It's only fitting that Tesoros is in a building steeped with history of its own. It's located in the town of Indian Hills, Colorado, only minutes southwest of the Denver area. Indian Hills was once the summer campground of the Ute Indians. Ranching, farming, and lumbering were the sources of livelihood in the late 1800s. When the land began to be developed in the early 1900s, however, it became a mountain-getaway for the affluent. On May 12, 1927, the Jefferson County Republican wrote, "Denverites are taking to the Hills," and described a place "now called Indian Hills where the more exclusive maintain a settlement of mountain homes."*

   In the early 1920s, a building was constructed near the entrance of Indian Hills named HoChaNeeStea, or Chief's Inn. In addition to being the sales office for Indian Hills, it was also a tearoom and soda fountain. It was the first stopping place for buses or cars bringing sightseers and prospective buyers to Indian Hills. In the 1930s it became the 'Trading Post' - Indian Hills grocery store. Over the years, the 'Trading Post' has been a wide array of businesses - all leaving their own impression on this unique log building.

To this day, when you walk into Tesoros, you will have the sense you are walking into a significant piece of Colorado history.

*Courtesy of Indian Hills: The Place, The Times, The People, Helen N. Brush and Catherine P. Dittman, 1976.

Tesoros Building, 2002