The latest buzz at Stanley Marketplace is coming from actual bees.
Sazza, which opened its second location inside the market in late June, set up beehives out back, along with a half-acre garden that will produce ingredients for the restaurant and offer educational opportunities to visitors.
"Everything we grow at the garden is planned to be used at the restaurant," owner Jeff Rogoff said. "I would say the overall purpose of the garden is not necessarily to supplement our food sourcing -- it’s an education piece. There’s a lot to be learned, a lot to be gained, in having an urban farm with us and being able to share it with the community."
Both this location of Sazza and the original in Greenwood Village use all-organic ingredients, locally sourced when possible. It's beef and chicken come from grass-fed, Colorado animals. The honey produced by the bees at Stanley is used in several Sazza recipes, including an ancient grain crust. They grow a lot of their own herbs, and use Colorado berries and peaches in their dessert pizzas.
"Sometimes people just pop in and say, 'Hey, have a bunch of basil in my backyard, do you want it?' " Rogoff said.
Though it only just opened, Sazza was one of the first restaurants to sign on at Stanley.
"They’ve always wanted from the beginning some land at Stanley to put together an urban garden to grow some vegetables and herbs ... to cook and education," said Bryant Palmer, "chief storyteller" at Stanley Marketplace.
And right alongside Sazza's garden, Stanley will have its own. They've got a potential partner to help manage it and are hoping it will be ready to grow produce by next summer.
"We’re trying to do something more community-garden-esque, where we tap into the local population and get some people out here to tend to the various plots," Palmer said.
Sazza also built a community room at Stanley, where they'll host educational programs.
"It was partially funded in a GoFundMe-type thing. And that is going to be tied into the farm itself," Rogoff said. "Unfortunately, I can’t just pick tomatoes when I need them. They need to be picked when we need to be picked. So we’ll have a class on preserving, for example."
Rogoff also hopes to someday get some chickens, maybe, and a portable oven that can be used for catering and for dinners out by the farm.
Sazza is on the first floor at Stanley Marketplace, 2501 N. Dallas Way, next to Yellowbelly. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
