It's Official: Broadway Market Won't Make a Comeback

"I just wish COVID never happened and we could be doing our thing there," says Jesus Silva, who runs the food concepts at developer Mark Shaker's food halls, which include Stanley Marketplace, the Golden Mill and the now officially, permanently closed Broadway Market at 950 Broadway.

That space, along with the Lake View Room that overlooks Lake Rhoda near Lakeside Amusement Park, will be taken over by Non Plus Ultra. The San Francisco-based property management company brings events to empty buildings — it's behind the "Art of Banksy" exhibit that opens April 14 at the Sports Castle and the now-closed Museum for Black Girls on the 16th Street Mall, among others.

While there's no word yet on what kind of events may be coming to the Broadway Market space, Silva is disappointed that the food hall wasn't able to make a comeback following its closure in October 2020 for what was then called a "winter hibernation." The previous summer, sales were increasing every day, he says: "Everything was perfect and amazing, and then COVID."

Originally, the plan was the reopen the Broadway Market food hall on September 1, 2021, but Shaker ultimately opted to let the space go.

Silva has been keeping busy, though. On April 4, the Golden Mill hosted a fundraiser for Ukraine that drew a big crowd, ultimately raising around $21,000 for World Central Kitchen. He also recently added an empanada concept, Crescent Moon, to his lineup at Milepost Zero, the food hall at McGregor Square near Coors Field. On April 7 — just in time for Rockies opening day on April 7 — he'll debut a sushi bar there, next to his ramen concept, which will be renamed Tora Sushi & Ramen.

Shaker has another food hall set to open this year at the former Westminster Mall site, and Silva is on board to do the food there as well. "Construction will be starting soon, hopefully in three or four months," he says, adding that with the current shortages of raw material because of pandemic-related supply-chain issues, it's hard to predict a timeline.

But even with plenty of exciting new projects on the horizon, Silva still holds a tender spot in his heart for what Broadway Market was — and could have been. "I love that place," he says.