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After not quite a year and a half in business, Boulder’s Emmerson called it quits last week. The neo-bistro, which debuted with a team of bicoastal restaurant pros and all-day service, was one of 5280’s best new restaurants last March, and was awarded 2.5 stars by our critic, Scott Mowbray, a year ago. Owner Ben Kaplan attributes the restaurant’s failure, in part, to a lack of foot traffic on Pearl Street’s east end. “If you take a drive down the east end of Pearl Street, there are a lot of struggles. Right across the street, Ají and Leaf are both gone.”
Kaplan also cites Emmerson’s “heady” food and beverage concept as a contributing factor. “We had been pigeonholed as a geeky, high-concept place. Critics loved us. All of the people who were food geeks loved us. There just wasn’t enough of them.” He considered starting a new project in the 5,000-square-foot space, but the landlord has since seized the property. Kaplan told 5280 that he is planning on taking a break from the hospitality industry.
About Denver’s Newest Food Hall…
In lighter news, Broadway Market has announced a February 15 opening date and added new tenants to its roster. When it debuts, the Capitol Hill food hall will be home to Maria Empanada’s fifth location. “We were not planning on opening up another location in a food hall,” says founder Lorena Cantarovici, “but when I heard that Daniel Asher, Biju [Thomas], Nick [Farrell] from Mondo [Market], Gonzalo [Jimenez] from Miette [et Chocolat], and the Coperta people were going to be involved, I had to be a part of it.”
Broadway Market has revealed two more new tenants as well: Little Noodle Pasta Co. and Wonder. The former, which already has a mini outlet in the Stanley Marketplace location of Mondo Market and a location in Philadelphia, will serve its signature fresh-extruded pastas for take-home cooking, as well as made-to-order dishes such as fried chicken. Meanwhile, Wonder, which got its start on Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall in 2015, will provide market goers with glass-bottled fresh-pressed juices, coffee, and health-oriented grab-and-go foods.
Broadway Market’s lineup also includes Pizzeria Coperta, Mother Tongue, Biju’s Little Curry Shop, Mondo Mini, Misaki on Broadway, Miette et Chocolat, and Velvet Wolf x Iron Wolf boutique. Expect more tenants to be announced in the coming weeks.
