This won't be your shopping mall's food court or your grade school cafeteria. Instead, Patrick O'Neill (founder of Chopper's Custom Salads) and partner Rob Hahn (head of local real estate group GRT) have taken inspiration from food truck rallies and European-style markets for their latest project. After much anticipation and delay, things are coming along for Avanti Food + Beverage, LoHi's new adaptive reuse culinary collective, expecting to be open by mid-June.
Right now, we're just working on the finishing touches.
Two bars, two decks, and seven chef-inspired shipping containers fill the gritty, but chic community-driven venue.
The concepts include:
- Brava Pizzeria Della Strada
- Poco Tortoria (from Chef Kevin Morrison)
- Quiero Arepas
- Bixo Mediterranean Bites (*upstairs)
- Souk Shwarma (*upstairs)
- Farmer Girl
- MiJo
The options offered are affordable and approachable and the overarching theme of the food hall is community. Much of the space is repurposed, maintaining the original brick pavers and timber, a paint-splattered Pepsi mural on the exterior, and other elements.
The first-floor bar is planted next to a living room-style lounge that greets guests before they enter the main hall of five mini dining destinations. The two upstairs containers are slightly larger. Community-style seating is the primary option for patrons, beckoning engagement and interactivity.
Where this project is most different from other multifaceted markets is the two- (maybe someday three) story space is intended to serve as a launch pad, removing some of the barriers to entry for startup eateries, with short-term leases and a "focus on the food" mentality.