Joblon lands restaurant Le Colonial for mixed-use project
A fine dining restaurant marrying Vietnamese and French cuisine will take space in a new Cherry Creek building that is breaking ground this week.
Le Colonial — which launched in New York in 1993, and now operates in Atlanta, Chicago and Houston — plans to open in the seven-story project at 255 Fillmore St. being developed by Denver-based BMC Investments. The building is expected to be completed in about 15 months.
“We could not be more excited about bringing our beloved Le Colonial restaurant to the vibrant and great neighborhood of Cherry Creek,” Le Colonial coowner Rick Wahlstedt said in a statement.
Wahlstedt also co-owns Le Bilboquet, the French restaurant that opened in Cherry Creek in 2019 in another project developed and owned by BMC.
BMC CEO Matt Joblon told Businessden that, in addition to being Le Bilboquet’s landlord, he leads a group that invested in the restaurant. So it was a natural decision, he said, to offer Wahlstedt space in his new project.
“We’ve had a great relationship both as landlords and investors,” he said. “Le Bilboquet has done really well. They’re a great operator. They understand what it takes.”
Le Colonial offers guests “a romantic, dreamy and escapist atmosphere reminiscent of Saigon in the 1920s,” according to a news release. Vietnam was part of a French colony from the late 1800s through the middle of the last century.
A menu for Le Colonial’s Chicago location shows large plates ranging from $17 to $39, with options including roasted half duck, sate spiced filet mignon and green shrimp curry. Small plates, which range from $14 to $22, include crispy vegetable rolls and Hanoi-style monkfish.
Denver isn’t the only city on Le Colonial’s radar. The chain expects to grow to eight cities within three years.
The 255 Fillmore building will have 9,500 square feet of retail space on the ground floor, and six floors of office space above it. Joblon said Le Colonial is taking about 6,500 retail square feet. Leases have been signed for the entire building with the exception of the other 3,000 retail square feet and about 5,000 square feet of office space on the second floor, he said.
Businessden previously reported that Denver-based Crusoe Energy has leased two of the building’s office floors.
Sam Zaitz of JLL and Julie Mcbrearty of Sullivanhayes are marketing 255 Fillmore’s retail space. Newmark is marketing the building’s office space. Firstbank provided construction financing. Haselden is the general contractor. The architect is 4240 Architecture.