Restaurant donates 15% of grand opening day sales to Urban Peak

DENVER, Colo., Sept. 20, 2017 – A taste of Tuscany is coming to Denver on Saturday, September 30. Marcella’s Ristorante, Pizzeria and Wine Bar is opening for brunch at 10 a.m. followed by dinner at 4 p.m. in a new building in Lohi located at 1801 Central Street. Marcella’s is a bustling Italian café featuring authentic, chef-driven cuisine inspired by authentic Italian recipes and featuring Italian wines, handcrafted cocktails and local beer. The restaurant offers shareable antipasti, hot and cold plates, pizzas, pastas and entrees. To celebrate the grand opening and give back to the community, Marcella’s is partnering with Urban Peak to support their initiatives by donating 15% of grand opening day sales on September 30 to the organization.

“Marcella’s was named after the cook and house manager at a villa in Tuscany that I visited many times with my family,” said Cameron Mitchell, CEO and founder. “When we created the concept for an Italian restaurant, we thought it was only fitting to name the restaurant after Marcella and her authentic Italian cuisine. Everything we serve at Marcella’s is authentic, just the way Marcella would have made it.”

Keeping Marcella and Italy at the forefront, the restaurant was created to feel like you have stepped off the streets of Italy into a trattoria in Tuscany. Guests will feel this in the service, through the scratch-made, chef-driven menu, and in the lively and vibrant atmosphere.

Marcella’s is partnering with Urban Peak during the opening to help the organization fulfill its mission to offer services for youth ages 15 through 24 experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of becoming homeless. On September 30, 15% of grand opening day sales will go to Urban Peak.

“We are thrilled to welcome Marcella’s into our community and partner with them during their grand opening,” said Joshua Zmroczek, Director of Development & Public Affairs at Urban Peak. “We invite residents from across the Front Range to join us at Marcella’s on grand opening day to support services that positively impact youth experiencing homelessness in Denver.”

At the helm of the kitchen is Executive Chef Jacob Glowacki. Chef Glowacki has worked at several Cameron Mitchell Restaurants including Cap City Fine Diner and Bar in Gahanna, Ohio and Marcella’s Polaris and Marcella’s Short North, all located in Columbus Ohio.

Dain Cooke will oversee the restaurant as General Manager of Marcella’s. Early in his career, Cooke worked at Cameron’s American Bistro in Ohio as a server assistant. He returned to the Cameron Mitchell Restaurant Group nine years ago as a server and bartender and dining room manager at Cap City Fine Diner and Bar in Gahanna, Ohio. He has also worked in several roles at Marcella’s Short North in Columbus, Ohio.

The restaurant’s signature dishes include the following among others:

• Marcella’s Braised Veal Meatball with simple tomato sauce (also known as the eighth wonder of the world!)
• Melted Pecorino featuring cheese imported from a Tuscan farm in Italy with crostini, apple and truffle honey
• Margherita D.O.C. Pizza with tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil
• Lasagne alla Bolognese with slow cooked sausage ragu and marinara
• Chicken Marsala with carrots, mushrooms shallots and parmesan polenta
• Chocolate Almond Cake

Signature cocktails include the Strawberry Balsamic with Absolut Vodka, hand squeezed lime, fresh strawberries, balsamic and lemon verbena foam and Grapefruit Basil Fizz with Finlandia Grapefruit Vodka, Italian basil and hand squeezed lemon, among others.

Marcella’s boasts a large bar with more than 50 Italian wines, handcrafted cocktails, and local beer. Marcella’s hosts happy hour Monday through Friday from 4-6 p.m. offering half off select food and beverage items. The restaurant offers wine nights on Sunday and Monday, featuring 25% off every bottle of wine.

Marcella’s serves an Italian-inspired brunch on Saturdays and Sundays starting at 10 a.m. featuring items with a rustic Tuscan feel:

• Truffle Eggs – Two poached eggs served with a cream Tallegio sauce, tossed with Ciabatta croutons, mushrooms and parmesan, garnished with arugula, black truffles and truffle potato chips.
• Shrimp Polenta – Shrimp sautéed with garlic, fresh tomato and parmesan stock, served over polenta and topped with a poached egg, garnished with herbs and toasted bread crumbs.
• Nutella Waffle – A made-to-order hazelnut chocolate waffle with Nutella drizzle and whipped butter, served with a side of warm maple syrup.

Marcella’s seats 152 guests inside and 40 guests on the patio, which faces downtown Denver. The large patio offers unobstructed views of the city from the patio.

Complimentary valet is available nightly beginning at 5 p.m. with validation from the restaurant. Without validation, valet is available for $7.

The restaurant is open Monday-Thursday from 4-10 p.m.; Friday from 4 p.m. to midnight; Saturday for brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and for dinner from 4 p.m. to midnight and Sunday for brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner from 4-10 p.m.

For more information visit marcellasrestaurant.com or follow us on Instagram @Marcellasdenver.

ABOUT MARCELLA’S RISTORANTE, PIZZERIA & WINE BAR

Marcella’s Ristorante, Pizzeria & Wine Bar, located in the LoHi neighborhood of Denver, is a bustling Italian café featuring chef-driven cuisine inspired by authentic Italian recipes and serving Italian wines, handcrafted cocktails and local beer. The restaurant offers shareable antipasti, hot and cold plates, pizzas, pastas and entrees. Marcella’s bar provides a vibrant venue for sampling 50 Italian wines served by the bottle or quartino, as well as handcrafted cocktails and weekday happy hour from 4-6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The restaurant is located at 1801 Central Street in Denver and is open for dinner Monday-Thursday from 4 to 10 p.m.; Friday for dinner from 4 p.m. to midnight; Saturday for brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner from 4 p.m. to midnight; Sunday for brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. For more information visit marcellasrestaurant.com or follow us on Instagram @Marcellasdenver.

ABOUT URBAN PEAK
Founded in 1988, Urban Peak is the only non-profit organization in Denver that provides a full convergence of services for youth ages 15 through 24 experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of becoming homeless. Our goal is to help these youth overcome real life challenges and become self-sufficient adults.

We do this by providing five essential services at little or no cost to the youth (youth in housing do pay a minimal rent each month):

• an overnight shelter
• a daytime Drop-In Center
• Street Outreach
• Education & Employment programming
• Supportive housing

Our goal is to meet youth where they are and to provide them with the assistance and support they need to become self-sufficient or obtain the necessary services they need to exit a life on the streets. Urban Peak’s programs and services are founded on the principles of trauma-informed care* and positive youth development and assist youth in reaching their potential and living a successful life off of the streets.

*To provide trauma-informed services means that we understand an individual’s experience of trauma impacts every area of human functioning — physical, mental, behavioral, social, intellectual and spiritual. Trauma-informed care is an approach to engaging people with histories of trauma that recognizes the presence of trauma symptoms and acknowledges the role that trauma has played in their lives.