AURORA, Colo. — Caroline Glover said in the eight years since she opened her restaurant, Annette, she's watched the city grow. Growth hasn't come without its challenges, like crime and hardships, but growth hasn't led to a Venezuelan gang takeover like some city leaders have alleged.
The local anti-migrant rhetoric has garnered national attention further perpetuated by former President Donald Trump.
"What the national platform is when talking about Aurora, it’s not, it’s not what’s happening here," Glover said.
Glover said she knew what people were saying about her city wasn't true, but she wished city leaders had done more to correct the misinformation.
"In my mind, the second I heard Aurora in the debate, I think the leaders should have spoken up immediately and said 'Hey, that’s not Aurora. That’s not us. This is a beautiful place. This is where people open businesses, raise families and I just, there was a silence across the board," Glover said.
Mayor Mike Coffman and city councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky released a joint statement the day after the debate, walking back claims they had made that supported the presence of a Venezuelan gang that goes by the name Tren de Aragua.
The statement read, in part, "TdA has not 'taken over' the city. The overstated claims fueled by social media and through select news organizations are simply not true. Again, TdA’s presence in Aurora is limited to specific properties, all of which the city has been addressing in various ways for months."
"When you are hired by the people of the city, it’s your job to speak highly of the place you’re representing," Glover said. "I think them speaking out in the last week or something like that was really great, but I think it should have happened sooner and I think it needs to continuously happen."
Recently, Trump promised he'd be making a trip to Aurora. Glover's unsure if he'll actually show, but if he does, she welcomes it.
"Come spend some money, Glover said. "Come spend some money on our local economy. I would love that. I think he would be very surprised that we’re not all sheltering in place and life is happening here."
She said her great-aunt, Netsie, inspired her to use her voice to speak up for the things she believes in. She said she's the name behind 'Annette.'
"I think it was more of the ethos behind Annette," Glover said. "Feeling like if you have something to say, say it and we do that with food and service."
Glover said there is a lot of good going on in Aurora, like the diverse food scene.
"I’ve doubled down on Aurora, we’ve opened a second spot here about 10 months ago in the same building," Glover shared. "We’re on the third floor. That speaks to how bullish I feel on Aurora. I think that it’s a great place to have a business. And we’ve been here almost eight years and we’ve seen a lot of positive changes in Aurora. It’s not like we came into an awful place at all."
She said she hopes the negative narrative being spread about Aurora doesn't eventually impact business, but she worries some are already being chased away.
"I do think that it has made some people who maybe had us on their list to come out, pause and take a step back and wonder if they should come out here," Glover said.
She said people should give Aurora a chance and know not everything coming out of the city is bad.
"Yes," Glover said. "Please come out here."