There’s a new man in charge of the food hall at RiNo’s Zeppelin Station.
And he’s bringing large animatronic dinosaurs.
Josh Schmitz of Ruckus Hospitality, whose concepts include the Disco Pig and Ghost Saloon bars in Larimer Square, said he’s signed a five-year lease for the restaurant space on the ground floor of the building at 3501 Wazee St.
He’s rebranding the dozen-stall food hall as Clever Girl, aiming to make it a destination by transforming it into an “immersive experience that transports you to a prehistoric jungle.”
That will include the aforementioned dinosaurs, although Schmitz couldn’t say how many there will be.
Zeppelin Station was developed by, and is owned by, Denver-based Zeppelin Development. But the building has been overseen since last spring by The Stapleton Group, a receiver appointed at the request of Wells Fargo after Zeppelin defaulted on the building’s loan. JLL has been marketing the property for sale.
Schmitz said someone from Zeppelin reached out to him about taking over the food hall, but that he ultimately negotiated the deal with the receiver.
The food hall has struggled for years. In October 2022, an executive with then-owner RiNo Night Market LLC told investors the business had been operating deep in the red and owed its landlord $700,000. The Stapleton Group said in a court filing this past December that RiNo Night Market was still unable to pay its rent, and that he planned to terminate its lease.
Schmitz entered the Denver restaurant scene a decade ago, when he opened a bar and coffee shop on Colfax called Bellwether. But he became a ubiquitous part of the bar scene after COVID hit, when talented hospitality workers were suddenly available en masse.
Operating as Handsome Boys Hospitality, Schmitz and partners launched multiple creative concepts, moving into high-profile parts of Denver like Larimer Square.
Schmitz said he has since parted ways with his former Handsome Boys partners. They now operate as HB Hospitality, while he owns Ruckus.
The Zeppelin Station food hall has been quiet. Schmitz said only three stalls operate there: Sushi Kuro, Uptown & Humboldt and Pesto Italiano. Each has been paying between $2,400 and $3,500 a month in rent, according to a report from the receiver.
The three eateries will remain within Clever Girl as Schmitz brings in others.
“We’ll self-operate six of them and six of them will be outside concepts,” he said.
The Ruckus stalls will include Drunken Bakery and Hidden Gems Ice Cream, both formerly in Larimer Square, and a hot dog spot called Wieners & Losers. They’ll all be in place by April, when Zeppelin Station will officially become Clever Girl.
Post-COVID, Schmitz said, people don’t want to leave the house to have a normal beer at a normal bar. They want an experience, which is what he plans to create in RiNo.
He’s a fan of Casa Bonita — he had his 30th birthday celebration there — but said the business “fumbled the grand opening.”
“If Casa Bonita was easy to get into and had $5 margaritas, people would be there all the time,” he said.
Kids want to see the dinosaurs at Clever Girl? That’s not a problem, according to Schmitz, who said the place will be family-friendly until 7 p.m. An escape room is also planned.
Clever Girl is being designed by KCIDY.