Denver, CO
Hot dog staple Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs on Colfax Avenue in Denver shutting down
A well-known Denver hot dog hangout is closing up on Colfax Avenue, leaving bittersweet memories for a generation of hot dog hounds. Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs will close its location near Colfax and Monroe Street on Oct. 19. It was an anchor in efforts to re-ignite Colfax in the mid-2000s.
“I’ve had so many people coming in. I’ve had a couple people cry and I’m like ‘God, you’re going to make me feel real bad,’” said Steve Ballas, who owns the restaurant with his wife. Ballas survived Stage III kidney cancer and emerged a changed man seven years ago. He’s tired and now tangling with prostate cancer. But the main reason, says Ballas, is that his wife Linda has had a setback in her own cancer.
“Her cancer’s back. She’s been in and out of the hospital for the past year.”
While Linda is home and doing well Steve reports, he wants to spend more time with her.
The restaurant has been operating since 2006, when Ballas spotted potential in a long empty gas station. With help of city grants and a Small Business Administration loan, he was able to buy and fix up the place. It had been a place where people slept and went to the bathroom under the old canopy and took significant work to re-open. There wasn’t much going on along Colfax in the area at the time. Crime was a worry.
“It was scary because nobody was walking around and we used to make balloons for the kids and when they would pop people used to duck. They would duck, thinking there was somebody shooting at them,” he said.
But slowly things improved.
“It’s not the police department that made it safe, it’s the traffic and the more and more businesses,” said Ballas, who was a police officer in Connecticut before moving to Colorado.
Now the menu takes up most of the wall over the counter. Workers dish out hot dogs that are a mixture of pork and beef in natural casings. The authenticity has drawn a cult following. The walls are also covered with photos of kids and families who have been in. It’s a place of memories for customers and for the owners.
“In the beginning, people thought I was a dog grooming place. Because my sign said Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs and they would call up saying, my dogs aren’t mean, will you be able to take care of my dogs?” said Ballas. “No here we eat dogs,” he said he would explain, only to get puzzled replies.
Part of the draw was their association with longtime Denver TV staple Blinky the Clown. Blinky, aka Russell Scott was the father of Linda Ballas. There is a large picture on the wall.
“If you’re 40 years old, or older and you lived here. You grew up with Blinky. You went to school you watched him, you came home you watched him. He told you not to walk across the street. He told you to clean up your room,” said Steve Ballas.
“But the older you get, it gets harder and harder. And I’m tired. And I want to spend time with my wife.”
They have sold the restaurant to a couple who plan to open a barbeque place, where they will still sell Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs and signature beer. There will also still be a small Steve’s shop on Concourse B at Denver International Airport.
Ballas credited his staff and the customers for their success.
“We’ve made a lot of people happy. I’m happy. What more is there to life?” said Ballas.
DENVER (KDVR) – Denver and the Plains will see extra clouds Thursday with isolated storm out east and warm highs along the Front Range.
Weather today: Partly cloudy and warm
Clouds kept temperatures mild this morning and pockets of sunshine through the afternoon help us warm to the middle 80s.
We will be very close to tying a daily record high, but a light northerly breeze should stop us from hitting 87. The Eastern Plains can also see some isolated storms in the afternoon. There are also some Red Flag Warnings in the state, winds will be at 10-20 mph with gusts to 40 mph, avoid any burning or open flames in these areas.
Weather tonight: Lingering clouds
Partly cloudy skies through the day will stick with us tonight. Overnight lows will dip into the low 50s with a lighter wind.
Looking ahead: Cooler weekend with shower chances
Friday rounds out the workweek with partly to mainly sunny skies and comfy highs in the lower 80s. Saturday looks comfy as well with partly cloudy skies, highs in the upper 70s and afternoon storm chances. Sundayis still mild as highs hit the middle 70s, but clouds increase through the day with showers and storms in the evening hours. That rain can linger overnight and into Monday.
Monday has showers through the day and maybe a few flakes in the high country. Highs on Monday will be in the lower 60s with a breeze and cloudy skies. Shower chances linger into Tuesday with below average highs in the lower 60s with cloudy skies. Wednesday has smaller storm chances and a bit more sunshine as seasonal highs make it to the lower 70s.
DENVER (KDVR) — Two Denver police vehicles were hit by separate drivers during a traffic stop last week, according to a social media post from the Denver Police Department.
On May 7, officers responded to a crash on northbound Interstate 25 near the exit for Alameda Avenue.
The officers were parked with their emergency lights on to direct the traffic away from the scene of the crash. Despite the lights being on, two separate vehicles crashed into the officers’ vehicles.
One driver caused minor damage to a Denver police vehicle and was cited for careless driving. The second driver caused extensive damage to a police vehicle and was cited for careless driving, as well as arrested for allegedly driving under the influence during the crash.
Officers were in their vehicles during the incident, with one uninjured and the other taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
“Traffic safety is a shared responsibility! If you come upon flashing lights, emergency vehicles, tow trucks, or disabled vehicles while driving, move over at least one lane or slow down if it’s not safe to move over. And don’t drive under the influence,” said the department in the post.
Denver’s outdoor warning sirens will sound for three minutes on Wednesday morning as officials test the city’s emergency systems.
All 86 outdoor sirens are scheduled to go off at 11 a.m., and at the same time the wireless emergency alert system will send a test text message to all mobile phones in Denver.
People in neighboring counties may also receive the emergency alert message, the Denver Office of Emergency Management said in a statement.
“Speed and clarity are critical in an emergency,” Executive Director Matthew Mueller said in a statement. “This test helps ensure Denver can deliver alerts across multiple platforms, so people know what to do right away.”
Denver officials have mistakenly sent emergency alerts about isolated police activity to the entire city twice in recent months — once in January when a person was barricaded near the University of Denver and once in April when two armed robbery suspects ran into a nearby home in Ruby Hill.
Denver emergency response officials may start using the outdoor sirens more often, including for destructive thunderstorms or flash flooding, instead of just for tornado warnings, city leaders said in a news release.
While Denverites don’t need to take any action during the test on Wednesday, the sirens are usually a sign to seek shelter indoors immediately and check for updates from the city and local news outlets, according to Denver officials.
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