'Something for everyone:' Longmont's Parkway Food Hall celebrates grand opening
May 21—Parkway Food Hall — a space for Longmont residents to enjoy a variety of food under one roof — was officially welcomed into the local business community on Tuesday.
Parkway is Longmont's first food hall, occupying a building that used to house the grocery stores Lucky's and Alfalfa's. At 700 Ken Pratt Blvd., No. 200, the hall is complete with eight food vendors, a bar, and an arcade.
"What an asset to Longmont that all of these extra jobs provide," said Wendi Braden, membership director for the Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce. "It's a great place to just bring the community together."
The food hall's vendors are Japanese street food restaurant Baa Hachi; Pie Dog pizza; Hesher barbeque; Indian and Thai restaurant Spice Fusion; Cleaver &. Co. burgers; Mediterranean eatery Shawarma Shack; Mexican restaurant Chile con Quesadilla; and gelato shop HipPOPs.
"No chains are here — this is all unique, individual eateries," Braden said. "So I love the way that we get to showcase that."
At Tuesday's ribbon cutting, dozens of guests came to Parkway to celebrate Longmont's new dining destination. Chris Nehls, vice president of the building's owner Blackfox Parkway Associates, thanked several people for their support of the project, including the hall's construction team and city government officials.
"We lost hope in getting a grocery here, and thought to ourselves, 'What could be better than a grocery store?' And suddenly, 'food hall' emerged," Nehls said. "I hope that everybody that had a hand in this project feels really proud of what we've all accomplished."
Nehls said two major goals of Parkway Food Hall are to "breathe new life" into a building that sat empty for three years and to create a community gathering space unlike anywhere else in Longmont.
"We're only at the ribbon cutting, but I'm feeling pretty good about those two goals," Nehls said.
Monday was Parkway's official opening to the public. Nehls said a couple hundred people stopped by the food hall during the lunch rush from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Nehls said he is thrilled at the diversity and quality of the food vendors at Parkway.
"Families can come, friends can enjoy each other, new friends can be made," Nehls said. "We think we've put together all the ingredients for something for everyone here."
After the ribbon cutting, live music filled the hall as guests were invited to try something from any of the eight vendors.
National Food Hall Solutions, Parkway's operating partner, also had a presence at Tuesday's ceremony, with CEO Pat Garza stopping by the food hall. Garza said the building is in a perfect location in the center of Longmont, which should bring plenty of foot traffic to the restaurants using the space.
"These stall operators, a lot of them can't do freestanding," Garza explained. "Times are tough, and if we can provide an opportunity for these guys to have a solid business...that's what it's worth."
Parkway Food Hall is open from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Sundays.
