French Favorite Cafe Marmotte Is Turning into an Italian Restaurant (Eventually)

A four-year-old favorite for French cuisine in West Washington Park is getting new owners and, eventually, a new identity.

On Tuesday, the team behind Bistro Georgette, a counter serving French street food inside the Avanti Food & Beverage food hall, announced it is taking over ownership of Cafe Marmotte in West Washington Park.

The three-person ownership team says the transition should be complete by October 2019, when the restaurant will begin offering a “refined classic French menu” that will pay tribute to Cafe Marmotte. The menu will be served through the rest of 2019.

Then, in early 2020, the team will open an Italian restaurant in the Cafe Marmotte space.

The Bistro Georgette ownership team consists of executive chef Ty Leon, hospitality director Heather Morrison, and beverage director Austin Carson, all three of whom worked at the Frank Bonanno-led French mainstay Mizuna before striking out on their own to open Bistro Georgette last year.

Cafe Marmotte, where the team is committing to a 20-year lease, will be the trio’s first standalone restaurant. The team indicated Tuesday that Cafe Marmotte will remain open during the current transition and that the team plans to maintain existing staff as they introduce the new food and cocktail menus as well as what they describe as “a new service style.”

This is the third set of owners for Cafe Marmotte, which was started in 2015 by husband-and-wife-team Mark Reggiannini and Maren Reagan, as a Denver offshoot of their Telluride French restaurant, La Marmotte.

Maria Katsaros, a Denver restaurant industry veteran who had spent the previous 12 years working at Charlie Brown’s Bar & Grill, took over ownership of Cafe Marmotte in 2017 with her brother, Stratis, Westword reported at the time.

• All previous Eater coverage of Cafe Marmotte [EDEN]
• All previous Eater coverage of Bistro Georgette [EDEN]
• New Owners at Cafe Marmotte Focus on Quality and Customers [Westword]