Colorado’s new Lookout Mountain Park store opens after extensive renovations |
| By Megan Smalley |
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Pahaska Provisions, operated by ExplorUS, is located next to the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave in Golden, Colorado. Business is back in the Pahaska Tepee next to the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave at Lookout Mountain Park in Golden, Colorado. In late June, a new souvenir store named Pahaska Provisions opened inside the historic building. The new store features regional goods, park souvenirs, books, indigenous art, grab-and-go snacks, refreshments and more. Originally constructed in 1921 as part of the museum and visitor experience on Lookout Mountain, the Pahaska building, owned by Denver Parks and Recreation, has long served as a place where visitors explore the history, landscapes and evolving stories of the American West. A family-run business most recently operated the gift shop but closed when its contract with Denver Parks and Recreation expired at the end of 2024.  Pahaska Provisions carries playful Western kids' styles as well as T-shirts for park visitors. Denver Parks and Recreation Denver Parks and Recreation temporarily closed the building for restoration work. Now, with some of that work done, the department has awarded a new retail contract to Overland Park, Kansas-based ExplorUS to run the new Pahaska Provisions gift shop. Shannon Dennison, director of mountain parks for the city of Denver, says the building itself will offer a mix of retail as well as space for programming such as book signings and meetings. She adds that the city is also continuing to work on repairs to the historic building. “Fully repairing this building requires a lot of planning. We’ve done some work on the septic system, and we’ve refinished the floors,” she explains. “We are in the process of remodeling the kitchen as well, and we’ve done some general maintenance like staining and carpentry repairs.”Dennison notes that having Pahaska Provisions open for this summer was important to the city and the museum next door. Denver Parks and Recreations reports that Lookout Mountain Park, home to the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave, is visited by more than 500,000 people per year and holds historical significance with its views and surrounding landscapes. “People come from all over to Lookout Mountain Park and the museum,” she says. “We have high international visitation and some visitation from out of state, and then locals. We get a good mix of local and tourist visitation. We wanted this store to reopen for the busy season, and summer is busy for the museum.” The new Pahaska Provisions store has ties to both the Buffalo Bill museum and the park itself. Native American gifts and food are also a big focus for this store. “We’re prioritizing mission-based goods—things that reflect the values of the park system and things that relate to Buffalo Bill’s wild west and history,” says Dennison. “The store has books by native authors, both historical and contemporary, and T-shirts that reflect Buffalo Bill’s wild west. Stuffed animals reflect the native fauna. Everything in here is intended to better connect people to our specific site.” She adds that ExplorUS was also a great fit to run the store because of the company’s experience with both park retail and providing authentic Native American merchandise. “We were excited about their authenticity in sourcing Native American goods and foods. They have demonstrated this at other sites before,” she says. Pahaska Provisions had a soft opening in early June, and Dennison says food and beverage is also expected to open in the historic building later this year. “People are excited for this store to be reopened and what’s in sale in there,” she says. “I’ve had positive feedback so far about the types of merchandise and the space to walk around in there and how closely related our merchandise is to the park story.” |
