Niwot Market Friday Night Dinners soar again

Niwot Market’s Friday Night Dinners are back, bigger and better than ever. Comments from diners at last week’s dinner were a resounding thumbs up. Chuck, a regular at the dinners, summed it up well. “This is the complete package in that you get the music, the quality of the food and the overall spirit of our town. This is really the Niwot kind of chill.” 

The rave reviews never ended. Jim, another regular, poetically stated, “Just a great place to get together after a long hard day at work. The food is only flavored better with the company and conversation.” And the word is getting around. Local resident George Epp, now the retired BOCO sheriff said, “We started coming to the dinners when we were still living in Boulder and one of the things that drew us here to Niwot was the dinners and the community.” 

Another family new to the area, made up of three generations, said, “Tonight is the first time at the dinner. It’s such a great event to get to know the community. I had no idea it was so good. It caters to all ages and it’s great that I can bring our young child and baby with us. There are not a lot of places that are so welcoming as this.”  

Compliments were abundant about the food, the community and the music: The food is delicious (last week featured Pei mussels and Italian pork roast), the community interaction is amazing and the music only enhances the already enamored ambiance.  

Bert Steele’s son and daughter, Seth Steele and Alison Steele, know the history of these dinners. Seth said, “The Friday night dinners started about 15 years ago. Back then my Dad wanted to promote their meat department. We featured the sausage, bratwurst, steak and ground beef.  It was simple, cheap, and small. 

“At the time we would get around 15 to 20 people. Then when Chef Justin Hirshfield was hired…, the menu for the dinners started to step up a notch.”  After Justin left the Market to become the chef for the 1914 House, Seth started taking over the dinners about two years ago.

Seth also said, “The menu and theme of the week is always different. It’s based on what kinds of foods are fresh and available that week.” Each Monday Seth and his team consult with Kilt Farms, at Oxford Road and the Diagonal Highway, to see what is available for the coming week. 

“We actually have a lot of talented people here with a lot of culinary experience,” he said. “ I come up with the general idea and then I run it past John Campell, Ethan Johan, and my other staff members, and it goes from there.” 

Alison is responsible for the front of the house operations, with some of the other staff at the store. She is also in charge of the music. She picks the bands and schedules the musicians. Her job is to make sure everything runs smoothly and the guests are happy. When asked why she thinks the dinners are such a hit, she replies, “I think because it’s casual. They come early, they sit around, people look forward to it, especially this year after such a long cold winter. People like the music.” 

Their house band throughout the summer is the bluegrass outfit, Late for Supper. Other favorites include Randell Dubois, and the Eric Ottem Jazz Quartet. 

Dinner is outside on the open patio from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. through Labor Day. The cost for a full course dinner, dessert and music is about $25 per person. Due to the popularity of the venue, reservations are highly recommended. Bon appetit.

For more information, follow the Niwot Market on Facebook or call 303-652-0919. 

Niwot Market’s Friday Night Dinners are back, bigger and better than ever. Comments from diners at last week’s dinner were a resounding thumbs up. Chuck, a regular at the dinners, summed it up well. “This is the complete package in that you get the music, the quality of the food and the overall spirit of our town. This is really the Niwot kind of chill.”

The rave reviews never ended. Jim, another regular, poetically stated, “Just a great place to get together after a long hard day at work. The food is only flavored better with the company and conversation.” And the word is getting around. Local resident George Epp, now the retired BOCO sheriff said, “We started coming to the dinners when we were still living in Boulder and one of the things that drew us here to Niwot was the dinners and the community.”

Another family new to the area, made up of three generations, said, “Tonight is the first time at the dinner. It’s such a great event to get to know the community. I had no idea it was so good. It caters to all ages and it’s great that I can bring our young child and baby with us. There are not a lot of places that are so welcoming as this.”  

Compliments were abundant about the food, the community and the music: The food is delicious (last week featured Pei mussels and Italian pork roast), the community interaction is amazing and the music only enhances the already enamored ambiance.  

Bert Steele’s son and daughter, Seth Steele and Alison Steele, know the history of these dinners. Seth said, “The Friday night dinners started about 15 years ago. Back then my Dad wanted to promote their meat department. We featured the sausage, bratwurst, steak and ground beef.  It was simple, cheap, and small.

“At the time we would get around 15 to 20 people. Then when Chef Justin Hirshfield was hired…, the menu for the dinners started to step up a notch.”  After Justin left the Market to become the chef for the 1914 House, Seth started taking over the dinners about two years ago.

Seth also said, “The menu and theme of the week is always different. It’s based on what kinds of foods are fresh and available that week.” Each Monday Seth and his team consult with Kilt Farms, at Oxford Road and the Diagonal Highway, to see what is available for the coming week.

“We actually have a lot of talented people here with a lot of culinary experience,” he said. “ I come up with the general idea and then I run it past John Campell, Ethan Johan, and my other staff members, and it goes from there.”

Alison is responsible for the front of the house operations, with some of the other staff at the store. She is also in charge of the music. She picks the bands and schedules the musicians. Her job is to make sure everything runs smoothly and the guests are happy. When asked why she thinks the dinners are such a hit, she replies, “I think because it’s casual. They come early, they sit around, people look forward to it, especially this year after such a long cold winter. People like the music.”

Their house band throughout the summer is the bluegrass outfit, Late for Supper. Other favorites include Randell Dubois, and the Eric Ottem Jazz Quartet.

Dinner is outside on the open patio from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. through Labor Day. The cost for a full course dinner, dessert and music is about $25 per person. Due to the popularity of the venue, reservations are highly recommended. Bon appetit.

For more information, follow the Niwot Market on Facebook or call 303-652-0919.