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Denver Inc.: Crocs OK, but lose socks, Mr. President

Published June 23, 2007 at midnight

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Celebrity chef Mario Batali was an early adopter and now has his own line. Actress Jennifer Garner bought 16 pairs when she was filming in Boulder. They've been spotted on the feet of such varied stage and screen stars as Jack Nicholson and Faith Hill.

But this is big: Crocs have made their way to the White House.

President Bush was photographed earlier this month wearing a black pair of the wildly successful resin shoes that got their start in Niwot.

According to The Washington Post, Crocs representatives said Bush came by his pair independently.

And never mind stem cells or Iraq. The real debate is socks with Crocs or not. In this, there are no winners. The aforementioned Batali wears his orange Caymans with yellow socks. The president? Bush went for the monochrome look, wearing short black bicycle socks - stamped, of course, with the Presidential seal.

Makes you wonder whether Queen Elizabeth left the colonies after her recent visit with a pair tucked in her purse.

Change in focus

Boulder's homegrown Wild Oats markets will give some people a taste of how the pending Whole Foods merger might affect them.

The market decided not to participate in next week's Bike to Work Day. The chain had offered several breakfast stations in Boulder for the annual event.

Sue Prant, who coordinates the bicycling event, said store managers at two locations - Broadway and Arapahoe Avenue and Broadway and Baseline Road - told her they couldn't commit because of the uncertainty over their stores' future, the Daily Camera reported.

The $670 million merger is on hold, pending a Federal Trade Commission hearing at the end of July.

Sonja Tuitele, a spokeswoman for Wild Oats, told the Camera the decision to not participate really didn't have to do with the Whole Foods' deal.

"It was because they were given the directive from a senior vice president that we need to focus more of our marketing efforts inside the store vs. doing community events," Tuitele told the Camera.

Go Irish lacrosse

Notre Dame has a big lacrosse fan in Colorado.

John Arlotta, the chairman and CEO of Denver-based Coram Inc., and his wife, Bobbie, recently gave the university a donation to build a new $5 million lacrosse stadium at the South Bend campus.

The facility will be named Arlotta Stadium. Notre Dame did not disclose the amount of the Arlottas' donation, but donors must give at least 50 percent of the project cost to become a lead donor.

Arlotta is a 1971 Notre Dame graduate who majored in marketing with a minor in transportation management. Bobbie Arlotta is a former high school lacrosse and field hockey player.

Privately held Coram is a provider of home infusion and specialty pharmacy services.

Assistant Business Editor Jane Hoback and Deputy Business Editor Gil Rudawsky write about local business news that doesn't necessarily end up in quarterly reports. They can be reached at