Heads tilted up to the TVs, the crowd inside the jam-packed Stanley Beer Hall erupted in cheering and clapping, uniting a room full of strangers with a joint sense of celebration.
No, this wasn’t for the World Cup final on Sunday. This was for “The Bachelorette” on Monday.
Stanley Marketplace hosted a viewing party for the ABC hit Monday night after it was revealed via the show’s social media that one of Becca Kufrin’s hometown dates would stop at the market hall. Two Colorado men made it to the show’s final four, so that meant a whole lot of Rocky Mountain screen time during Monday’s episode.
That also meant a great excuse to throw a party.
It all started when Stanley got a call from a production team in Los Angeles about possibly filming there, chief storyteller Bryant Palmer said. When he learned it was “The Bachelorette,” the excitement grew and the team made it happen.
Crews filmed on a busy spring Saturday, yet the date was able to stay under wraps for months.
Nile Otte, manager of the Little Wolf store featured in the episode, was working during the filming
“I was taken back because there were all these cameras, all these people. They have a big crew. It’s not just two people and a few cameras. There were like six cameras, producers,” she said.
She herself didn’t know much about the show before, but she is now invested in the season. ”They took my picture and said ‘Welcome to The Bachelorette.’ It was so cool because those were words I never thought I’d hear in my life.”
It wasn’t all fun — Otte also had a big secret to keep for months even though she was bursting at the seams that she could be on TV.
“It was really exciting to be selected and featured because it’s national TV, everyone is going to see it. We’re really lucky to have this opportunity,” Otte said while catching a quick breeze outside the buzzing Beer Hall. “It’s just great to see people supporting local businesses, and we hope we can see more of that.”
Stanley couldn’t say much leading up to Monday, but when the show spilled the beans, it was time to plan a party
“We like bringing people together and we are tickled silly we are going to be on television,” Palmer said as the room filled and guests were served rosé and roses.
One group of friends moved the viewing party from the living room to the Beer Hall for the occasion, and was all in on “Team Blecca” (Blake + Becca).
“I’ve lived here in Aurora like, my entire life,” group wrangler Alisha Harper said. “And to have friends that I can go to these things with here now, it’s awesome.”
“We just hope one of our locals will win,” Annie Lumlerst added,”or become The Bachelor.”
Fans watched alongside the local Stanley business owners and regulars, filling the room with hot takes on the hot summer night.
“It honestly feels like a dream come true,” Bryant added. “Not that we’re on TV, that people think of this place as the kind of place that showcases Colorado. That’s what we set out to be when we first conceived this idea, so seeing people from another part of the country come here and identify us as ‘This is what Colorado is,’ it’s amazing.”
Guest chattered through the first two dates — tomatoes and tractors followed by hot wings and hockey. Then it was time for the main attraction.
First up was Blake Horstmann of Bailey, who took Kufrin to his high school, Platte Canyon High School, for his hometown date. On the date they roamed the halls, looked at embarrassing old photos and met former coaches.
Then things took a serious turn when he shared an experience that “changed his life forever.”
He was in the school in 2006 when a man entered the school, took six hostages, and eventually the life of 16-year-old classmate Emily Keyes.
The date re-surfaced the Colorado tragedy on a national scale, and showed the school still features the words “Bailey Strong” on its walls. The couple then walked into the school gym and a Betty Who concert to change the tone and wrap the night.
After visiting the school and meeting Horstmann’s family, it was time for the second Colorado date with former NFL tight end Colton Underwood.
The pair met in front of Stanley Marketplace and stopped inside Little Wolf to pick up some things before heading to Children’s Hospital Colorado, and, of course, to try on some cool unicorn horns — the same horns that were seen around the Beer Hall on Monday night.
The market hall was on screen for all of two minutes before the story jumped to the main part of the date: shooting hoops and painting with children at the hospital. Then after the word “virgin” was said roughly 100 times (Hey, did you know Underwood is a virgin?), Colorado’s screen time was over and it was back to La La Land.
That’s where the tides turned for Underwood, who was a front-runner all season long. An ex, who just so happens to be Kufrin’s friend, admitted she still had feelings for him (to a chorus of “boos” from the Stanley crowd) and, in the end, Underwood was sent packing.
One Colorado man (there were three this season — if you count the chicken) is still in the running to propose to someone he has known for a few weeks on national television. You can catch Horstmann on “The Bachelorette” Monday nights on ABC.
And viewers can keep up with the Colton/Tia drama when “Bachelor in Paradise” returns when this season wraps.
