Goodwill Industries of Denver is spreading some good will in the metro area by leasing a 95,000- square-foot building in Englewood that will create roughly 100 jobs.
The building at 3155 S. Platte River Drive, formerly occupied by Kacey Fine Furniture corporate offices and a warehouse, will house a Goodwill warehouse space for sorting, distributing and storing donated goods; an e-commerce operation to sell used books in a joint venture with ; and an outlet store where goods are sold by the pound.
The warehouse will open first, followed by the e-commerce operation in the fall and the outlet store toward the end of the year. Job openings will include material handlers, baler operators, fork-lift drivers, cashiers and management. Information: .
The outlet store — the third in the metro area — sells goods by the pound after they haven’t sold for four weeks at one of the Front Range’s 22 Goodwill stores.
“The outlet store is our effort to get the most we can out of every donation possible and to keep as much product as we can out of landfills,” said Vanessa Clark, Goodwill spokeswoman.
Change of Taste.
For the first time since the event started in 1988, Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation — one of the year’s biggest foodie fests — will take place June 9, a Thursday, instead of a Sunday.
Why? Mile High Station, the 2027 W. Colfax Ave. venue, didn’t have any Sundays open in June.
New to this year’s tastebuds trip where more than 30 top restaurants offer snacks with sips from local brewers and vineyards is a VIP entry from 5:30 to 7 p.m., and a local marketplace from Whole Foods Market.
Tickets for the fundraiser that supports the effort to end childhood hunger are $75 general admission (from 7 to 9:30 p.m.); $150 for VIP at 1-877-26-TASTE or .
Porch party.
Southwest Airlines is getting geared up to show Denver some love with the opening of the Southwest Porch at Skyline Park (next to the D&F Clocktower) from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday.
Food and drinks will be served at the free event, and local band Air Dubai (where Southwest doesn’t fly … yet) will entertain.
The airline will also be giving away a pair of roundtrip tickets twice during the evening through a random drawing.
“The party is to celebrate the warmer weather and welcome people back to the Porch as we gear up for a summer full of activity,” said Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz.
Gender bender.
Jace Ratzlaff, public-affairs specialist for Pike and San Isabel National Forests, Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands (breathe), was finally fed up with media members who kept mistaking him for a her.
“I noticed that many of you have referenced me as the ‘spokeswoman’ in some of your posts,” Ratzlaff wrote in an e-mail statement to media contacts. “No hard feelings, I know my name is kind of in the ‘Kelly and Casey’ range, but wow, you should hear the ribbing I get from folks. So just a heads up that I’m for sure a ‘spokesman.’ “
EAVESDROPPING
A woman coming in from the rain Wednesday:
“It rained so hard, it almost washed away my eyebrows.”
Penny Parker’s column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Hear her on “Caplis & Silverman” between 4 and 5 p.m. Fridays on KHOW-630 AM. Call her at 303-954-5224 or e-mail pparker@denverpost.com.
