Zeppelin Station, which promises to be a blend of eats, drinks and creative concepts, won’t open until the end of the year. In the meantime,—we’ve got the lowdown on the first confirmed food vendor: Chicago-based Aloha Poke Co.
“We’re tapping into high profile tenants from all around the country,” Zeppelin’s director of hospitality development, Justin Anderson, said. “We’re trying to keep it interesting.”
Anderson met Aloha’s co-founder Zach Friedlander while working in Chicago a few years ago. He was so impressed by the consistency and quality of Aloha’s poke bowls that when he started brainstorming food vendors for Zeppelin Station, that was the first call he made. Friedlander was an easy sell.
“Denver’s food scene is booming right now and it feels very similar to that of Chicago, so we’re excited to be packing bowls in the Mile High City,” Friedlander said. “I feel like the community and culture of Denver are very aligned with our demographics and company culture at Aloha.”
Denver will be Aloha Poke Co.’s first location outside of Illinois.
The eatery has garnered a major following in Chicago with its fresh, cubed fish bowls, but it’ll be facing some steep competition: two poke spots will be opening soon on Platte Street, another in Avanti and other restaurants like Capitol Hill’s Sushi Cup—have opened in the last few months.
So why the poke craze right now?
“Poke has taken sushi and made it into more of a fast-food product. It’s healthy, it’s lean, it doesn’t weigh you down, but it’s still very satisfying. It’s exciting to see more and more people working poke into their weekly meals,” Friedlander said.
Besides Aloha Poke Co., Zeppelin Station is also talking with all-star restaurants in New York, Austin, Los Angeles and Atlanta to come on board — although they’re not naming names (yet).
The RiNo development will feature eight food vendors on the first floor, plus a larger anchor restaurant. The creative office and retail space will be upstairs, because who wants to climb stairs to get to their poke?
Look for everything inside Zeppelin Station to open at the same time at the end of 2017.
Aloha Poke Co. at Zeppelin Station: 3501 Wazee St., Denver; alohapokeco.com,—zeppelinstation.com.
