The Ginger Pig, a Michelin Bib Gourmand Eatery, Debuts Boulder Location

"The whole idea is getting back to our roots," says Natascha Hess, owner of the Ginger Pig. In 2016, Hess, a former college hockey player and lawyer, launched the business as a food truck in Boulder.

In 2020, she decided to make the leap to a brick-and-mortar, opening at 4262 Lowell Boulevard. "It was a big risk for us when we left Boulder to open a restaurant in Denver," she admits. "It was like starting over and having a whole new market."

But the risk paid off big. In August, the Ginger Pig was one of nine restaurants named as Bib Gourmand picks in Colorado's very first Michelin Guide, news that affirmed Hess's major career change and gave the eatery a big boost in business.

Now the Ginger Pig is back in its original hometown. On October 24, it debuted its second outpost — a takeout-only space on the Hill at 1203 13th Street in Boulder, just across from the Sink, a popular 100-year-old college bar. "It's a too-good-to-be-true location," Hess says of the space, which is decked out with a mural by local artist Kamla Presswalla depicting the original food truck, complete with a window where people can place walk-up orders. Online ordering via DoorDash, Grubhub and UberEats is also available.
"It's going back to the model of having four to five employees and everyone does everything," Hess notes. "It's exciting to me as a business owner and as a real food trucker — it feels like a big food truck with walls that don't move."

Hess signed a lease for the new location in July 2022 and originally expected to open by last October. "It's been really hard financially and emotionally," she admits of the year-long delays. "I'm really proud of everyone's hard work on the project, from the general contractor to my whole staff."

And, she adds, "we're excited to be open for the first football season with Deion Sanders."

The menu at the Boulder location is designed to appeal to college students. "When I was in Asia, I had a lot of time to think," Hess says of her most recent travels. While the original plan was to build the Boulder menu around rice bowls, she was inspired by the vibrant banh mi scene in Vietnam and opted to add sandwiches to the lineup.

Many of the Denver restaurant's staple items are available, such as char siu pork, karaage (Japanese fried chicken) and Sichuan spicy eggplant. But in Boulder, they can be ordered four different ways: a banh mi sandwich or bowl, a rice bowl with Sichuan cucumbers, or a noodle bowl. "It's really different than what we've done in the past," Hess notes. "We wanted to make it more approachable and college-friendly, and have the food available in a new way that's more transportable."
The popular cornflake-crusted Korean corn dog is available as well, along with two new hot dog options: a banh mi-inspired take and another topped with kimchi, gochujang mustard scallions and sesame seeds. "The first street food I ever had was a hot dog in New York City," Hess says. "There are just so many ways you can play with a hot dog."

There's also a pâté banh mi and a house banh mi made with pâté and Vietnamese cold cuts. Other options include furikake-spiced 'Taiko Tots served with mentaiko (cod roe) mayo as well as Hong Kong French Toast, a sweet item that Hess originally created specifically for Boulder, she says, "but it was so good, we put it on the menu in Denver too."

Soon, the Boulder location will roll out some banh mi specials as well. "We'll be doing a lobster banh mi and an egg banh mi, which is really common in Vietnam. I'm really excited about the Jewish brisket banh mi that we're going to do," Hess says.

Also coming soon: later hours. "We're going to start staying open until midnight, maybe just on weekends at first," Hess notes. "It just feels really comfortable and safe. We really feel like Boulder is our home, and we're part of the community there."

Ginger Pig Boulder is located at 1203 13th Street in Boulder and is open from 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and 4 to 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. For more information, visit gingerpig.com.