Voodoo Doughnut wants Denver's help bringing Pam Grier home. The velvet painting of the actress was stolen from the Voodoo Doughnut Mile High on Colfax Avenue.
"Please Denver, Please - Please you are our only hope," said co-founders Tres Shannon and Kenneth Pogson, somewhat jokingly in an interview with 9NEWS Thursday. Shannon and Pogson had the painting specifically made for the Denver location when the shop opened a few years ago.
"That's a typical Pam Grier image, but what made it individual is we made the old-fashioned [doughnut] her belt buckle. It had a doughnut belt buckle that's what made it pertinent to us," Pogson said.
The velvet paintings are a staple at the Voodoo Doughnut locations across the western United States.
"It's significant to our business because each business has one velvet painting that we try and ensconce there to represent the community and be part of the community," Pogson explained.
Shannon had already owned two velvet paintings that they hung in their first two locations in Portland and Eugene, Oregon. They later connected with an artist who specializes in black velvet paintings, Juanita, and had her paint more for their other locations.
"Then we kind of beefed up and really made a decision, especially as we left our market, that that is an iconic part of our business," Pogson said.
Pam Grier was chosen for Denver because the actress went to high school right down the street from the popular doughnut shop at East High School. Shannon and Pogson said they just want her returned - no questions asked.
Grier is known for her roles in movies like "Jackie Brown" and "Escape from L.A."
"If it was just a silly drunken night, silly or whatever - we're cool, but we'll be much cooler if it comes back," Pogson said. "We don't want it hidden, we don't want it buried in someone's apartment closet or whatever. It deserves to be displayed in the form that it is."
Voodoo Doughnut does have surveillance video. Shannon and Pogson gave it to police, but don't want to release it publicly. They are hoping the person who took the painting will just return it.