Even Denny’s is Closing. What is Denver Without Diners?
Dec 5, 2024
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Suzi Q. Smith, a poet and educator who reflects on Denver's unique diner culture, shares her nostalgia for these community hubs. She and Ethan Hemming, CEO of Warren Village, discuss the challenges Denver teens face in finding safe hangouts as diners close. They highlight the cultural significance of such spaces and the concerning trend of losing social venues. Their conversation underscores the importance of affordable community spots amidst rising costs, advocating for a more connected and supportive neighborhood ethos.
The closure of Denny's symbolizes a troubling trend in Denver's dwindling late-night dining options, affecting community engagement and youth socialization.
Diners historically served as crucial gathering spaces for teens, fostering creativity and personal growth through the organic connections they facilitated.
Deep dives
The Importance of Community Gardens
Denver Urban Gardens is the largest independent network of food-producing gardens in the U.S., managing 200 community gardens and 24 food forests in the metro area. These gardens produce over 650,000 pounds of food annually, supporting local food security and encouraging community engagement. By donating to Denver Urban Gardens, individuals are contributing to the organization's mission of providing resources and skills for people to grow their own fresh food, promoting healthier living. This initiative highlights the vital role that urban agriculture plays in fostering community resilience and sustainability.
Loss of Local Dining Spaces
The recent closure of the Denny's on Alameda and Santa Fe reflects a concerning trend in Denver, where late-night dining options are dwindling. Poet Susie Q. Smith discusses the cultural significance of diners as essential gathering places for community interaction, especially for younger generations. Diners served as safe, affordable spaces for teens to socialize and express themselves, fostering connections that contributed to their personal growth and creativity. The loss of such spaces raises questions about where today’s youth can find similar communal environments to form friendships and develop social skills.
Diners as Creative Havens
For many, diners provided more than just a meal; they served as vital spaces for creativity and personal reflection. Susie Q. Smith shares how diners allowed her to write, think, and observe life while feeling part of a community. These informal settings offered a low-pressure environment for young people to cultivate their artistic identity, often fueling their passion and creativity. The diner culture facilitated connections among aspiring artists, enabling spontaneous collaborations that would be harder to replicate in more commercialized spaces.
The Need for Safe Social Spaces
In the modern context, the absence of affordable and safe social spaces for youth is increasingly concerning. Many former hangouts have disappeared, leaving young people with few places to socialize without scrutiny or restrictions from authorities. The conversation emphasizes that modern youth often turn to the internet for socialization, which lacks the organic, face-to-face engagement that nurtures interpersonal skills. Creating accessible, welcoming environments for teenagers is essential to foster genuine connections and ensure they have ongoing opportunities for social interaction and personal development.
The Denny’s on Alameda and Santa Fe closed last month without warning. But that was just the latest diner casualty in a city already severely lacking in late night food options. The loss of this particular type of restaurant struck at something deeper for Suzi Q. Smith — the poet, performer, and educator grew up in Denver’s vast constellation of diners, finding a place where she could hang out as a teen with not much money, but a whole lot of time. Suzi explores these sacred places in her Denverse Magazine essay “Toast World: Where Have All the Diners Gone?” Host Bree Davies sits down with her friend to talk about what it means when a city loses its diners.
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If you enjoyed the interview with Ethan Hemming, the President and CEO of Warren Village, learn more here.
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