Small business gives space for fire victims to be neighbors again

By Olivia Young

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    BOULDER, Colorado (KCNC) — A small business in Boulder is giving back to Marshall Fire victims by proividing a place for them to be neighbors again.

Sanitas Brewing in Boulder has hosted 11 different neighborhoods, once a month, for neighborhood meetings, providing free beer, tacos and a place to connect.

Sunday night was the last neighborhood dinner held at Sanitas — a culmination where all the neighborhoods were invited.

Two friends there who were next door neighbors in Louisville lose their homes, but their sense of community is still strong.

Mary Barry and Karen McCrudden were once next door neighbors, living on Turnberry circle in Louisville.

“Well I miss — we would just walk out and get the mail — I really miss that just chit chat,” Barry said.

The night of the fire, they checked in on each other before evacuating

The next day, the women learned that all but three homes in their neighborhood were lost.

“Everything really is gone,” said McCrudden. “It was very surreal. Almost like a nightmare.”

Nine months later, both women are living elsewhere in Louisville.

“You feel really disconnected. Like you lost everything, but you also lost your community,” McCrudden said.

Sunday, the pair stopped by Sanitas Brewing hoping to regain that sense of community.

“We just give them the space and then we get out of the way,” said Michael Memsic, co-founder of Sanitas Brewing.

Memsic has been hosting monthly dinners for neighborhoods affected by the fire since February

“We’re gonna feed ’em, we’re gonna give ’em beer and we’re gonna let them be neighbors,” he said.

Barry and McCrudden shared a beer as they waited for their old neighbors.

McCrudden is planning to rebuild her Turnberry Circle home.

“We’re marching along, thinking we’re gonna be able to build,” she said. “So that’s what we’re hoping for.”

But next door, Barry won’t be returning.

“I cannot rebuild. I don’t have enough money,” she said. “I have lived in Louisville for like, 45 years. My intention is to keep living there.”

While no longer neighbors, the two women are still bound by community and a journey to heal.

“There’s good days and bad days,” McCrudden said. “Some days I just cry, but I’m not crying as much as I used to.”

The women said they expect the upcoming holidays to be a difficult time, but they know their friendship and connection to the community will stay strong as we approach the one-year anniversary of the fire.

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