Dane Burneson, the Colorado native who built Aksels into a brand synonymous with the state flag, is opening a new apparel store at Denver Union Station. The move marks a return to retail for Burneson, who founded the company in 2007 and sold it in 2023, and who says he simply cannot sit still.
According to BusinessDen, Burneson plans to open the new shop with fresh apparel offerings inside the historic downtown transit hub. Burneson told the outlet he realized he could not slow down and needs to keep working, winning and producing. He also said it was not mentally healthy for him to stop working, a sentiment that colors his decision to jump back into brick-and-mortar retail after stepping away from day-to-day operations.
Burneson founded Aksels in 2007, building the company around its now-signature Colorado flag designs before selling it to Lakeshirts in May 2023, according to aksels.com. He ended his consulting contract with Aksels in 2025, per the same reporting, before deciding to launch this new venture at Union Station.
A Brand Built on the Colorado Flag
Aksels has made its name selling hats, novelty socks and apparel, much of it wrapped in the green, white, red, blue and yellow of the Colorado flag. The company sells more than 100 riffs on the flag across its product line, BusinessDen's earlier reporting on the brand notes. Burneson, who grew up in Aurora and now lives in Denver with his wife, Lauren, has also said he wants to push Aksels beyond its Colorado-only identity even as the flag imagery remains central to the brand, the outlet reported.
The company's existing retail footprint includes a store attached to its warehouse at 1339 W. Cedar Ave., per that same BusinessDen account. A Union Station location would put Aksels-style merchandise at the downtown transit hub, joining what Denver Union Station describes as a mix of independent boutiques and specialty retailers offering local products made in Colorado.
Betting on a Downtown Comeback
Burneson's bet on Union Station comes as he voices confidence in Denver's broader trajectory, saying the city will rebound because it is too cool a town not to, according to BusinessDen's reporting.
Burneson isn't the only entrepreneur betting on Denver's core retail corridors right now. Brothers Zaki and Elias Hamid, who have been building their own clothing brand since 2024, recently opened a shop along the 16th Street Mall, the Denver Post reported. Their addition, alongside Burneson's planned Union Station storefront, suggests a renewed appetite among local apparel makers for physical retail space in downtown Denver even as the broader recovery picture remains uneven.
For Burneson, the new shop appears to be as much about personal momentum as market timing. Having spent about 16 years building Aksels from scratch before handing it off, he's framed the return to retail in blunt terms: he can't slow down, and he needs to keep working, winning and producing.
