East Boulder has become a fast-growing hub for life science, technology, and quantum companies. Now, a new gathering space aims to serve the professionals driving that momentum.
East & Co. is a new market hall, community hub and social and events venue in BioMed Realty’s Flatiron Park. Located at 2100 Central Avenue, the innovative new space is the result of a collaboration between Working Title Food Group, the Boulder-based hospitality and restaurant collective behind Boulder’s River and Woods and Denver’s Ash’Kara; BioMed Realty, the largest private owner of life science and technology real estate serving the nation’s innovation industries; and EVG Hospitality, a Boulder-based hospitality management and consulting firm led by founder Greg Topel.
“We heard clearly that Flatiron Park was missing a central place to gather, connect and recharge,” says Jon Bergschneider, president of West Coast markets for BioMed Realty. “East & Co. is our response: a hospitality-driven destination designed to meet that need and bring new energy to the campus while supporting local Colorado businesses.”
Open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, East & Co. offers an all-day menu featuring coffee, breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s also home to a retail market selling locally sourced goods, artisan products and pantry staples.
The Boulder County Farmers Market supplies the kitchen with seasonal produce and helps East & Co. connect with the local purveyors and brands featured throughout the market.
“We want East & Co. to be the central gathering place for East Boulder, especially for the tech and health-focused workforce based in Flatiron Park,” says Josh Dinar, founder of Working Title Food Group. “We’ve got a delicious all-day menu and a variety of spaces designed for how people live, work, eat and drink.”
East & Co. opens at 7 a.m. with a full coffee bar featuring freshly roasted OZO Coffee and Black Box Bakery pastries. Breakfast includes Moe’s Bagels served with daily rotating cream cheeses, a signature East & Co. breakfast sandwich, a “secret” breakfast burrito and a Rocky Mountain açaí bowl. The smoothie and juice bar features multiple house-made options.
Come lunch time, diners can enjoy a variety of rotating sandwiches made with Kinship baguettes, including a roasted chicken with herb aioli, radish and butter lettuce, as well as an eggplant caponata with house-made ricotta and fresh basil. The lunch counter also offers grab-and-go burritos and sandwiches, plus other offerings. Both counter service and table service are available all day.
Other menu highlights include a burger featuring Colorado grass-fed beef smash patties and smoked gouda, a steak sandwich, a buttermilk fried chicken sandwich and a clam po’ boy. Small bites include house-fried chips, whipped feta, lamb kofta skewers, chorizo-stuffed dates and Jacob’s Mushroom croquettes.
To help make dinner easier, East & Co. also offers fully prepared, oven-ready sheet tray meals. Rotating take-and-heat offerings include dishes like braised short ribs with Robuchon potatoes and spring vegetables, or roast chicken with Blumenthal potatoes, asparagus and grilled lemon.
On their way home for the day, shoppers can also pick up a bottle of wine from a curated selection and peruse a Boulder-inspired selection of everyday essentials.
The cocktail menu features classics with an innovative twist, including a vesper martini, two spritzes, a seasonal margarita and a house Negroni. Wine by the glass and bottle, draft and bottled beer and several spirit-free options are also available.
“Our bar program complements the many ways we expect people will enjoy East & Co.,” says Volkan Olmez, beverage director for East & Co., formerly of B&GC at the Halcyon Hotel in Denver’s Cherry Creek. “We’re excited to meet our regulars and to see what people respond to, which will help direct how our program evolves over time.”
Beyond the food and beverage offerings, East & Co. also offers numerous inviting public spaces. There’s a lounge area near a grand fireplace, a coffee zone by the front windows, a restaurant-inspired setting with booths and tables, as well as an outdoor terrace and community lawn. The venue also features a game room and a private conference room.
“Every part of East & Co. was designed with how people actually move through their day in mind,” says Topel. “The same space that holds a 7 a.m. coffee meeting has to feel right for a working lunch, a glass of wine before a private dinner and cocktail hour with friends. It was built so each of those moments feels like it belongs.”
These indoor and outdoor spaces are ideal for frequent programming, as well as large and small events.
“East & Co. reflects how we think about building environments that support both our tenants and the broader Boulder community,” says Bergschneider.
