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DENVER — In two days, masks will be required in Denver. They already are in several parts of the state, and yet, many people have reached out to Contact7 saying masks are hard to come by.
"Now, when I go out walking, I'm using my bandanna," said Joy Chichester, a Lakewood resident who says she worries that the "face mask police" may stop her. "I can't find them at Walmart, and I'm not the only one who's wondering where am I going to get a mask if they won't even let us in the store."
Meanwhile, Denver resident John Leitz is wearing his dog's old bandannas after shopping on Amazon for masks for more than a month with no success.
"I've made six orders of masks. I've ordered probably 210 different masks. Nothing has come through," said Leitz. "Amazon is selling stuff that they're not selling. They have taken my money, more than $200 of it, and yes, they're more than happy to give me a refund, but I need the masks."
Contact7 went to work to find local companies making, selling or giving away masks.
"We have over 140 variations of masks," said Dillon Dardano with Dardano's Shoes in Denver. "This is our warehouse. Typically, this is where we do our all internet sales and shoe repair."
In their Lakewood warehouse, shoe cobblers and salespeople have turned mask makers, selling hundreds online with free shipping or next-day curbside pickup at their store.
"If you ordered a mask today, you'd be able to pick them up at our store tomorrow," said Dardano. "For us, it's really meaningful to be able to create jobs but also to help to do our part with the capabilities we have to make these face coverings in the Denver Metro area."
Meanwhile, Denver7 also found some convenience stores selling masks, including a Conoco convenience store at 2100 South Monaco Pkwy in Denver, where a package of 6 disposable face masks costs $15. The distributor of the masks, J&K Distributors, serves convenience stores across the country.
