If you haven’t checked out Town Hall Collaborative, it is hard to explain how you are missing out. Town Hall Collaborative is a fusion shared workspace, coffee shop, bar, community center and event center. Founded by two best friends who saw the need to raise up women’s voices, they have done just that plus some. Located off Santa Fe near 5th Ave (525 Santa Fe
Denver, CO 80204), by day this huge venue serves as a productive community space, cafe, and rentable work offices. By night, all manner of amazing events, shows, artists, and expos fill their calendars.
An Interview With The Owners & Founders of Town Hall Collaborative
An Interview With The Owners & Founders of Town Hall CollaborativeI was able to squeeze into Town Hall Collaborative’s busy schedule to check in with the owners and founders: Denise Day and Lauren Beno. These two best friends set out to make a difference in the communities they love. In the year since they have opened, they have proven an ally to women, the queer community, and any ‘minority’ group that reaches out. We talk about how they feel about their accomplishments and what’s in store for 2024.
GayDenver: So, a year since you opened! How’s it gone?
Town Hall Collaborative: It’s been a whirlwind. It’s been bigger and better and more beautiful than we could have ever imagined. It’s been really incredible. The time seems to have flown by, but it also feels like we’ve been open for a decade or so. It has been a really, really amazing first year. We’re incredibly proud of ourselves and this space. We are blown away and humbled by the community and the way that everyone has shown up to support us.
GayDenver: You both set out to create a space that focused on supporting women and other marginalized communities. How has that focus been executed?
Town Hall Collaborative: That was and has been our focal point with Townhall. All the community events, private events, artists, vendors, and people we’ve hosted here, have all been centered around supporting and empowering women and other underrepresented communities. We’ve done a lot of events with the queer community. We’ve done a lot of events, like corporate events that are about empowering women. We’ve hosted a lot of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) events, like music events, dating game shows, and trivia…yeah, we have been able to stay true to our mission of supporting and empowering women and other underrepresented groups.
There are definitely communities that we want to work with more but haven’t had the chance to develop those relationships yet. For personal reasons, we want to bring in more communities. It’s very natural. It feels like for Denise and I to both be proactive in that and then reactive and what comes in because it’s just I think people feel so safe and welcomed and inspired here that they feel like Town Hall is a place where they can just be themselves. And so it’s almost like an energy that people are receiving of like, yeah, like they there’s a sense of safety and security and freedom and just being who you are that it feels very natural in what we offer here without having to try or force anything.
Well, I think one thing I’d add to that too is I think when you as a business are very intentional with your mission and if you are very forthcoming in that which we have been to your point since the beginning, and really ultimately since the conception of the idea of town hall. It’s incredible how people respond to that. And I think that’s what’s happened because we were and have been so upfront about who we are, what we we’re making space for that those are the exact communities that have approached us in the first year.
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GayDenver: Was there an Ah-Ha moment when you both started making strong moves to create Town Hall?
Town Hall Collaborative: Yes, there were many of those moments! Too many to count! Lauren and I have known each other for over a decade. We met through work and became fast, best friends. We very quickly started talking about what we wanted to do together. We were working from a place of wanting to direct our energy and time into something that felt like we were creating something meaningful, powerful, and needed. Our past was working in the corporate environment, working for a lot of male-dominated businesses. That really helped build our drive.
GayDenver: Is it just the two of you running Town Hall Collaborative?
Town Hall Collaborative: Yes, it’s the two of us! We have staff to help us run the bar and security but it’s just Lauren and me, running all the administrative functions. We are so grateful to our staff and the vendors that make our space so welcoming, we wouldn’t be able to do it without them.
GayDenver: Have you had to build buffers or structure to your friendship to handle the new pressures of entrepreneurship?
Town Hall Collaborative: Yes, we have to make sure to always add in very intentional elements. For instance tonight we have a date night. Otherwise, the friendship can take a backseat to the business. We were fortunate enough to meet each other in a professional setting, I feel like many people start businesses with their friends not realizing what they are like in a professional setting. Having that knowledge and respect for each other really helps to keep us in a healthy place. We make sure to always prioritize our friendship.
GayDenver: How do you enforce your Code of Conduct? Would you call your business a safe space?
Town Hall Collaborative: Safe space is a difficult term to use responsibly. We can’t control what happens 24/7. We’ve done everything we can to make Town Hall a space where people get to be themselves no matter what. From what our reviews, clients, and visitors say, we seem to be doing just that. I think there are so many people in Denver who have come to Town Hall and said to us, thank you for creating a space where I don’t have to worry about holding my girlfriend’s hand as a, you know, queer lesbian person, or I don’t have to worry about this creepy person all evening.
Denise and I take that very seriously. The elements that we can control, we are doing that meaning. We’re very intentional with who we hire. We’re very intentional with how we show up. We’re very intentional and listening. People coming to our space can see those intentions, even if something were to occur, that they would feel safe in the way that we would show up as a space to support them and take their claims seriously.
GayDenver: If you could put anything on a billboard what would it be?
Town Hall Collaborative: “The Future is Female”
GayDenver: Is there anything you would like to say to the readers?
Town Hall Collaborative: If you haven’t experienced Town Hall Collaborative yet, please come and check us out. If you have, thank you! I hope it was an experience that was memorable and impactful. We want all people to come here and feel welcomed. We want you to feel inspired while you’re here and maybe make a connection that you wouldn’t have made otherwise.
If you have thoughts, questions, or feedback please don’t hesitate to stop in or contact us through digital means. As we enter our second year, we want to keep our momentum moving forward, and we can only do that with authentic conversations.
Author: Jeff Wilson
Jeff is one of the owners of GayDenver and one of its writers. He is a Denver transplant who loves the city and the proximity of the mountains. He is happily married to his husband and loves hiking with his furbaby Thayella.