Marco Albertin is cooking.
The Italian restaurateur is set to backfill the former home of Brider Rotisserie & Kitchen on Denver’s Platte Street in July.
“La Vietta means ‘the little street,’” Albertin told BusinessDen. “And when I saw Platte, it made sense. Local shops, local restaurants, good energy and vibe, a mix of young and more mature people, connected to I-25.”
Albertin described La Vietta as a traditional trattoria. He’ll import cheeses, wines, meats and flour from his home country to compile a menu filled with Italian staples like pastas and gnocchi.
He’s most looking forward to sharing a lasagna bolognese dish and a veal Milanese, a lightly fried, breaded strip of meat that originates in Albertin’s native city, Milan.
He also plans on adding a monthly “Giro d’Italia” — Italian for “tour of Italy” — fixed menu that showcases foods from different regions of Italy. The seafood from the southern shores or the heartier dishes up north will give Albertin’s patrons a more tailored slice of Italian cuisine than his daily, catch-all offerings.
The inside of the 1644 Platte St. space will be outfitted with a terracotta floor and mosaics to give it an Italian neighborhood feel. Albertin is also redesigning the bar to conceal beer taps with custom arches, and he’s planning to fill the space with plants.
“Instead of modernization of the place, we’re trying to go back in time and make it look like a restaurant off a little street in Italy,” he said of the 3,000 square feet.
Albertin said the build-out is estimated to cost $100,000 and is backed by several investors. He signed a 10-year lease with two five-year options and was represented by Chris Lindgren of Hoff & Leigh. Andrew Clemens of SRS Real Estate represented Nichols Partnership, the building owner, in the deal.
“I have a lot of appreciation and respect for (owner) Bryan (Dayton) and the team that built Brider,” he said. “I speak on a daily basis with people walking by who all say, ‘We’re missing Brider.’ But, that being said, we have to make the place look and feel like its own.”
Albertin, 38, started working in hospitality 20 years ago for an Italian resort chain before landing at Disney World in his early 20s. He worked as a server in the EPCOT park for a year before moving to Denver in 2014.
In the Mile High, he worked for high-end Italian spots before opening Voghera Ristorante & Apericena on Tennyson Street in the thick of the pandemic.
He ran that small-plates restaurant until early last year, when he was evicted after a rent dispute. Albertin filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy shortly after, public records show.
“Unfortunately, we got into a legal issue with the landlord and ended up losing the battle,” he said. “But I bounced back quickly because I had a good, authentic and very genuine product.”
“I’d be lying saying it was easy, in fact itap been the exact opposite,” he continued. “But I decided to re-collect my pieces together and give it another shot.”
Among the lessons he’s learned is being a more analytical operator, particularly around operating hours in a time when Denver restaurants are struggling to stay open. Initially, he said La Vietta will open six nights a week for dinner. He might add a seventh night, either Sunday or Monday depending on the flow of the neighborhood, or a lunch option down the road.
“We opened (Voghera) during COVID, which seemed like the world was ending, and now we’re in a worse position than five years ago,” he said of the current restaurant climate. “But at some point, you can’t wait for the proper moment. Thatap the entrepreneurial risk.”
Nichols partner Daniel Nichols said the space received substantial interest in the weeks after Brider announced it was closing last fall. He thinks thatap because Platte Street is a “little pocket” around the city thatap doing well compared with most areas.
His team went with Albertin because of the restaurateur’s vision and how quickly he wanted to get in the space.
“Marco’s been awesome to work with,” Nichols said. “He’s the GM and operator and owner, and still he’s here with a tool belt on and working with his hands every single day.”
