Denver Housing Authority (DHA) just announced that Osage Café, which has been located at 1099 Osage Street in Denver’s Mariposa District in Lincoln Park for the past nine years, has moved into a new space at 1035 Osage Street in Denver. The Café is also expanding its offerings to include a market that sells affordable, nutritious, and culturally relevant food options including grab-and-go meals. An opening celebration will be held on July 19 from 2-4 p.m. The new Osage Café & Mercado continues to be a program of DHA’s Youth Employment Academy (YEA) employing underserved young adults and training them in skills to help them succeed in the culinary industry.
“We are excited to move into a new location with a larger footprint so we can expand our offerings to the community via a market,” said David Nisivoccia, executive director of Denver Housing Authority. “We are also excited to announce that we will be opening an incubator and ghost kitchen where Osage Café was previously located. This space will start as an incubator for YEA, but will be used in other capacities down the road. We’ll share more information about this space as it is finalized.”
Osage Cafe & Mercado’s grand opening will be a celebration of the diverse communities and residents that DHA serves, with local chefs, who are also DHA residents, sharing their culinary skills for the day. There will be a special menu that will include spring rolls, egg rolls, fried rice, fried chicken, and green chili.
Through YEA, Osage Café provides culinary academies, which is a 40-hour training program where youth learn occupational skills including food safety, knife skills, recipe reading, measurements, nutrition and cooking basics. Once the course is completed, students earn the nationally recognized ServSafe Food Handler Training certification and are eligible for a paid work internship at the café. During their internship, our young adults learn basic job readiness skills and real world restaurant skills including; serving, point of sales, food prep, line cooking, dishwashing and superior customer service. At the completion of their internship, we assist the youth with finding placement in permanent employment and/or additional post-secondary training.
Osage Cafe & Mercado is open for breakfast and lunch and serves traditional American-style breakfast items, breakfast burritos, pastries, burgers, sandwiches, soups, salads and other items including daily specials and a diverse selection of healthy food items. In the summer, produce is harvested from community garden plots and used in dishes on the menu. The Mercado is a market that offers healthy and culturally diverse food. The Café also offers catering for events and gatherings of all sizes providing breakfast, lunch, appetizers and dessert. Grab-and-go meals are also available as a catering option.
Osage Café & Mercado is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Mercado is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
