Spinelli’s Owners Unveil New Congress Park Market

"What would you call that color?" a man asks about the exterior paint on the building at 2620 East 12th Avenue.
Coral?"

"I'm not  sure," replies a woman who stopped to chat while walking her dog. "I hear the post office will still be there," she adds.

The neighborhood is curious about what's going on at 12th Avenue Market, which shuttered recently while being given a refresh by its new owners, who are ready to debut the space under a slightly different name, Congress Park Market. "We're hoping to open on Monday [December 4] or maybe Tuesday [December 5]," says Cecelia Jones.

Jones and her husband, Jake Riederer, are longtime restaurant-industry vets. But now, they're focused on a new mission. "Grocery stores like this are community builders. ... You still make the same connection you did in the restaurant, but it's so much more wholesome," explains Jones, who is a sommelier with a résumé that includes time as general manager and wine buyer at Uncle and Hop Alley and, most recently, a stint at the Kitchen in Boulder.

Last year, she decided to leave her job, opting to take some time to reassess what she wanted to do.
Riederer, who had worked at Dana Rodriguez's concepts Work & Class and Super Mega Bien, debuted his own sandwich concept, Open, in 2021. He ultimately decided to shutter it at the end of 2022, after it had moved into Goosetown Tavern, telling Westword at the time that he was "tired of the bar business" and its late-night hours.

By then, Jones was working at Spinelli's Beer, Wine & Spirits in Park Hill two days a week — a full-circle move, as Spinelli's Market next door was her very first employer, when she was fifteen years old.

It was John Moutzouris, who has owned Spinelli's since buying it from founders Jerry and Mary Ellen Spinelli in 2014, who sparked Jones's interest when he mentioned the Colorado Fresh Food Financing Fund (CO4F). "It was a state-funded program that was putting food in food deserts," Jones explains.

She and Riederer applied for funding, but after two locations in food deserts fell through, Moutzouris offered the couple the opportunity to buy into Spinelli's.

While their ultimate goal is still to operate markets in food deserts, Jones and Riederer couldn't pass up the chance to give the 12th Avenue Market a refresh when its owner decided to sell. "This was a Piggly Wiggly, and so was Spinelli's," Jones says. "It's got this lifetime of small grocery. It's got that cool history, so we don't have to rebuild history."

Also important to Jones is making sure those who live in the neighborhood have easy access to what they need. "This means that somebody can age in place," she notes. "That's really hard when you have to drive to get to your grocery and you're eighty years old. So someone can be right here and walk to us and get what they need and walk home."

Additionally, this market, like Spinelli's, will accept SNAP (food stamp) benefits.
There have been some notable changes made to the new iteration of the market — though the post office that's so important to the neighborhood will remain. It's been moved to the front counter, which has been expanded.

Long, tall shelves now fill the space and will be stocked with a wide range of items, from toilet paper and cereal to pasta, grains, beans and condiments like local hot sauces. Refrigerators will hold fresh produce as well as items like eggs and cheese, and there will be frozen pizzas, burritos and locally made pies, as well. "Selections will be just about the necessities," Jones says.

The store will also sell beer (many from local producers) and wines, which are being curated by general manager and partner Armando Juarez, who was formerly the beverage director at Work & Class and Super Mega Bien.

At the back of the shop is a brand-new addition: a deli counter. The cases there will hold some Spinelli's favorites, including pizza-making essentials, deli meats and cheeses that can be sliced to order, and prepared food such as potato salad, cole slaw, muffalletta mix and more.

Behind the counter is Michael Neale, a former sous chef at Hop Alley who most recently was working at the Wolf's Tailor, which earned its first Michelin star this year. Like Jones, Riederer and Juarez, he was ready for a lifestyle change. "I'm excited to make some sandwiches," he says. "I'm excited for a chill, normal-person schedule."

The opening lineup will include some staples from Spinelli's, including Jerry's Classic Italian; turkey cranberry Gouda; Caprese; and a muffaletta made with mortadella. Neale is also getting the chance to flex his creativity with new items that include a Japanese-style egg salad sandwich on slices of housemade shokupan (Japanese milk bread); a Korean fried chicken sandwich on shokupan buns; a French onion dip; and a bacon jam BLT.

In addition, ready-to-heat entrees such as meatloaf, lasagna and chiles rellenos will be available at the front of the shop.

As Jones, Riederer and their team put the final touches on Congress Park Market, they're already thinking about the future. "We hope to be able to multiply this and do it again and again," Jones says — starting with a market in Aurora in 2024.

"It's really a dream come true. I can't say that enough," she concludes. "When I explain what this has done to enrich our lives...it's been amazing. It's heavenly."

Congress Park Market is located at 2620 East 12th Avenue and will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.