CASE STUDY • Projects • Content Writing • Brand Voice

The Edible Beat Zine Vol. 1

Edible Beats is a family of Denver restaurants known for innovative, veggie-forward fare and storied (often cheeky) environments. Collectively, the restaurants spell LOVER and embrace an offbeat approach that yields steady buzz and devoted customers.

In 2018, I was invited to pitch ideas for the inaugural zine (cookbook) by Edible Beats founder and chef Justin Cucci. The project was decidedly irreverent and ripe for literary play. I got to work immediately.

ROLE
Lead Writer • Content Editor

CLIENT
Edible Beats

PROJECT
Edible Beats Zine (Cookbook) Vol. 1

DESIGN
Consume & Create

COMPLETED
2018

Edible Beats restaurants represented as a plant-based solar system

Image: The Edible Beat Vol. 1 Zine cover, designed by Consume & Create

CHALLENGE // FIVE RESTAURANTS

The concept included a ‘lens feature’ for each restaurant to honor the buildings’ history or location.

  • Linger // formerly a mortuary

  • Ophelia’s // formerly a sex shop

  • Vital Root // formerly a candy factory

  • El Five // formerly a parking lot

  • Root Down // formerly a gas station

OPPORTUNITY // TWO LENS FEATURES

I was focused on Linger and Ophelia’s, with themes of death and sex, respectively.

DIRECTION // TONE

  • Surprising

  • Provocative

  • Playful

  • Irreverent

  • Intelligent

  • Self-deprecating

  • Mischievous

DIRECTION // VOICE

Soulful, empathetic, and deeply human

APPROACH //

Ophelia’s

What was it like to grow up with a sex shop as the family business?

  • Put the play in sex play • Sploshing and other food-based fetishes • Sex healers, surrogates, and professional cuddlers • History of the building • Interview with a professional dominatrix

  • I conducted initial research on all of the ideas and found the building’s history most compelling.

    From 1989 to 2011, the Airedale Building, now home to Ophelia’s, housed Diamond Lil’s sex shop and peep show, owned by serial entrepreneur Art Greer. The business was linked to:

    • The censorship, criminalization, and legalization of porn in Colorado

    • “Urban renewal” and demolition in downtown Denver

    • The designation and protection of historical buildings

    • The construction of Denver’s Major League Baseball Stadium

    • The rise of internet porn

  • If these walls could talk …
    The story of Diamond Lil’s

  • The setting: Dinner at Ophelia’s on a busy weekday night

    Guests of honor: Justin Cucci and the six (adult) children of Art Greer

LENS FEATURE //

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APPROACH //

Linger

Rethinking death with sustainable alternatives to traditional burial practices

  • Rethinking traditional burial practices • Interview with a female mortician • Interesting jobs in the death industry • Post-mortem pranks • Sustainable death practices • The digital afterlife • Tips from a cleaner • Death as industry • Burial practices around the world • Insights from Olinger, Denver’s largest mortuary

  • Death Lingers
    Sustainable burial practices

  • I discovered a wealth of resources on funeral reform, starting with the work of mortician and writer Caitlin Doughty. Key points:

    • Mainstream burial and cremation practices are highly toxic to the environment.

    • Sustainable alternatives exist.

    • Availability varies by location.

    • If you prefer a sustainable option, document your wishes now.

LENS FEATURE //

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IMPACT // CONTRIBUTIONS

  • After writing the lens features for Ophelia’s and Linger, I worked closely with Justin and team to write and edit the remaining zine content.

  • While I came in as a ghostwriter, I was credited as a lead writer when the zine was published—a distinction I hadn’t anticipated.

  • After publication, I helped Edible Beats update all restaurant descriptions to mirror the tone of the book.

Screenshot of the Vital Roots description on the Edible Beats website

Image: Vital Roots description on the Edible Beats website

IMPACT // SALES

Edible Beats Zine Vol. 1 was released in 2018 and has sold more than 10,000 copies to date.

COLLABORATORS //

Publisher / Editor-in-Chief: Justin Cucci

Creative Director: Megan Baldwin

Design: Consume & Create

Managing Editor: Jackie Alvarez

Food Director: Justin Cucci

Food Editor: Jeremy Kittelson

Contributing Chefs: Talia Diele, Lauren Seibert

Lead Writers: Justin Cucci, Trystin Sova

Contributing Writers: Jackie Alvarez, Samantha Alvin, Dalia Singer, Madeleine Zinn

Food Photography: Lucy Beaugard

Contributing Photographer: Shawn Campbell

Illustrators: Dylan Fowler, Charlie Mann

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