Campus & Community / Magazine Feature

Fourteen Seventy-Two aims to become Pearl Street’s latest pearl

What’s the difference between dining at Fourteen Seventy-Two, a new restaurant on South Pearl Street, and eating at home?

Home doesn’t have bison green chili, bouillabaisse Pacifica, meatloaf with curry sauce, bacon-wrapped asparagus, plantains or homemade ice cream. But Fourteen Seventy-Two will when the new eatery opens in the spring. First, though, is an extensive face lift for the unassuming wood structure north of Florida Avenue.

“The feel is going to be like a private home,” promises restaurant partner Dave Chmura. The transformation is already under way: red oak floors, original windows, plaster scraped down to expose the brick, baseboard lighting that shadows the room like British pubs.

“It’s kind of neat,” Chmura gushes during a recent walk-through. “I think we’ve preserved the beauty of the room.”

That room was built in 1887 when the house at 1472 S. Pearl St. was a residence facing the street-car line that traveled up and down Pearl Street. Today, the structure is an opportunity for Chmura and partner Scott Bergin to add to the array of restaurants that line South Pearl. Fourteen Seventy-Two will sit on the east side of Pearl Street just north of Stella’s Coffeehaus, a popular Platt Park gathering spot for 19 years.

Chmura, 31, who grew up near DU, believes the South Pearl Street corridor and adjacent neighborhoods can accommodate another restaurant, especially one with a non-chain, homey approach.

“The point is not to compete with any of the restaurants on the block but to introduce something new,” he says.

That new concept involves a still-evolving menu of “items we love” with a strong emphasis on breakfast and Sunday brunch. Dinner dishes will top out in the $18–$20 range and go from lamb and steaks to fish and pan-fried Alabama chicken. Appetizers will boast everything from clams and mussels Pacifica to miso soup and Colombian quesadillas. Side dishes will include scalloped potatoes, coleslaw and plantains, while the dessert lineup ranges from carrot cake with coconut sauce to Puerto Rican flan.

“The cuisine is hard to describe,” Chmura concedes. Mostly, it will be whatever resonates with neighborhood tastes and preferences. That’s one reason Fourteen Seventy-Two plans to offer a discount to patrons who walk, bike or arrive at the restaurant via light rail. It’s also why they’re adding a covered patio on the front for outdoor dining and a few tables on the Stella’s side of the restaurant. Total capacity is just under 100.

“I think it’ll be great for the neighborhood, especially for families,” Chmura says. “As the city continues to grow over the next 30 years, places like this will become diamonds in the rough.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*