Ex-RiNo eatery owners opening LoDo po’ boy joint with cooking classes

This article first appeared on BusinessDen.com, a BizWest news partner.

DENVER —

A year before the pandemic, Katy and Kyle Foster started serving po’ boys for lunch at Julep, their Southern restaurant in RiNo.

The couple had been looking for a separate location for a concept called Pirate Alley, but when the pandemic prompted them to close down Julep after three years in November 2020 they decided to take a break from their search.

Now, the Fosters are getting ready to open Pirate Alley Boucherie on the ground floor of the Ice House condo building at 1801 Wynkoop St. in LoDo.

“Kyle used to work at Colt & Gray as chef de cuisine, where he began the butchery and charcuterie program, so he was ready to get back in the kitchen, get creative and get his hands dirty again,” Katy said.

The couple leased the nearly 3,000-square-foot space next to Rodizio Grill for three years at the end of May and hope to open Pirate Alley in July. It will serve New Orleans-style po’ boys, charcuterie boards and small plates.

The Fosters also own Stir Cooking School, which they opened in 2010, at 3215 Zuni St. in LoHi. They purchased the 1,715-square-foot space for $615,000 in 2013, according to property records.

Stir Cooking School offers private cooking events as well as classes available to the public.

The couple plans to use a portion of the new LoDo space to host more private events, like murder mystery cooking classes or cooking tournaments. They will have a liquor license for the space in September and hope to begin hosting events then.4

Stir’s capacity is around 55 people, but the new space can fit up to 100 for private events.

“Like everybody, we had to pivot our classes online during the pandemic,” Katy said. “But we saw a huge increase in private events when we reopened. So, we thought it made sense to expand our offerings and location.”

While the Fosters have had no trouble getting their concept open in the Ice House, a local music venue had to pull out of its plans last month after receiving a significant amount of opposition from Ice House residents and LoDo neighbors.

Kulture Music Hall withdrew its application for a tavern and liquor license with a dance cabaret on May 2, hours before a scheduled hearing with the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses.

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