Dozens of people gathered Tuesday to celebrate the opening of Parkway Food Hall in Longmont. (Cliff Grasmick/Staff Photographer)
Parkway Food Hall, a space where Longmont residents can enjoy a variety of cuisines in one place, was officially welcomed into the local business community on Tuesday.
Parkway is Longmont’s first food hall, located in the building that once housed Lucky’s and Alfalfa’s grocery stores. The hall, located at 700 Ken Pratt Blvd., No. 200, features eight food vendors, a bar and an arcade.
“What a great asset these extra jobs will be to Longmont,” said Wendy Braden, membership director for the Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce. “It’s a great place to bring the community together.”
Parkway Food Hall in Longmont has a game room. (Cliff Grasmick/Staff Photographer)
The food hall vendor is Japanese street food restaurant Baahachi. Pie dog pizza. Hesher BBQ. Spice Fusion is an Indian and Thai restaurant. Knives &. company hamburger. Shawarma Shack, a Mediterranean restaurant. Mexican restaurant “Chili Con Quesadilla”. and gelato shop HipPOPs.
“There are no chains here. It’s all unique, personal eateries here,” Braden said, “so we love the way we showcase that.”
Tuesday’s ribbon cutting drew dozens of guests to the parkway to celebrate Longmont’s new dining destination. Chris Neals, vice president of BlackFox Parkway Associates, the building’s owner, thanked Hall’s construction team, city government officials and others for their support of the project.
“We lost hope in getting groceries here and thought, ‘What could be better than a grocery store?’ And suddenly, ‘food halls’ appeared.” Niels said. “I hope everyone involved in this project is really proud of what we all accomplished.”
Neals said two major goals for the Parkway Food Hall are to “breathe new life” into the building, which has been vacant for three years, and to create a community gathering space unlike anywhere else in Longmont. Told.
“We’re still at the ribbon-cutting stage, but we’re feeling pretty good about those two goals,” Nehls said.
Chris Nehls, left, owner of Parkway Food Hall, 700 Ken Pratt Blvd., No. 200, speaks about the new facility with Longmont Chamber of Commerce Director of Membership Wendy Braden during the opening party Tuesday. listening to you speak. (Cliff Grasmick/Staff Photographer)
Monday was the parkway’s open day to the public. Nells said hundreds of people stopped by the food hall during the lunch rush from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Neals said he is excited about the variety and quality of Parkway’s food outlets.
“Families can come, friends can come and have fun, or make new friends,” Neals said. “I think we have all the ingredients to do something for everyone here.”
After the ribbon cutting, guests were invited to sample any of the eight vendors and live music filled the hall.
Parkway’s operating partner, National Food Hall Solutions, also attended Tuesday’s ceremony, with CEO Pat Garza stopping by the food hall. Garza said the building is in a prime location in the heart of Longmont, and the restaurant that uses the space should draw a lot of foot traffic.
“A lot of these food stall owners can’t operate independently,” Garza explained. “Times are tough, but if we can provide them the opportunity to run a solid business… it’s worth it.”
Parkway Food Hall is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
