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BOULDER - Peg Romano is all about design.
The co-owner of Boulder's Mediterranean Restaurant-locally known as "The Med" - and Brasserie Ten Ten across the street, had designs on a new space to add an upscale Italian eatery. Once she found that site, she designed the interior as well as the seasonal comfort food.
Now, two and a half years after its March 2016 opening, Via Perla bustles with downtown Boulder crowds enjoying an ever-changing menu of Italian fare from different regions and different seasons.
"It was a concept from start to finish," she said.
She and her husband "started with The Med 25 years ago" in partnership with longtime Boulder restaurateur Anthony Laudisio, "and that was the beginning of restaurant design for me," Romano said. "We remodeled the space that was there and have done two more remodels since then." Then, 15 years ago at Brasserie Ten Ten, "in order to get a whole new feel and look, we decided to make it look like a brasserie," a type of vibrant, informal dining venue common in France.
For their Italian restaurant, the Romanos closed in summer 2015 on the $2.1 million purchase of the ground-floor space of a newly constructed building at Ninth and Pearl streets that was built on the former site of a Tesla Motors showroom and Marisol Imports.
Diners entering Via Perla immediately notice a contrast - the...