Local Lists: Theresa Mercado
Name: Theresa Mercado
Occupation: Line Producer for “Prospectors” on The Weather Channel
A little about yourself: Mother to a beautiful American Booodog named Babah, tv producer, cactus enthusiast, hearse owner, cinemaphile, hopeless romantic, Dr. Pepper addict, creep and kook.
Favorite restaurant in Denver: For dinner currently Udi’s on Colfax next to Tattered Cover…great patio and the best pizza crust in town. My lunch fav has always been Tom’s Home Cookin’…to die for.
Favorite watering hole in Denver: Crash 45 in Globeville.
Favorite overall place in Denver: SIE FilmCenter on Colfax…I love Keith Garcia’s program “The Watching Hour” on Friday & Saturday nights. The best cult, bizarre, hard-to-find, horror and rare films on 35mm. I love cinema and this is the best place in town to enjoy it. And they use real butter on their popcorn!
Best new trend in Denver: Home organic food delivery. I love it. I use Door to Door Organics. They deliver fresh, local (when possible), organic fruits and veggies right to your door. I feel like a lot of people are jumping on this wagon, which is great…Denver is eating healthier, driving less to purchase food and keeping more organic whole foods in the house…it’s great.
Worst new trend in Denver: These aren’t new trends unfortunately but I’m really over beards, unkept men, feather earrings, boho sheik, red bell pepper hummus, sweet potato fries and giant Jeffrey Dahmer glasses on men or women.
Best event in Denver: Cruel Summer Horror Film Series at Crash 45 (shameless self-plug), Denver Film Festival, Denver County Fair, and any event hosted by Andrew Novick
Fondest Denver memory: Halloween 2012 – freaking out the norms by crawling down Broadway as The Human Centipede. Also Surgery Dinner, Halloween 2011…a surgery-themed dinner party hosted by Gimme Gimme Pillow Toast. I was “Cake Leg” and “Injera Skin Graft”.
What’s missing in Denver? More late night eating establishments…it’s tough to find decent food after 10pm that isn’t pizza, diner, Taco Bell or not nutritious. And more delivery…food, drugs, groceries, dog food…I wish everything could be delivered.
A friend has three hours to kill in D-Town, what should they do? Visit Riverside Cemetery (Denver’s oldest), hike around Red Rocks, get whiplash at Lakeside Amusement Park, go to the 88th Ave. Drive-In (last drive-in in Denver), buy some music at Wax Trax or Twist & Shout, catch at flick at the SIE FilmCenter, grab some Geocaches around the city.
Favorite US city that is not Denver: My heart belongs to Denver but I also dig San Francisco and Austin.
The now-closed restaurant/bar/business in Denver that you miss the most: I miss Celebrity Sports Center on Colorado. It’s where the Home Depot and Whole Foods are now. That place ruled. They had a bowling alley, indoor pools with waterslides that twisted around the exterior of the building, HUGE arcade, skeeball, everything. My dad used to take me there to play hookie when I was a kid. I loved playing Ms. Pac-Man and watching him play pinball. They had awesome tacos too. I think I had every birthday party there as a kid until it closed up. That was a true Denver landmark.
Anything you want to plug? Late Night Denver, a late night variety show in the vein of Johnny Carson and Dick Cavett hosted and produced by John Rumley, Heather Dalton, Sherry Hern, Ian O’Dougherty and myself. Half-hour episodes go live on YouTube every other month…Episode #4 goes up this Saturday, July 7th at 7pm featuring Sid Pink, Andrew Novick, Michelle McManus and The Nuns of Brixton.
I also host Cruel Summer, a horror film series at Crash 45 the first Tuesday of every month at 9pm. I make movie-themed souvenirs for everyone to take home. I love sharing my favorite horror films with people.