Little Brazil finds it wonderful to be celebrating 10 years in Wheat Ridge! Little Brazil was established in 2011, originally as a small market in Westminster. It came to life as a desire to pursue a new career and for Kallen, the owner, to honor her mother, who was a chef and unfortunately died very young at age 49. Kallen had no experience in the restaurant business, but enjoyed cooking and had taken classes in different cooking techniques, and of course had a passion for Brazilian food. Kallen has a degree in business and accounting, so naturally she followed the steps of writing a business plan, did some research about the population of Brazilians in Colorado, and hired a restaurant consultant to help her be successful in my new endeavor.
So how did it start? Kallen approached the little Brazilian market owner at the time and asked her if they could partner and expand the market into a restaurant. The owner of the market was not interested in this proposal, but to Kallen’s surprise, she wanted to sell the small market. Kallen bought the market and within a year they moved the operation to Wheat Ridge. After some growing pains, a couple of remodels, and a pandemic, Little Brazil survived 10 years in the Wheat Ridge community and molded Little Brazil as it exists today.
Little Brazil’s mission is to provide authentic and delicious Brazilian food in Colorado, and to bring a little bit of Brazil to our community. Over the years Little Brazil has been able to share a lot of cultural traditions, and they have been able to spread the love of Brazilian food and culture throughout our community. Now, Little Brazil is hoping to increase their reach as they will be moving to a bigger location. Little Brazil is very excited for the opportunity to have a newer and bigger space in Wheat Ridge. Their new home will be located on W 38th Ave. and Wadsworth. The new location includes a bigger dine in area, an outdoor patio, and they will be opening for breakfast! The new location will be ready early 2023.
“These are exciting times for us, and we hope our customers will feel the same way. Wheat Ridge has been wonderful to us, and we hope we can celebrate 20 years in the community 10 years from now!” – Kallen Marques, Owner, Little Brazil
