Brunch Is Back at Avanti Food Hall

Avanti Food & Beverage has officially rejoined the brunch bunch. After a multi-year hiatus, the LoHi food hall has launched a full-scale brunch revival with a new in-house coffee program, three fresh vendors, a recently completed renovation and a lineup of themed brunch parties.

With the addition of Cafe Avanti, the team is now ready to go all-in on brunches. The cafe, tucked away on the main level, serves a menu of coffee and espresso drinks from Huckleberry Roasters, seasonal beverages like strawberry matcha, and pastries from Rebel Bread.

“We just went through pretty big renovations at the beginning of the year, and part of that renovation was adding in a coffee shop. [That’s] what we always felt like we were missing from brunch – a strong coffee program,” explains general manager Hayley Edmisten.

“We've always kind of had brunch drinks, and some of the vendors would do brunch dishes, but it was never really a big push for us,” Edmisten continues. “We really wanted to ramp it up, get all the vendors to do fun dishes, and create some fun drinks to make it more of a destination type of brunch.”

Beyond the java, Avanti has seven food vendors, each with their own spin on brunch offerings, ranging from traditional to wildly eclectic.

“We asked for two to three dishes from each vendor, but we never really give them guidelines because we want them to be able to be creative,” Edmisten says. “The only thing that we patrol is making sure four of the stalls aren't all doing breakfast sandwiches. We wanted to have a bunch of variety.”
And variety is what they got. Customers can expect dishes like pandan waffles from Farang Thai, breakfast pizza from the Pizza Bandit, a smoked salmon arepa from Queiro Arepas, and – our personal favorite – the perfectly crispy hot honey chicken biscuit from Knockabout Burgers.

Of course, what’s brunch without the drinks? In addition to classic mimosas and Bloody Marys, new options include the Spiked Dreamsicle, dirty chai martini and the visually impressive Spritz Tree – a tower of your choice of Aperol, Hugo, Campari or LoHi spritzes designed to be shared.
The team has been drawing in customers with its themed brunch parties, which the food hall hosts every other Saturday. Recent hits include an Emo Brunch, Comedy Brunch and a Drag Brunch for Pride Month, with upcoming events like Britney Brunch on June 21 and Red, White & Tiki on July 5.

“Those events get people in the door and show them brunch is available every weekend, and then they turn into repeat customers,” Edmisten notes.

The weekend crowd? Young professionals, birthday groups and brunch-loving locals looking to sample global flavors. “It’s the classic ‘What are you doing Sunday?’ crowd,” she shares.

Though the current brunch menu may evolve with the seasons, the team has no plans to slow down.

“We’re in it for the long haul,” Edmisten confirms. “The vendors are loving it, guests are loving it, and brunch is just one more reason to come hang out.”

Avanti Food & Beverage is now serving brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday at 3200 Pecos Street; learn more at avantifandb.com.