plants will move its headquarters. Gracon LLC has outgrown its facility at 7221 E. U.S. Highway 34, just east of Loveland and will relocate to 130 Miners Drive in Lafayette.

BillGo Inc., a financial-payment system looking to help people pay their bills in real-time, moved into an expanded Fort Collins office. The offices at 3003 E. Harmony Road are part of the company’s larger overall plan of scaling the business and attracting the right talent.

Colorado Teardrop Trailers LLC, a company that makes teardrop-style trailers and operates as Colorado Teardrops, moved to an 8,000-square-foot headquarters at 1750 55th St. in Boulder. The location is double the size of the company’s previous Central Avenue facilities.

Distilled Bath & Body LLC, which makes an all-organic alcohol-based spray deodorant called Pit Liquor, moved out of the founders’ home and into its first manufacturing facility. The company, which gained momentum after a Kickstarter campaign, is moving to a warehouse in Fort Collins, where it is expected to produce about 1,000 bottles of deodorant a day.

NAME CHANGES

Downtown Greeley’s City Center building, 1001 11th Ave., was renamed City Center South. It houses municipal services including the IT department, water and sewer department administration offices, and municipal courts. Greeley’s City Hall Annex and Focus Building, 1100 10th St., was renamed City Center North. It houses building inspection, building permits, code compliance, community development, community safety and fire prevention, construction services, economic health and housing, natural resources, and planning and zoning departments.

YouSeeU, a Loveland-based educational tech company, rebranded as Bongo. That name previously was limited to what the company called its video-assessment platform.

HindmanSanchez PC, a law firm that specializes in community associations such as homeowners associations, rebranded as Altitude Community Law PC. The firm will maintain its three offices — Loveland, Lakewood and Colorado Springs.

BlogMutt, a Boulder-based blog content creation firm, rebranded as Verblio and added services to its customers including written as well as artificial-intelligence-based video creation. Verblio under its former name was recognized in four consecutive years as one of BizWest’s Mercury 100 fastest-growing private companies in the Boulder Valley.

OPENING

RackStarz, a Colorado Springs vehicle rack and hitch system retailer, will open a new Boulder location Jan. 18 in the former Boulder Nordic Sport space on Arapahoe Road. Boulder Nordic Sport has moved to a new location on Broadway.

Babettes Artisan Breads, which closed its roughly five-year-old Denver operation in November, will open a new location in Longmont in mid-January. The Longmont bakery will be in the city’s Prospect New Town development at 2030 Ionosphere St. The 3,000-square-foot space, formerly occupied by Open Door Brewing’s taproom, will be larger than the previous Babettes in Denver’s RiNo neighborhood and will include wood-fired pizza and cocktail bar.

At Home Group Inc. (NYSE: HOME) opened a new At Home Decor Superstore in Longmont, filling the roughly 100,000-square-foot vacant commercial space at 955 S. Hover St. that formerly was home to JCPenney, which closed more than a year ago. There are At Home stores in Broomfield and Greeley.

Facetté Medical Spa in Fort Collins expanded its retail footprint to incorporate a full-service hair salon. The Hair Experience opened Dec. 14 at 1100 Haxton Drive.

Urban-gro Inc., a Lafayette-based cultivation systems integrator and agricultural-technology firm for commercial cannabis cultivators, opened a Denver office in Lower Highlands, or LoHi.

Motto Mortgage, a mortgage brokerage launched by Re/Max Holdings Inc. in 2016, has expanded into Northern Colorado. Al Burke, a local entrepreneur and Marine Corps veteran, and Stephanie Nealy, a real estate broker with more than 16 years’ experience, have formed Motto Mortgage Innovations at 39 S. Parish Ave. in Johnstown.

Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza, a Florida-based fast-casual pizza franchise, plans to open a Boulder location this year. Arvada residents Andy and Jamie Gunther, the Colorado franchise owners, also plan restaurants in Golden and Arvada.

Steakhouse No. 316, a new establishment from Aspen restaurateurs Craig and Samantha Cordts Pearce, opened at 1922 13th St. in Boulder, the space formerly occupied by Conor O’Neills Irish pub, which closed in April 2017. The new Boulder location seats about 120 diners.

Lafayette-based Front Range Biosciences Inc., an agricultural biotech company specializing in tissue-culture propagation and breeding of high-value crops such as cannabis and hemp, signed a lease on for a plant nursery in Wisconsin. The lease is with Memorial Florists and Greenhouses Inc., and the facility will be used for a hemp nursery in Appleton, Wis.

Matthew Jansen opened Raglin Market at 5378 Gunbarrel Center Court Unit 2 in Boulder. Jansen, who also operates Mateo at 1837 Pearl St. in Boulder, said the new restaurant would be a “fresh casual” concept featuring soups, salads and sandwiches that highlight local produce.

A new Shake Shack restaurant location coming to Boulder’s Twenty Ninth Street mall is expected to open this year. The Boulder location is planned for 1680 29th St., the former site of the Cantina Laredo restaurant, which closed in April. Shake Shack launched in New York and has expanded across the country in the past 15 years. There are nearly 200 Shake Shack locations in 26 states. Colorado locations in Denver and Highlands Ranch opened in 2018, and a third restaurant is expected to open this year at Denver International Airport.

The owners of Berthoud Brewing Co. and Frederick’s Peel Handcrafted Pizza joined forces to create 5030 Local, a Loveland establishment that will open this year and feature food, craft beer and live music. The collaborative new venture will be at 1480 Cascade Ave. 5030 Local will house Berthoud Brewing on the main level where the brewery will offer a rotating tap list, a limited food menu and a live music venue. Peel will run a full service restaurant on the second floor. The “5030” in the name is a reference to Berthoud’s elevation.

A franchise location of Paul Davis Restoration opened at 2636 Midpoint Drive, Suite A, in Fort Collins. The business offers damage restoration for residential and commercial properties impacted by fire, smoke, water and mold.

Ralphie’s Bar & Grill opened in the Boulder restaurant space formerly home to Harpo’s Sports Grill. The owners of the establishment at 2860 Arapahoe Ave. remodeled the 5,600-square-foot space. Harpo’s closed in March after 15 years in business.

Boulder-based Terrapin Care Station opened the first recreational cannabis store in the city limits of Longmont at 650 20th Ave.

In Motion Running, a locally owned specialty running store at 1830 30th St. in Market Square Shopping Center in Boulder that also provides physical therapy, was opened by physical therapist and co-founder of Boulder Running Co., Mark Plaatjes.

Northstar Liquor Superstore, a 25,000-square-foot liquor store, opened at 4919 Thompson Parkway in Johnstown, just south of the Promenade Shops at Centerra.

Eyemart Express LLC, a Texas-based prescription eyeglass retailer, opened its first location in Fort Collins at 1820 S. College Ave. It has two other Colorado locations.

Blue Federal Credit Union will open a 3,700-square-foot branch at U.S. Highway 287 and Exempla Circle in Lafayette this month and plans to add another new location in Erie.

Denver-based Power Equipment Co., a heavy industrial equipment sales, rental, service and repair firm, opened a 26,000-square-foot branch on a 7-acre site at 2836 First Ave. in Greeley. The branch, which opened in early October, features a 4,000-square-foot parts warehouse. There is also a 10,800-square-foot service shop with eight service bays, two 10-ton remote-controlled overhead cranes and an equipment wash bay.

Pilatus Business Aircraft Ltd. opened a completions center on Oct. 22 at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield, providing additional capacity for its single-engine turboprop PC-12 NG and new PC-24 Super Versatile Jet. The 118,000-square-foot center at 12300 Pilatus Way is designed to conduct aircraft interior and exterior completions.

Baskin-Robbins opened its second Longmont ice-cream store at 1844 Hover St. Unit A.

New Orleans-based Smoothie King opened Oct. 20 at 2860 E. Harmony Road in the Front Range Village development in Fort Collins.

Two veteran real estate appraisers joined to form Real Estate Appraisers of Northern Colorado. Bill Lundquist and Tim Graham launched the new firm at 1635 Foxtrail Drive, Suite 363, in Loveland. They formerly served as senior appraisers at Shannon and Associates in Fort Collins, which shut down Sept. 30 upon the retirement of owner Don Shannon.

Fierce45, a Denver-based chain of high-intensity Pilates studios, will open a location on Broadway in Boulder early this year.

Kentwood Real Estate, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate that specializes in upscale residential properties, opened a new office at 2510 E. Harmony Road, Suite 202, in Fort Collins. The operation, the company’s fourth in Colorado, is called Kentwood Northern Properties.

Ziggi’s Coffee Franchise LLC signed with new franchisees in Loveland. The Longmont-based coffee company has signed 24 franchise agreements in the past two years. The latest signing grants the rights to three locations. Ziggi’s operates multiple locations in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado, including Erie, Firestone, Fort Collins, Greeley, Hudson, Longmont and Loveland, with additional locations coming to Estes Park, Johnstown and Windsor.

Lazy Dog Sports Bar & Grill, which operates locations in Boulder and Erie, plans to open a third restaurant in Johnstown by May. The new roughly 6,000-square-foot Lazy Dog will be built near the interchange of Interstate 25 and U.S. Highway 34.

Lice Clinics of America, which has operated since 2016 in Fort Collins, now has a second clinic in Longmont. Like the Fort Collins clinic, the Longmont location is owned by Tanya Kensley and provides screening, diagnosis and treatment options for people infested with head lice. The clinic, located at 421 21st Ave., Suite 210, provides treatment using an AirAllé device.

2nd & Charles, a retail chain that allows customers to buy, sell and trade used books, videos, games, vinyl records and collectibles, opened its fourth store in Colorado on Nov. 3 at 4417 Corbett Drive in Fort Collins.

Oklahoma-based MidFirst Bank opened a Boulder branch location at 840 Pearl St., the first MidFirst in Boulder and the fourth in Colorado.

An eclectic new bar opened in a basement space beneath a Chipotle Mexican Grill just north of the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. Ehko Lounge is “a combination of a nightclub, a bar, an arcade and a college lounge,” owner Taylor Loftin said. The roughly 4,000-square-foot lounge is at the corner of 17th Street and Eighth Avenue.

A mother/daughter team opened its second workout facility, this time in Windsor. The initial location for 5280Fit is in Highlands Ranch. The facility at 655 Academy Court in Windsor is operated by Haelin Steward and her mother, Sonja Steward.

Timnath Beerwerks, opened in the old Colorado Feed & Grain building at 4138 Main St. in Timnath.

Hidden Doors by Design LLC, a company that manufactures bookcases and cabinets that serve as hidden doors, opened a showroom at 4659 Belford Circle in Broomfield.

The Women’s Clinic of Northern Colorado leased a nearly 5,100-square-foot space in the Mountain Vista Center at 7251 W. 20th St. in Greeley and will open it early this year. It joins existing Women’s Clinic locations in Fort Collins and Loveland.

Springhaus Designs LLC opened a 30,000-square-foot design center at 5000 Goodman St. in Timnath. The business worked out of temporary quarters in Timnath while the showroom was being built. It offers products for residential, commercial, interior and exterior projects.

Peaksware, a Boulder-based training software development firm, launched a ventures division called Peaksware Ventures to help identify and help fund products and companies to expand existing platforms and grow into new markets. Peaksware Ventures will be headed by Gear Fisher, TrainingPeaks cofounder and current Peaksware chief executive.

Boulder-based Renovation Brands LLC opened a warehouse and distribution facility in Florence, Ala., in October to accommodate growing customer demand. The new facility will stock products for many of the brands in its product portfolio, including Electric Fireplaces Direct, Electric Fireplaces Canada, Mantels Direct and American Tin Ceilings.

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