Mustard's Last Stand (seen in the photo on the left) has been a fixture in the University of Denver neighborhood since 1978. It was started by a native Chicagoan who wanted to serve the large community of Chicago area transplants who couldn't find Chicago-style hot dogs in Colorado. He opened stands in both Boulder, by the University of Colorado, and near DU, and has been going strong ever since. And being a true Chicagoan, during baseball season, he shows Cubs games on TV to entertain his fellow ex-pats. No doubt he is one of those damn North Siders.
Back when I worked at the University of Denver Bookstore as the Finance Manager, I used to have a friendly bet going with Larry, one of the store's Operations Coordinators, and seen in the photo on the right. He grew up in Streator, Illinois and was a died in the wool Cubs fan. Since I am originally from the South Side of Chicago and a White Sox fan, we would bet on which team would have the better record at the end of the season, the loser buying lunch at Mustard's. Each year the Cubs would outperform the White Sox, and each year I would buy lunch for Larry. Finally, at last, the White Sox had a better season than the Cubs. However, Larry retired that same year, left the bookstore before the end of the season, and I never did get my free lunch. He told me he was retiring because his father died young, and he wanted to make sure he would actually have a retirement, just in case he died early, too. Sadly, he did pass away, at the age of 68, and so it was wise of him to leave when he did, and have at least a few years to enjoy the good life. A lesson for us all.
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