Market Street Kitchen opens, continuing new development in midvalley.
Basalt’snewest restaurant is located in its newest hotel, Element. It’s run by Mawa McQueen, who owns another eatery in Aspen.
The dining room and a smaller cooking area out front are bright and open, compared to the standard dark kitchen. That’s how McQueen wants it though.
“Seven months of snow and then I need to be in a restaurant that is dark again? I can’t do it,” she said.
Market Street Kitchen is different than Mawa’s Kitchen in Aspen. First off, it’s open all day. Second, she said it adds a bit more diversity to Basalt. There’s more than just Latino culture in the valley she said.
She calls herself a mover and a shaker. As development continues to be an issue throughout the valley. And as Willits expands, she said residents’ concerns about more building and growth don’t worry her.
“We are going to move and shake Basalt — in a good way,” McQueen said.
McQueen said she feels less pressure on this restaurant for multiple reasons. One is because she feels like she is filling a void in what Basalt has to offer. Another, is because the restaurant doesn’t have her name on it.
She wanted to open a place like Market Street Kitchen a few years ago, but the timing never worked out. Now that she’s there, restaurant owners in the midvalley have been coming to her with open arms.
McQueen is still working out where she is sourcing all the food from, but hopes to have that figured out soon.
