Hillary Schefter and Ben Todd own Full Afterburner Calzones and Rhapsody Karaoke & Chicken Wings, which are side-by-side on South Broadway. Despite the difficult conditions that business owners face in the area, the two have persevered.
Not only did they survive the pandemic, but they also weathered rent increases and the ever-changing landscape of Broadway. “Rents go up without regard to any market conditions,” Todd said.
Broadway has presented its own challenges due to its desirability to business owners, yet it consistently pushes out chains and mom-and-pop shops. The vacancies and short-lived leases make survival grim for hopeful entrepreneurs. Fortunately, the block has made it clear that it is resistant to anything that threatens its communal atmosphere.
“Turns out Chipotle can’t take up every single spot on Broadway,” Todd said. “As far as I have been alive, it’s been known as the local spot, and chains don’t do well here,” Schefter added.
Todd started the Danger Zone Calzone food truck in late 2018, following his engagement to Hillary Schefter. They got married just one month after starting their small business.
“We met, we got engaged and he wanted to quit his IT job,” Schefter said. “I said, ‘Stick it to the man!’ We truly have been business partners the whole time.”
Schefter and Todd began their conquest of Broadway in 2020, navigating the rough terrain of COVID-19 quarantine policies and expanding their partnership to brick and mortar. Todd was originally inspired by his grandfather’s fighter pilot background to infuse it into his love for authentically East Coast calzones.
“He gave me a little toy jet when I was five years old,” Todd said. “I never lost that jet. I realized everyone loves fighter jets. That’s why they have them at Broncos flyovers on opening day. Fighter jets are like a national anthem for the United States.”
Before opening Full Afterburner on Broadway, Danger Zone Calzones drew a large crowd of fighter pilots and Denver residents alike. Danger Zone would gain a lot of business from the downtown bar crowds as well as local residential areas on weekdays. Todd and Schefter made it a point to stay true to their passion for military aviation.
“We’d meet a specific fighter pilot and we’d say, ‘What do you fly?’ and we’d have them sign the ceiling,” Schefter said. “We had a lot of Air Force connections because of Buckley [Space Force Base].”
The couple decided to extend their success to a physical location in January 2021. “We were watching all the restaurant closings during the pandemic,” Schefter said. “We were actually the first restaurant to open in Denver in 2021.”Navigating their business’s inaugural year was tricky. “Bars were starting to reopen on Broadway, but they were only open until around 9 p.m.,” says Schefter. “We were the only ones open until 3 a.m. on the block, so your options were either us or going home.”
For three years, Todd and Schefter have continued to engrain themselves into the heartbeat of South Broadway. Michael, a one-year Full Afterburner employee who goes by KG, sympathizes with the local feel tied to South Broadway.
“There’s a lot of mom-and-pops [but] I don’t think there’s another Burner,” KG said. “It’s a lot of unique stuff. I enjoy Broadway. I live in the area, so it’s a nice area to be in.”
As spots come and go, vacancies shift erratically between hands. This created an opportunity for Rhapsody Karaoke & Chicken Wings. “We are sitting in a building now [referring to Rhapsody] that was a Giordano’s and it simply couldn’t compete with the local pizzerias,” Todd said.
Schefter and Todd were inspired to fill the void left by Armida’s Mexican Restaurant and Bar, a longtime karaoke destination. “It was a long, long run,” Schefter said. “They closed in the pandemic, because when you can’t go out and respirate—like singing—it was the first thing to go.”
The two began a sublease two doors over from Full Afterburner in December 2023. Much like the other first-year businesses on South Broadway, Rhapsody has had its fair share of obstacles.
“As an IT guy for 10 years, it is not an efficient process,” Todd says about the difficulty of acquiring a liquor license. “It cost us mid-five digits. Those are big numbers for two independent restaurant owners.”
Following intensive renovations and licensing complications, Rhapsody took off in February 2024. “We got our liquor license in February and then it was just off to the races,” Schefter said. “Then it’s St. Patrick’s Day, and then it’s springtime. It was just craziness.”
Regardless of their preeminent success, the volatility of Broadway foot traffic resulted in a significant drop after the active springtime.
“Then summer started to hit and then we noticed a downturn,” Schefter said. “We noticed it at Burner and we talked to other business owners as well, and they noticed that everything is just kind of down, by about 30%. This one [Rhapsody] has been more of a struggle. We’re trying to get the name out there and we’re trying to get known.”
Familiar to the rapid cycling of vacancies on the block, the couple has been proactively tuning the model and image that their new karaoke bar presents. “We’re pivoting our concept right now, due to the downturn. We just finished renovating a downstairs area; it seats about 30 people,” said Schefter. “It’s supposed to be a private karaoke rental space. You could watch games. It comes with a private bartender. You could have whatever you want down there.”
Schefter and Todd intend to change the Rhapsody image by hosting karaoke every Wednesday from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. on the main stage. Thursday through Saturday will be focused on bar service and possible DJ bookings. The new private party space, on the other hand, will offer karaoke and ready-to-book events seven days a week, as well as upper Mezzanine bookings for larger parties.
Even with the challenges posed by South Broadway, the couple has managed to keep two businesses running. “From a business standpoint, it’s been really nice,” Schefter said. “We’ve gotten a lot of support from the neighborhood—it’s really fun to be known about town.”
