The monumental, high-ceilinged, grafittied and weathered red brick building, located at 3350 Brighton Boulevard, which used to house Bud's Warehouse, is the brainchild of urban developer Kyle Zeppelin, who was instrumental in establishing the mixed use restaurant, residential and creative commercial workspace Taxi project, also in RiNo. And for the past several months, he's jetted across the world, to London and France, San Francisco and Seattle, Wisconsin and Napa, to garner inspiration for what will be the city's first European-style indoor market, complete with a restaurant, wine bar, brewery and beer garden.
Nine months ago, when Zeppelin first embarked on the project, Infinite Monkey Theorem, the urban winery that Ben Parsons planted in the Santa Fe Arts District in 2010, was slated to be one of the most visible anchors of the space, but because Parsons required more square footage for production, the idea was scrapped. (Parsons, meanwhile, is relocating his winery to the Ballpark District.) "The original idea was to bring Ben in here, but we cycled through that because he wants to do something more production-oriented, and where we've ended up is more restaurant- and food-centric," explains Zeppelin.The soaring quarters, which boast 60-foot-high peaked ceilings, will feature garage doors that open to landscape, common areas and polycarb windows to allow the sunlight to shine down on the vendors below.
And, who exactly, has Zeppelin brought on board? Leases are still being negotiated, but Zeppelin confirms that Crooked Stave, one of the state's best craft beer producers, will relocate from its facility in Fort Collins to the Source, where owner/brewer Chad Yakoboson will build his new 5,000 square-foot brewery and tasting room. "We had a lot of breweries that approached us," admits Zeppelin, "but the difference between Chad and everyone else is that he's not just a guy who made beer in his basement, He's a sommelier, teaches beer-making classes at CSU and has a ton of credibility and a huge following among beer geeks and in chef circles."
In addition to the brewery, the Source will trumpet a 3,000 square-foot "beer-centric, refined dining" restaurant that, reveals Zeppelin, will be along the lines of Oak at Fourteenth in Boulder and The Kitchen, in both Boulder and Denver. The cuisine, he adds, is "modern American" and the restaurant will feature a wood-fired oven.
To complement that and the brewery and tasting room, Zeppelin says the space will also lay claim to an "atrium-style, chef-operated, food-focused beer garden that opens to native grass and landscape with community-style and outdoor seating," in addition to a three- to four-sided bar. This, he adds, "is the more casual counterpoint to the restaurant." He notes, too, that it'll have a full kitchen.
And that's just the beginning: The community-focused space will likely also lay claim to a meat market and butcher counter; a florist who does only wrapped flowers; a coffee house that also roasts its own coffee (Boxcar?); a cheese and cured meat specialty shop; a retail wine shop and wine bar; a local honey producer; and a communal drink counter, which will allow shoppers to walk around with a beer or glass of wine. "The whole building will be approved for a liquor license," says Zeppelin, adding, too, that the mezzanine level will also ballyhoo a demo kitchen for guest chefs, as well as a commissary kitchen and additional common area seating.
The project, says Zeppelin, is a culmination of "artisans and chefs whose products we like -- stuff that makes sense to us -- and everyone who will be here is independent, local and committed to getting back to the traditional method of doing things the right way."
And he's insistent that the Source, which will be open daily, will provide Denver, and most notably the RiNo neighborhood, with a community of vendors that will give the city what it's long been asking for: an indoor market that mirrors the Ferry building in San Francisco, Melrose Market in Seattle and Milwaukee Public Market. "RiNo is the last frontier of Denver, and we're trying to serve an underserved niche," he says. "We believe in this neighborhood, it's a great growth opportunity, and with this project, we're creating a community for everyone, while ensuring that all of the businesses here complement -- rather than overlap -- with each other. We can't wait to see it come to fruition."
Neither can we.
