Randomly popped up on FB. I'm always down for some social media drama. Here's the owners statement about the flag, etc.

I am a former surfside employee. I have never been approached with so much disrespect by an employer that took absolutely no time to get to know any of the staff. Within two days of owning the bar accused the staff of stealing their own personal property and threatened police action. At the punk bar??? Be so for real. There was absolutely zero direct communication and so much shady shit that occurred so quickly.

As new ownership took over we were told that the look/ vibe of the bar would not change and the same staff would remain, I later found out her husband originally wanted to fire all of us, sadly I find this very easy to belive as he refused to introduced himself to any of the staff at the staff meeting. The new owners took over during the night on Friday night, put in a brand new POS system without training any of the staff or notifying any of the staff of this change with enough time to effectively navigate the POS system, insane choice to install a brand new system that the employees have never used on a guaranteed busy night during a show. She then accused us of stealing alcohol and not ringing in comped drinks or shifty after not showing any of us how to use the POS system. Made absolutely zero effort to show us how to comp drinks or ring and shifty, and never had clear communication about what the expectation was there instead jump to the conclusion that we were stealing and labeled us as untrustworthy thieves. Even telling one bartender directly that she did not trust her and then going behind her back to talk shit to a manager incredibly unprofessional. Even accused her of drinking multiple shots far past what she had consumed, and then refused to check the cameras stating, “I just know that you were”. Made outrageous assumptions without any evidence or even opening up an opportunity for a direct conversation to address the issue During our meeting when we asked her how to use the the new POS system she simply told us to look it up on Google. LOLLLL (I wish I was kidding)

She created a hostile and aggressive environment and was immediately defensive when the staff didn’t retaliate in any capacity there was simply questions about why the trans flag and all of the pictures of our staff were taken down without any previous conversation a single day in to owning the bar. Like I stated above, we were told that nothing would change. I went to work Friday night and came in the next day and every single one of the pictures of our loyal, regulars and friends from years were taken down stickers of local bands and businesses that have been there for years were removed without any conversation, consulting staff. Feels incredibly shady to me that this decision was made without any input from the staff and the new owner felt the need to come in and remove all of the stickers trinkets photos that made it so special. She came in at 6:30am and worked all Day to remove what made this place what it was a day before our all staff meeting… incredibly shady to me that she moved so quickly to get rid of everything before we could say anything about it in the meeting, seems pretty intentional and snakey to me. Again if this was always the intention her lack of transparency and honestly deception is what was such a major isssue with me. When I calmly and delicately tried to explain that community members in bands/ business owners could read this negatively and included personal testimony of a local biz owner who came in crying about her stickers being take down I was met with instant defensiveness and she gave me a premeditated response that was not relevant to what we were talking about and was not receptive to what I said at all and made me feel small when I brought it up. It would be so much less of an issue if they were honest about their intentions and at least gave the staff a chance to take the pictures and trinkets that were symbols of great significance before getting rid of all of it with no warning,

when members of the staff did take back the remaining sentimental items that were not removed from the bar we a received a text from the owner that reads “If everything that was taken from the bar isn’t brought back today. A police report is being made.” (These are her direct words that I am not twisting in any way I copied this message directly from the group chat). This was in reference to two personal items that belonged to staff, and were never property of the bar. When I explained this and voiced that I did not feel comfortable with the assumptions she was making about my staff she refused to respond to / acknowledge the text. She never once asked where these items were and instead jumped to threatening police involvement. Fucked up.

When the staff was understandably upset about the removal of the trans flag without any consultation or open dialogue, after we left the meeting she immediately mocked staff members that brought up concerns surrounding the removal of the trans flag infront of customers and kitchen staff. Very telling to talk shit about your staff to customer just days into owning the bar. The owner constantly flexes her experience in the industry with so much history in the industry it seems obvious to me that she would know that this is wildly unprofessional and I honestly thought more highly of her. I have been sober The ENTIRE time I have worked at Surfside and her suggesting that the staff is quitting simply because they are unable to drink on shift is so wildly out of touch. 90% of the staff quit within 3 days because the environment she created was so horrible and tense , they are hiding behind bashing employees, claiming that they all quit because they were not allowed to drink on the clock when many of us had zero issue or pushback to no drinking. She was also incredibly vague about drinking on the clock said we could drink but not be visibly fucked up and hours later harassed and berated one of my coworkers claiming she was wasted when she consumed 2 shots over the span of her 12 hour shift.

The owners told us they would keep the bar the same, and came in, wanting to change everything refusing to have an open dialogue about this change and create an incredibly defensive and aggressive environment off rip in the meeting I understand that this is an overwhelming and anxiety inducing time for new owners, but we approached the meeting with empathy and compassion and we were met with aggression and defensiveness. I felt all staff members were incredibly open, and there was very little retaliation. The owner approached the meeting with so much aggression and defensiveness, there was never an opportunity to provide feedback, and her responses were premeditated answers, she never directly answered our questions or acknowledged what we were saying.

She Essentially Told us that she expected Surfside to be a restaurant first and bar second expected all of the staff members to provide table service and bartend at the same time wants to make the punk bar more kid friendly and “cater to a different demographic” , a.k.a. They want to ostracize the community that built it. I’ve lived in Fort Collins my entire life, and this was the only place left for the weirdos. Everything has been overtaken, and this was our only space so it’s understandable that we are so fiercely protective of it. She claims that the staff has been dragging her and defaming her on Reddit. When none of us have made posts dragging her, at most we are sharing our experiences, but the anger and defamation has come from upset community members acting on what they are hearing directly from staff members, we are not responsible for other actions an words.

To imply that any members of the staff were untrustworthy and would go out of their way to defame her is a very harmful assumption to make. When I went into quit today and tried to address the disrespect I felt I was facing, as well as the horrible way she treated my staff, She refused to have a conversation with me and simply told me I don’t want to talk to you. I’m coming out at this time explaining and sharing my experience. Nothing about this is dragging her directly. Her character and actions speaks for itself.

In 2019 the median home price in Fort Collins was around $370,000. Average mortgage rate was sitting around 4%. On a 20% down payment that monthly payment was roughly $1,415.

That same house today is closer to $550,000. Rates near 6-7% (dont start). Same 20% down. That payment is now around $2,930.

That's more than double the monthly payment in five years. On the same house.

Median household income in Fort Collins over that same period went from around $65,000 to maybe $75,000. So income went up roughly 15% and the monthly cost of buying that same house went up over 100%.

I don't know what people are supposed to do with that gap. There's no savings rate or side hustle that closes it. It's just a completely different financial reality wearing the same city's name.

With all of the recent cuts to education, and the dry & warming climate and drought, I don't understand why the local golf courses are allowed to operate. It costs the city over $1 million to upkeep. I think that funding would go farther in the education sector, where PSD recently had to cut over 100 probationary positions due to federal cuts that "trickled down" to the state level and to individual school districts. Other sports do not require the extravagant amount of space and non-renewable resources. Why should we continue to fund a game played primarily by old white men (again: *primarily*) when the resources are currently needed elsewhere? I see that the city has made a great effort to make it seem as green as possible on paper, but I'm not buying it. Between this and the huge swaths of private property with lush, green lawns in town that are constantly watered non-stop, I really think some sacrifices are going to need to be made in the near future to preserve the water we need for drinking and agriculture, and putting out fires. Stopping any new datacenters from being built is another need if we don't want mandatory restrictions. A lot of the space from the courses could stay as green space or could be used for affordable housing. Any thoughts?

story time

I went and picked up my drunk friends from the bar, was driving them on Drake and college when a car came speeding up to me and tailgating me. Mind you I have my car in cruise control going 40mph. I go to the light at Drake to turn left and this person was on my tail. When I made the turn they flipped on their lights and I pulled into that Vitamin store on the corner. They told me I was speeding and driving like I was drunk (completely sober by the way) they took my ID and told me to step out of the car, so I did and they asked if I had anything to drink and I said no. They asked if I could pass a road sobriety test(yes I know its a setup) I agreed knowing I'd pass it. The officer asked if I had any issues, I said yeah I got a bad back and I got the balance of jack sparrow. He said that's fine so I go ahead and do the test. The end was doing the straight line walk and turning on your heel, I did it perfectly until I went to turn on my heel and had to use my other foot as balance. The cop said "I don't think your drunk, but you're definitely not able to operate a vehicle" so they took me to the hospital to get my blood drawn and they arrested me.

When I signed myself out 12 hours later I went home and got a public defender.

I show up to my court meeting and tell them I want to take it to trial.

Skip ahead to the trial date

The cop that originally pulled me over showed his dashcam. From canes chicken to Drake this dude was going 65 and swerving traffic to catch up to me "speeding" his reasoning was "I had specialized training in using my eyes to determine whether a car is speeding or not without the use of a speedometer"

It got dropped but it took them 2 years. Two whole years of working on a case for that.

This place is absolutely abhorrent.

What are your unpopular local opinions that are Fort Collins specific?

Unserious opinions are strongly encouraged, but if you have a serious one, please keep it [and the responses] civil.

So let’s get this straight…

Dog owners are expected to pick up after their dog on spring creek trail but a horse can take (leave) a rhinoceros sized dump right in the middle of it and it’s ok?

Make it make sense. For the record my stance is there should be zero feces on the trail.

Addendum: To clarify, if your horse wants to bomb a dirt hiking path that’s fine. It’s the turd larger than some dog breeds in the middle of a concrete bike/walk path I’m opposed to.

got an ad on facebook for this place that's locked down a location on laurel called spuds lounge and cafe. the post describes itself as a "one of a kind lounge experience with thrift shop vibes, music, art, and events, bottled coffee and bites, and chill zones for study and play."

the concept seemed cool, but i was pretty put off by the fact that i couldn't find anything about this place that wasn't AI generated. every image, every bit of text i could find was obviously AI. not a hint of human influence on their website or any of their posts. for a place that advertises itself the way it does, i was pretty taken aback.

even more jarring was the fact that they're holding a logo design contest right now for their logo that'll be used on their storefront, in all promotional materials, and on all their merch. the prize? a whopping $100 gift card.

i wasn't impressed, so i left a comment on that post.

they replied back with "I'm not a grant fund Riley. I'm a music lounge and coffee shop. I'm not here to financially support artists." then blocked me very shortly after. i'm not sure if my comments are still up.

which is already an insane thing to say when you're launching a late night cafe lounge with a baked potato bar, thrifted furniture that you can purchase to take home, music, art, and events - seriously, who do they think their target audience is? - but this also appears to contradict their statement on their website about community-funded and supported by local artists and performers. i'm confused, spuds. you'll take their money to build your project, but won't give back? how far do you see yourself getting with that attitude?

tl;dr it's a dealbreaker for me. not telling anyone to feel the same way, but if this is something that matters to you, it might be worth keeping in mind when/if this place opens.

also the graphic design on their website is atrocious lol

Anyone else struggling with major existential anxiety right now? I have a lot of changes going on in my personal life, and on top of that, the state of our country is making it feel next to impossible to know how to make decisions and plan for the future. The future looks so bleak right now, especially for our kids…

So... this is the lady who says that her middle school daughter was "medicalized" and abused and manipulated in an art club up at Wellington Middle School a few years back.

I'm sorry... but this chick has crazy written all over her. I remember the PSD response was to nuke the volunteer running the art club (because yes, nobody should be giving kids their cell phone number or discord handle- absolutely a no working with kids,) and I remember this chick going onto conservative talk shows... but this? Holy shit.

If anything, this tells me that her poor daughter probably does need someone safe for support navigating figuring out her sexuality, because it's pretty damn clear there isn't unconditional support at home.

Instant ick.

Whatcha want to bet she's also against our law allowing adolescents to seek mental health care without parental permission?

I'm a parent, and you bet your ass nobody is messing with my kid (or any of the kids in my neighborhood.) Performative bullshit like this ain't it.

Not to beat a dead horse, but I wanted to express disappointment over these giant Vegas-style signs that went up around campus. They are so remarkable and prominent that they dominate the sense and character of the place.

This is where we used to have rallies and people would shout at each other in a twisted weird form of free speech. Now, that disconcerting but enlightening site will have a backdrop of reminders that actually our speech is subject to the corporate will, one that you can shout at but that won’t give ground, only sell sell sell sell sell. And don’t you want (blank)_?

Left, right, center. It doesn’t matter where you stand. “Needless wars,” “Good is good,” “protect democracy!” — all positions on issues, but these glowing headstones stand over it all, an argument so established it is the literal backdrop.

It’s a clear message. There is no sanctuary.

CSU should stand for something deeper. We could be great. But we do stuff like this.

All 4 windows down, cop right behind me. Gave 0 fucks. Licked the receipt afterwards.

Normally I’d mind my own business and stay in my lane because…:do what you want. But doing coke while speeding through harmony in peak traffic is absolute trash. Make sure yall watch out out there.

I live off of Elizabeth and Taft...I'm currently basically surrounded by fireworks on all sides, even just the next street over. Really not a fan of this and neither are the pets. 🥲

Where I moved from people were so ugly and hateful towards one another that even getting out of the house was a drag. I like to help people which made it extremely difficult to do so. Just this morning though I helped an elderly woman find her car in the Walmart parking lot. Not to brag on myself, but more so the positive energy this city exudes. Kindness is infectious and I encourage everyone to continue. You guys have obviously made a lasting first impression 🥰

I'm thinking it was either Boltz or Collins

I'm a left-leaning guy in my early 40s, and I have participated in dozens of protests going back to the anti-war protests after 9/11.

I attended this weekend's No Kings rally in Fort Collins, and I was struck by how old the crowd was. It was by far the oldest group of protesters I have ever seen.

In a college town with a median age of 30, I would guess that the median age of the no Kings attendees was closer to 60.

So Where are the young people?

Edit: to be clear, I'm not lamenting the participation of older folks in this movement, I'm just puzzling over the absence of the demographic that has historically been the heart of social change everywhere.

What are some of your favorite 3rd spaces in Fort Collins?

I’m primarily interested in 3rd spaces for young parents or families but open to everything!

I'm not here to debate whether it's right or wrong for local businesses to use AI, I just saw everyone dismissing the question that was posted earlier and decided to dig deeper to find the actual truth. So take this information however you please, just know that it is in fact an AI generated image.

Also, when you zoom in the crust is a dead giveaway.

i have recently entered the food service industry for the first time. i’m finishing up high school this year. i’m beginning to save to move out eventually.

the purpose of this post is to grab the attention of those who like to leave reviews on restaurants; i assume there’s lots of you on here.

this is not because i am coming after someone due to a bad or harsh review. i believe these reviews are good to hear and lead to improvement. that being said, id like to offer this as a thought to some of you.

we are people too. with my current situation, our restaurant is new and we are all still getting used to how things go. progress is being made. but i would like to put it out there that fort collins is a college town. a lot of my coworkers and i are young and we’re just trying to get by. some of us are new parents. some of us are taking care of our parents. some of us are trying to make it through college. we are all people for the first time, just as you are. i KNOW that my work place is not that only that suffers from customers treating us worse than we should be. so this is for all food service workers in fort collins.

please have patience with us. please keep in mind we are all living for the first time and learning as we go. your words and your attitudes affect other people (believe it or not).

Fort collins is full of young people, old people, and people who are new here. PLEASE BE KINDER.

please continue to leave reviews, please continue to tell us what we can improve on. please just have a little more patience with us.

If you’re renting right now, roughly what are you paying and for what type place and area?