Optopolis' Retail News

[A Dutch Bro's Coffee located in Colorado - Optopolis]  It seems that another drive thru coffee shop is set to open in Cheyenne! Site plans for Dutch Bro's Coffee have been added to the Cheyenne Planning and Development website at the location where Fernando's Mexican Grill, formerly branded as Rolando's Mexican Grill, stands today! History of the Fernando's building [A recent photo of Fernando's Mexican Grill - Optopolis] Anyone who pays lots of attention to building designs will likely recognize the façade that screams the fact this was a former Burger King. It was built in 1992 as a Burger King and closed sometime after the turn of the century, with a corridor plan from 2000 still referring to this building as Burger King. Tokyo Bowl (not to be confused with Tokyo Joe's) opened by 2007, but it closed by the mid-2010s. By 2017, Rolando's Mexican Grill opened up shop in the building, and in 2020, it began to rebrand as Fernando's Mexican Grill (alt

[Spirit Halloween Banners hang on the once-occupied-by-Big Lots tenant - Optopolis]  Animatronics and setup Inside, you will find many animatronics setup in the display called "Halloween Factory." Included at the Cheyenne Spirit this year are Mr. Howl; Henry Hustle, Sitting Scarecrow, Buzzsaw, and Grim; Sam; and Harvester of Souls, Wacky Mole, and Evelyn Leech. All of these animatronics are displayed at various parts of this 'factory.' You can see them pictured below: [Various Animatronics at Spirit Halloween in Cheyenne, WY - Optopolis] [Mr. Howl Animatronic in front of the Halloween Factory - Optopolis] History of this space This tenant was built as part of the Cheyenne Plaza in 1981, apparently being occupied originally by some kind of grocery or drug store (if you know what stores were here originally, comment below). By 2001, it appeared to be occupied by MacFrugal's, a bargain brand bought out by Big Lots just in the late 90s. By 2002, it was rebranded to a

[Front of Thornton's Rite Aid before it was demolished - Google Maps Street View]  A recent visit to Thornton led to an unexpected discovery. Not only had this Rite Aid on the corner of E 104th Ave and Colorado Blvd been demolished, it also was already well into the process of being replaced with a brand new gas station! [A view from the SW corner of the soon-to-be Murphy USA - Optopolis] Some history behind this property Rite Aid #6330 was built at this location in 1998. It would seem that this location closed around the time Walgreens was buying Rite Aid stores throughout America in 2017; Google Maps Street view shows the signs were still up and cars were still in the parking lot until between July 2017 and July 2018, and the last public review left on Yelp is 07/12/2017 by Dezirae G . [Rite Aid as seen in Jul 2018 as abandoned after the signage had been taken down - Google Maps Street View] There is a strong possibility that needs further confirmation; there is a marker on Googl

[A view of Cheyenne's Dell Range Location on a cold winter night in 2020 before renovation - Optopolis]  One of Cheyenne's Wendy's, the last location in town that still displayed the 80s/90s style of façade, began the process of a full scale renovation sometime over the last few months. Some History It happens this building is not original to Wendy's. It was built in 1995 as a Boston Market, a chain of "fast casual" restaurants that specialized in chicken. Seeing the style of façade Wendy's used, it's probable this Boston Market closed as a result of their 1998 bankruptcy. Although I am currently unaware of the exact day and year of open, the façade also suggests this location opened by 2000. The Renovation Since the photo at the top of this article had been taken, they'd done some minor repainting around the top edge of the building as seen below. The sign had also been replaced likely in part due to the previous one being wind damaged (along with

[Hitching Post Inn standalone sign found along W Lincolnway in Cheyenne, WY remains standing - Optopolis]  Back in May of 2021, there were talks of the city finally selling the condemned Hitching Post Inn to be reused for something better. By September, a purchase of the decaying property had been made, and demolition of the hotel is beginning to take place, with much of the old parking lot areas already torn out. [A photo from few days prior of one such parking lot being demolished - Optopolis] Desire to demolish the remaining portion of the nearly century-year-old hotel began to arise as soon as 2017 with three buildings (labeled buildings 1-6, two sections per building) sitting abandoned at the end of that year. The plan was to demolish two and a half of the buildings, but that never coalesced. The buildings were condemned a year later in 2018, deemed uninhabitable. Just over two years later in January 2021, the Hitching Post Inn caught on fire, destroying part of the building label