Optopolis' Retail News

"Now Hiring" sign as seen in a recent live stream - Optopolis on YouTube, during Chapter 3:06:15 If you've been on the south side of town recently, you may have noticed a sign indicating that McDonald's is building a new location... Perhaps, you may even have seen the "now hiring" banner at the site of the soon-to-be McDonald's. Here's some McD history as well as what's known so far! A glance at McDonald's previous Cheyenne locations and history McDonald's roots in terms of Cheyenne go back to 1958, when McDonald's was beginning to look at opening a Cheyenne location, as noted on page 114 of this E-Book on Yumpu . The very first Cheyenne McDonald's location is the one any Cheyenne resident will likely recognize, located on E Lincolnway near Hot Springs Avenue; the E-Book notes that it originally opened in 1959. The location has undergone several redesigns over the years, most recently being demolished and rebuilt sometime between

The Auto Locker as seen from a neighboring parking lot at about 1:30 PM MDT June 21 - Optopolis Sometime around noon, the building just east of The Auto Locker used car lot caught fire, and the fire spread over to and damaged The Auto Locker building! Some background of the buildings that caught fire (and the fire) According to various witnesses at the scene, the fire began inside of the "retail store" building just north and east of The Auto Locker. The "retail store," as it's labeled in the Laramie County Property Assessor, was built in 1930. Also on the property are both a detached garage built in 1957 and a shed/add-on built in 1980. As of Optopolis' visit, the garage was still intact, but the "retail store" had been totally engulfed in flames. The "retail building" at about 2:40 PM MDT June 21 - Optopolis At first, it was suspected the fire may spread to The Colonial East building (burn marks can be seen on the southwest side of The

Kum and Go standalone sign in April after the Kum & Go name was removed - Optopolis You may have noticed something happening at one of Cheyenne's Kum and Go locations--more specifically, Kum and Go #956 near the corner of Warren Ave and E 16th St/E Lincolnway is rebranding! Some Historical Info At one time, the area where Kum and Go stands today was once a Burger Chef , a fast-food chain that had locations all over the US. Burger Chef stood in this location until at least 1979 (Burger Chef sign can be seen at left in this photo ). An Exxon gas station along with some other building were also once present on this block (both to the west of Burger Chef) as seen in this photo from 1977 . According to the Laramie County Property Assessor map , the building where Kum and Go resides today was built in 1988. Kum and Go on E 16th St/E Lincolnway near Warren A

Barnes & Noble on their last day - Optopolis You may recall that Barnes & Noble announced they would be relocating; they had their last day at their old location on May 15th. Here's what is next. A touch of background... As shared in a recent post here on Optopolis , Barnes & Noble Cheyenne announced it would be relocating, B&N Cheyenne reporting that it was a result of the landlord choosing to opt out of renewing their lease. By August 2021, it was apparent that a new tenant was coming due to conflicting land use labeling in plans for a new truck loading bay design (plans labeled in the Cheyenne City Planning website as "Barnes & Noble Loading Dock," while the Transportation Worksheet states "specialty grocer") although it wasn't known here at Optopolis that a new tenant was coming until after Natural Grocers had submitted site plans in 2022. The plans submitted to the Cheyenne City Planning website for the new Natural Grocers store

The neon-esque City News sign as it appeared in 2019 - Optopolis If you remember Cheyenne's City News store, chances are you'll remember the popcorn or some other aspect of that store; it is finally getting replaced once again, this time by a retro drug store! Some Background of the Boyd / Citizen's Bank Building The Citizen's Bank Building was built in 1911, only three years after Boyd's Cigar Store was established in 1908 which opened in a nearby retail space. For years, [the Citizen's Bank Building] was the tallest office building. Doctors, dentists, and lawyers kept the offices full upstairs. ~ Historic Downtown Walking Tour According to Cheyenne's Historic Walking Tour booklet (PDF Download) , this Citizen's Bank was one of many banks to go broke during the 1924 recession. view of the Carey Avenue edg