Black Cat owner/chef Eric Skokan will open Bramble & Hare in Boulder

For the past several months, farmer, forager and chef Eric Skokan, who owns Black Cat restaurant in Boulder and Black Cat Farm in Niwot, has been quietly working behind the scenes to unearth his second restaurant, Bramble & Hare, which will open soon at 1970 Thirteenth Street, directly next door to his farm-to-table bistro.

“We took over the space next to the Black Cat, and plan to do a cafe and gastropub with a small menu and craft cocktails,” says Skokan, adding that it’s an “opportunity for us to creatively utilize the bounty of our farm while simultaneously allowing us to do more paired down, informal cuisine.

To that end, Skokan’s menu will include bar snacks like vinegar turnip chips, chicken skin chicharons, farmers’ cheese gratin and pork and lamb burgers, made, notes Skokan, with his own farm-raised meats. And the burger, he adds, will be elevated by the farm’s produce, including heirloom onions and heirloom beets.

The quarters, a former clothing boutique, will mimic, Skokan says, a “design inspired by the agricultural and industrial elements found on our farm, cut with the underground chic of New York and London gastropubs.” In addition, notes Skokan, he’ll build a private dining room that transitions into a “reservation-only clandestine late-night space.”

The gastropub, which will operate seven days a week for lunch, dinner and late-night grub, will also pimp a walk-up window that serves on-the-go daily soups, salads and sandwiches. “While we wanted a place that could stay open late and accommodate a bar crowd, we’re adding a walk-up window lunch option for people who want the same quality of food that we’re known for but who have limited time,” explains Skokan, who says he hopes to open in April or May.

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