Evolve at MileHi
Before and After
The old building needed some new thinking for a gratifying remodel.
The finished space receives plenty of light from new windows, features beautiful adaptive spaces, and is filled with custom made touches.
From Construction supply company to restaurant in no time at all…
Looking for a place with an urban vibe that they could make their own, Jay and Jeff Santangelo stumbled upon an old ramshackle warehouse in Denver’s up-and-coming Sun Valley neighborhood.
The place was not a beauty to behold but thankfully Jeff, owner of Love Pop Experience (a unique catering and event company) has an eye for what things could become.
The brothers hired MWC and ideas began to flow. They wanted a building that could function as an office, a commercial kitchen for Jeff’s catering business, a smaller kitchen for holding classes, and an incredibly versatile space where, in the future, they could host all types of events, from weddings to bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs to Quinceaneras to a 10-year-old birthday party to automobile shows.
Plans were drawn up, and plans changed and changed again as Jeff delighted in more unique uses of the space. The chosen building presented a myriad of challenges. Nothing was plumb, nothing was square, and NOTHING was up to code. MWC jumped in, gutting the place, and then altering this and changing that until Jay and Jeff’s ideas took shape.
A beautiful, state-of-the-art commercial kitchen was built along with office spaces for each brother, or bride and groom suites. With great ideas and great construction experience, MWC turned the building from the neighborhood eyesore to the most attractive building on the block. People stop in to remark on the delightful change and beautiful new space.
Before
During
Finished Space!
Beautiful touches like custom staircases, railings and a spiral staircase were crafted and installed. MWC created a white cedar fence with a gate driven by solar power.
“This is interesting. It’s a crane trolley they used in the to haul large pieces of machinery from one end of the warehouse to the other. Jeff decided to keep it to hang sumptuous curtains. By moving the trolley, Evolve at MileHi actually changes the dimensions of the party space.”
-Holly Lazzeri
Here’s a look at the curtain in use. It creates intimate spaces and is a great backdrop for photos.
Evolve was built with 2 garage doors so they can pull their specialty food and beverage trucks in and out. Ralphie is an old postal vehicle, turned ice cream truck, turned bar. Blaze is an old camper turned food truck. Trio, the little scooter, totes a fun mini bar wherever guests want it.
Because they can, Jay and Jeff like to bring their fancy cars into the building. They hold car events and the shinny vehicles are a great backdrop for wedding photos.
Bonus Ghost Story
This is probably inappropriate but kind of entertaining. One morning Dan came in to open Evolve and found these little child’s footprints in the construction dust. They start and end in the middle of the room. No one would fess up to bringing their child to work after hours without shoes (construction sites aren’t a safe place for bare little feet) so he decided the prints were left my little Becky Miller who drowned in the Platte River in 1892. He’s a good story teller and half the crew believed him. And, of course, everything that went wrong got blamed on ghost girl.
