Optopolis

Urban exploration, especially surrounding retail, in Southeastern Wyoming, Northern Colorado, and Southwestern Nebraska!

News-ee retail stuff mainly covers Cheyenne and Laramie County. Want to help me create more awesome content? Support me by becoming a Patron today: patreon.com/theOptopolis

11/04/2024

Dog Haus Biergarten has once again closed, and the location is for lease, more information in the article linked in the comments of each photo. It's not clear at this time if Dog Haus will find a new franchisee or if a new tenant will occupy the space.

11/04/2024

Looks like the Wayback Machine just reopened the website save portal. It wasn't open last night, but it's open now.
https://web.archive.org/

11/03/2024

Clocks fall back an hour at 2AM today, Sunday.

11/01/2024

The Food Shack, previously located at The Home Depot, has relocated to Menard's. More information can be found in the article, linked in the comments of each photo.

10/31/2024

Happy Halloween! Here's a photo I snapped today. 🎃

10/31/2024

A little too late for the Cheyenne store. Whenever an investment firm gets involved, I always get weary; so many of those firms screw up and eventually shutter businesses... maybe this will be an exception, but we'll see I suppose.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Big Lots will be sold for $765 million to a top investor of Dollar Shave Club and Toms after the central Ohio retail chain filed for bankruptcy earlier this summer. On…

10/22/2024

Will the outbreaks stop? E Coli at McDonalds now. Includes Colorado and Nebraska, and potentially affected meat was at Wyoming locations, too. In Wyoming, the quarter pound burgers are said to have been removed from the restaurants.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a food safety alert Tuesday regarding an E. coli outbreak that it says is linked with McDonald’s Quarter Pounders.

10/21/2024

Not Cheyenne, but I saw this in one of the retail groups, really interesting reuse of a grocery store as a library--temporarily. I can't help but to consider how DKG's Annual Used Book Sale does similar things each year, though some of theirs are, perhaps, more crazy than this.
Carmel, Indiana makes this more interesting to me because of Carmel's serious effort to make their city streets safer for all users, whether it's you driving a car or someone like me who may cycle or walk.

Supermarket turned Library! When locals headed to the former Merchants’ Square supermarket in Carmel, Indiana, they were not stocking up on groceries. Instead, they were there to check out books from the temporarily relocated Carmel Clay Public Library (CCPL), which had ingeniously repurposed the vacant store space to house their collection while their main branch was under renovation.

10/16/2024

Well, that was short lived. FoCo's The POST Chicken and Beer, former IHOP/Der Weinerschnitzel, has closed. The text on the roof top is too good. LOL! Full video of this is on YouTube right now.

10/15/2024

S p i r i t - O f - M a c y ' s
/ Foothills Mall, Fort Collins
This Spirit Halloween in Fort Collins took over a Macy's that closed not long ago. I never did a proper store tour of this Macy's, but I did do a brief glimpse/walk-through on the Vault channel, and I think ERA Productions did a live walk through during the closing sale.
I DID, however, get a store tour of this Spirit Halloween, on YouTube right now. This one is bigger than the other Fort Collins store--and less cramped. They used the store entry facing the parking garage instead of either of the other two entryways, I *presume* for ease of access from the mall without using the interior mall entry.
Yes, I did also do a wacky wavy inflatable man video on Optopolis Vault on YouTube.

10/14/2024

This soon-to-be King Soopers Market Place in Fort Collins will replace the nearby King Soopers store and stands in place of Kmart.
I was told this store will open at the start of next year. Unfortunately, my photos of this store did not turn out as good partly due to the position of the sun when I snapped the photos, but I think you can still get the jist.

10/13/2024

This retro-looking King Soopers in Fort Collins will soon be no more, as it is set to be replaced by a nearby newly-built Marketplace store that stands in place of the former Fort Collins Kmart.
This old store still contains yellow/orange tiles and angled facades that are not common these days--aspects you might have seen in the 70s/80s/90s. I noticed a number of people's bikes sitting out front of the store during my recent visit, showing just how common cycling has become. One dude even went to the extent of riding his bike into the store (caught that part in my video on YouTube), but I noticed that he eventually got off and had been walking his bike after a certain point.
I was told that at around the start of next year, the new store will open. I've heard they want to put apartments of sorts in place of this old store, though time will tell what ultimately happens.

10/12/2024

Missed the passenger rail station meeting earlier this week? You can still provide feedback!

The Cheyenne Metropolitan Planning Organization - MPO is seeking input on where a passenger rail station should go in the event passenger rail returns to Cheyenne. Six locations have been identified:

🚉 UP Depot
🚉 Reed Avenue Corridor
🚉 BNSF Rail Yard
🚉 A location off Old Happy Jack Road
🚉 A site northwest of the Missile Drive/I-25 interchange
🚉 A site off Terry Ranch Road

Learn more about each site here:https://www.plancheyenne.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Cheyenne-Passenger-Rail-Site-Selection-information_20241008.pdf

See the project page at: https://www.plancheyenne.org/project/cheyenne-passenger-rail-station-site-selection-study/

Provide your feedback at: https://cheyennecity.org/railstationsurvey

10/08/2024

Cheyenne's Shari's, Wyoming's last, is closing today at 4 PM MT. More information in the article linked in the comments of each photo.

10/06/2024

Very rarely do I cover stuff outside retail. But if you missed it, here's what happened to Cheyenne Community Connections, article linked in comments on each photo.

10/05/2024

Cheyenne is set to get two new businesses, Dirty Dough Cookies and We Do Nails Salon, at Pershing MarketPlace. More information in my article, linked in comments of each photo!

10/05/2024

Unfortunate news. Looking toward doing my own coverage as I feel there is info that could be added/connected to this topic.

A recent article in restaurantbusinessonline.com said the national Shari's chain was facing dire financial problems.

Address

Cheyenne, WY

Website

https://linktr.ee/optopolis, https://www.facebook.com/groups/optopolischeyennewy

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Optopolis posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Optopolis:

Videos

Grand Opening Trailer: Ziggi's Coffee, Western Vista Credit Union

Western Vista Credit Union and Ziggi's Coffee held a grand opening celebration for their new Thomes Avenue locations here on Cheyenne! I stopped in and captured a video of the event! Full video is on YouTube right now, Optopolis, channel link in bio. PS - New items available in merch store, March Giveaway info to come soon!

GRAND REOPENING: Natural Grocers Store Tour! (Cheyenne, WY)

Natural Grocers Cheyenne has REOPENED in the former BARNES AND NOBLE! Here’s a store tour on their FIRST DAY at the new store! Ribbon Cutting and MORE! 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐓𝐮𝐛𝐞 - 𝐎𝐫 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞! Barnes & Noble was built and opened at this location in approximately 1995. On March 30th, 2022, they announced the store would be relocating, closing the old location on May 15th. They planned to temporarily relocate to the mall then relocate to another space (but permanently this time), but it appears B&N will not be opening at the mall, and instead, is looking to go straight for the permanent location. Natural Grocers dates back to 2010 in Cheyenne, becoming the first of the brand’s Wyoming locations. It closed on Sep 20 to relocate to the new location (technically, the third Wyoming location), reopening at this location on Sep 23. Starting around 8:15 AM, they began the process of holding a ribbon cutting celebration as LOADS of people lined up to go inside the new store.

RETRO Drug Store takes over HUGE BANK! [Ft. City Drug, The Boardroom] (Cheyenne, WY)

What does a RETRO DRUG STORE look like in a MODERN FORMAT? Cheyenne City Drug and The Boardroom appear to have created just that… let’s TAKE A LOOK! *FORMER CITIZENS BANK* 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫/𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐓𝐮𝐛𝐞, 𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬, 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐢𝐨/𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭! (𝐎𝐫, 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨.) Citizen’s Bank relocated to this newly built building around the early 1910s--that is, when this building was built. The bank closed in the early 1920s. Boyd Hubert bought the building, renaming it to the Boyd Building; there, he would open another Boyd’s Cigar Shop location that would thrive in the space until 1969 when City News and Pipe Shop was formed. City News sold everything from snacks and drinks to newspapers and magazines. The store closed in 2018, leaving the space vacant until around the turn of 2021; starting in late 2020, The Gathering Bakery based out of Radcliff, KY began renovating the space for The Gathering Bakery II, which opened in February 2021. It closed by the end of May 2021, wanting to focus on its original location. The owners of Cheyenne City Drug and The Boardroom decided to take a swing at opening a retro drug store with an edge big box stores don’t have--being local. City Drug opened by the second full week of June, and The Boardroom opened on June 24th. Even cooler is the fact that City Drug restored the RETRO NEON City News Sign, which can be seen on the building today. And yes, it LIGHTS UP!

Natural Grocers closing to MOVE! (Cheyenne, WY)

Wyoming’s FIRST Natural Grocers (this location!) opened in 2010. Now, it has relocated to a new store front for a larger store floor! Here’s a tour of the old store a few days before moving! The Cheyenne Marketplace was mostly built in 2007 with the section of building the NG occupied being built in 2008. NG Vitamin Cottage opened in 2010. In 2021, teases of a relocation began appearing, and it became official by March 30th, 2022. The final day of this location was Sep 20th, spending the next couple days working on relocating the store; the new store reopened on Sep 23 (video coming soon!). Find more in the entire video that is currently uploaded to YouTube, Optopolis, channel link in bio/about.

SPOOKTACULAR Spirit Halloween 2022: PIER 1 IMPORTS (Fort Collins, CO)

Spirit Halloween took over Fort Collins’ Pier 1’s most recent location, former McDuff Electronics! Fort Collin’s Pier 1 Imports has a bit of history! A long time ago, the space that most recently Pier 1 Imports was occupied by McDuff Electronics. The store closed around the early 90s, and Pier 1 Imports actually moved into the former McDuff from a neighboring space. Here’s what it looks like as Spirit Halloween! You can find the full video tour uploaded to YouTube, Optopolis, channel link in bio/about.

Closed RUBY TUESDAY: Everything left BEHIND! (Arvada, CO)

Arvada’s Ruby Tuesday was around for over TWENTY YEARS before closing! Now that it is closed and abandoned, here’s a look at what’s left! Plans for an Arvada Ruby Tuesday date back to at least 1996, the building itself being built in 1997 according to the property assessor. Unfortunately, this Ruby Tuesday was one of over 150 locations announced to close in 2020, only a mere few months before filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. To see inside and learn more, full video has been uploaded to on YouTube, channel link in bio/about!

I found an abandoned TOYS R US/BABIES R US in 2022! (Littleton, CO)

Littleton STILL HAS an abandoned TOYS R US/BABIES R US! Here's an in-depth look at what it looks like today! Interestingly, it appears this Toys R Us/Babies R US used to only be a Babies R Us. Do you still have a vacant Toys R Us or Babies R Us near you!? Let us know in the comments! You can find the entire video uploaded to YouTube, Optopolis, channel link in bio/about!

ABANDONED On The Border MEXICAN Grill & Cantina (Lakewood, CO)

Lakewood’s On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina has closed! Let’s see what’s left of the location! The building in which Lakewood’s On The Border resided was built in 1998, according to the property assessor; it apparently received a remodel in 2000. At some point before 2007, murals would be painted on two sides of the exterior, each signed with the name John Russell Thomasson followed by the number 14. On The Border sadly and quietly closed sometime between 2020 and 2022. If you know more specific detail as to when On The Border opened or closed, it’d be greatly appreciated if you could share that knowledge in the comments! To watch the entire video, please visit Optopolis on YouTube, channel link in bio/about. #OnTheBorder #MexicanGrill #Cantina #OnTheBorderMexicanGrillandCantina #OnTheBorderMexicanGrill #restaurant #dinein #mexican #food #closed #vacant #abandoned #empty #unique #rare #optopolis #theoptopolis #retail #cinematic

Spirit Halloween Tour 2022 - ABANDONED BIG LOTS (Cheyenne, WY)

I made it to and filmed the first day in 2022 of Cheyenne's Spirit Halloween! In the main video that can be seen on YouTube, we do a deep-dive, in-depth tour of the store, checking out many of the things they have to offer. Find the entire tour video on Optopolis on YouTube, channel link in bio/about!

Visiting The Human Bean for the FIRST TIME! (Cheyenne, WY)

Let’s try The Human Bean for the first time! We are also joined by Branson, who explored the abandoned factory with us. The property where The Human Bean is now used to be a Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut moved to a new location; the old location was temporarily used by Grant Farms, but it has since been demolished. The Human Bean has since been built in its place. Full video can be found on Optopolis on YouTube, channel link in bio.

Abandoned JCPenney at the Mall [Greeley Mall] (Greeley, CO)

Greeley Mall's JCPenney was built as an addon in 1987 to the Greeley Mall. In 2020, the store closed as a result of the main company filing for bankruptcy. In 2022, the Greeley-Weld Habitat for Humanity ReStore relocated to the former JCPenney, where it operates today.

Big Boy Train#4014 goes on an EXCURSION to Denver!

Is this a trailer or just a clip of awesome video files? Big Boy went on an excursion to Denver and brought back passengers! Here's a video catching the event! Special thanks to Cheyenne StandbyNews / StandbyNews for grabbing some of the photos/video featured in the video!