Your Family’s Field Guide to Stanley Marketplace
Stanley Marketplace · Family Guide
Once a factory where Stanley Aviation built airplane ejector seats, Stanley Marketplace is now a 140,000-square-foot playground for the whole family, with 50+ independently owned Colorado businesses under one roof, plus an inclusive playground just steps outside the door.
Got a toddler who needs to burn off energy, a tween who wants to 3D-print something, or a teenager who collects sports cards? There's a version of Stanley that works for your crew. Here are three ready-to-go itineraries, plus the recurring events and practical details that make planning easy.
Before You Go: The Basics
The Half-Day Family Outing
Best for a weekday morning with kids of all ages.
- 1Fuel up
Start with biscuits at Denver Biscuit Company or bagels at Rosenberg's Bagels & Delicatessen.
- 2Toy hunting (or make a plan)
Mindcraft is part maker space, part toy store. Pop in to browse the latest toy drops, or ask about their year-round workshops and summer and winter camps.
- 3Read a story
Head to Tattered Cover Kids for their Story Time corner. Colorado's largest independent bookstore has a dedicated kids' storytime nook alongside shelves of books for every age.
- 4Get the wiggles out
Bounce Gymnastics hosts Open Gym on weekday mornings for kids 6 months to 6 years, with a parent or guardian alongside them. Pre-registration online is required. They also offer a full range of classes if Open Gym doesn't fit your schedule.
- 5Play outside
Walk a few steps over to LuBird's Light Playground, a free, 9,000-square-foot inclusive playground with wheelchair-accessible surfacing, adaptive swings, and sensory play panels, built so kids of every ability can play side by side.
- 6Sweet finish
Sweet Cow scoops up small-batch flavors that'll have the whole crew arguing over who gets the last bite, the perfect victory lap before you head home.
Rainy (or Snowy) Day Indoor Adventure
Best for when the Colorado weather isn't cooperating and you need everything under one roof.
- 1Kick-start with coffee
Grab a coffee (or hot chocolate for the kids) and a fresh-baked pastry at Logan House before you get going.
- 2Get creative with clay
Friend Assembly's studio is open Tuesday through Sunday for wheel-throwing and hand-building at any skill level; check their calendar for workshops like a seasonal Jack-o-Lantern Mug Workshop.
- 3Lunch break
Rolling Smoke BBQ's whole smoker features a little of everything on the menu, perfect for a group to share and indulge before taking on the rest of the day. Or if it's after 3 p.m., head to Famous Original J's Pizza for a quick slice.
- 4Sip something fun
Bad Peach's customizable Taiwanese-style teas are made with real fruit purees, real milk, and real cane sugar, plus add-ins like homemade crystal boba, aiyu jelly, or grass jelly. They're a hit with kids and adults alike. As their slogan goes: bad never tasted so good.
- 5Game on
Head to Local Drive for simulator golf and other games for all skill levels (or no skills at all), plus arcade games and a pool table.
- 6Dinner as a group
All the tables in the common areas of Stanley Marketplace have a QR code, where you can order from any of our restaurants and pick it up once it's ready. Zero hangry meltdowns, everybody eats exactly what they're craving.
Creative Kids' Afternoon
For the family that likes to get creative together.
- 1Make something
Friends of Friends is an art cafe with a literal menu of ways to get crafty together: magic wands, painted pottery, paper mache, watercolor painting, and more, with all supplies included.
- 2Peruse for a keepsake
Stop into Poppy & Pine to check out the latest Jellycat drop, Wax Trax to pick out a record the whole family will actually want to listen to at home, or stop by the 2nd floor photo booth.
- 3Sweet break
Miette is famous for its macarons and chocolate chip cookie, worth the stop on its own.
- 4Browse and trade
Replay Sports Cards buys, sells, and trades cards across sports and pop culture, a great stop for young collectors to browse the cases or trade with the staff.
- 5Need a quiet minute?
If anyone in the crew needs to decompress, tuck into the reading nook under the stairwell between Molino Chido and Sweet Cow, a quiet little hideaway to browse a few pages of a book.
- 6Cook something together
Create Kitchen runs cooking classes with special family nights. Travel the world and learn to make favorites like pad thai, churrasco a la parrilla, or ramen. Check their calendar to see what your family can create.
Recurring Events Worth Building a Trip Around
Stanley's calendar changes often, so it's worth checking stanleymarketplace.com/events before you go, but these are the kinds of family-friendly happenings that show up regularly.
- First Fridays Creator Market — monthly evenings of local art, music, and community
- Tattered Cover Story Time — every Wednesday at 11 a.m. and Sunday at noon
- Kids Eat Free Tuesdays at Stanley Beer Hall — with an adult purchase
- Mindcraft's First Friday Movie Night — pizza, a rotating selection of movies, and a 3D pen craft for kids, while parents wander the Creator Market next door
- Monthly Trade Night at Replay Sports Cards — card swapping, food, and prizes
- Neighborhood Music Jazz Jam — open jam session, second Sunday of the month
- Seasonal workshops at Friend Assembly and Friends of Friends — pottery, candle-pouring, craft nights, and more
A Note on LuBird's Light Playground
Just outside the marketplace on the west side of the building, accessible from the west entrance, LuBird's Light Playground deserves its own mention. Built by the LuBird's Light Foundation in partnership with the Home Depot Foundation, it's one of the region's few fully inclusive playgrounds, designed so kids with mobility, sensory, or other differences can play right alongside their siblings and friends. It's free, outdoors, and a natural bookend to any trip to Stanley.
