La Cosecha Latin Market to Open this June in the Union Market District

Meaning “the harvest” in Spanish, La Cosecha, will be a central gathering place celebrating Latin American arts, culture and heritage. Fusing education and experience, La Cosecha will bring a collection of first-to-region restaurants, retail, cultural programming and pop-ups to Washington. The La Cosecha community will be comprised of artisans, businesses and entrepreneurs delivering authentic foods, flavors and craftsmanship to the nation’s capital.

“We are excited to open the doors of La Cosecha this summer, establishing an international stage for the beautiful, rich cultures of Latin America,” says EDENS CEO Jodie W. McLean. “We’ve been inspired by the support and enthusiasm of both the Latin American embassies and the wider Latin American community who have been instrumental and instructional in guiding our attempt at bringing forth an authentic, sophisticated representation of the rich heritages, cultures and experiences of their home countries. We look forward to inviting everyone to La Cosecha in June and know that, much like us, you’ll be inspired.”

The elevated, high-design market will serve as a gathering spot for celebrating contemporary expressions of Latin culture through food, art, music, fashion, film, sport, travel and dance. Along with key food and retail partners, Washington’s influential international community will play a pivotal role at La Cosecha, too.

The market’s partnerships with Latin embassies, cultural and diplomatic leaders and strategic stakeholders from the Latin community will solidify La Cosecha as a national platform for Latin culture and cuisine. Cultural opportunities for the larger community will include art exhibits, film screenings, live performances, media lab space and outdoor activations throughout the year.

Opening with 14 retail partners, EDENS is excited to highlight some of them:

• Internationally renowned chef Juan Manuel Barrientos will bring the second U.S. outpost of his luxury elcielo restaurants to D.C. – following the first in Miami – offering his innovative take on cuisine from his native Colombia. Originally based in Medellín, elcielo first opened 14 years ago, adding a second location in Bogotá, which is continually ranked in the top 50 ranking of Latin American restaurants.
  • “Bringing elcielo to La Cosecha is a privilege,” Barrientos says. “The D.C. area has a large multicultural population from all over the world, and I’m proud of our food heritage from Colombia that we want to share with Washington.”
• Brazilian native Carolina Furukrona‘s luxury lifestyle brand NOVA BOSSA promotes artisanal brands from the Latin world across art and home décor, bain couture, fashion accessories, handbags, jewelry and ready-to-wear.
  • “I am excited to give a platform to the cutting-edge design and masterful craftsmanship I saw from years of traveling throughout Latin America as a museum and corporate executive,” says NOVA BOSSA founder, creative director and CEO Carolina Furukrona. “NOVA BOSSA will be at the forefront of independent, mission-based brands that emphasize exclusive products, collaboration, focused curation and cultural exchange to give consumers authenticity and originality, and the women artisans we invest in opportunity and empowerment.”
• Amparo comes from Mexico-born, longtime D.C. local Christian Irabién, whose cooking is inspired by his family’s traditions from Chihuahua, Distrito Federal (CDMX) and the coastal states of Veracruz, Yucatán and Guerrero. Irabién spent the previous five years cooking with Chef José Andrés and Chef Cathal Armstrong, discovering his love of fine dining and combining it with the traditional flavors he grew up with. Following a wildly successful pop-up last summer, he brings the eatery (named for his mother and grandmother) to La Cosecha, offering a modern-day take on Mexican cuisine alongside a mezcal-heavy beverage program.
  • “With Amparo, I’m aiming to dispel the notion that Mexican food is the same copy-and-paste menu most Americans are familiar with,” Irabién says. “We want to challenge the stereotypes around what Mexican food can be and want Amparo to be a place not just where people eat, but also experience as a hub for Mexican culture.”
• Bolivian native Chef Sebastian Quiroga is behind the plant-based fine dining experience at Ali Pacha, which means ‘the plant universe’ in the Aymara language. Hailing from Le Cordon Bleu London, Astrid & Gaston in Lima and both Relae and Studio in Copenhagen, Quiroga pairs traditional Bolivian ingredients with modern culinary techniques to create artistic, sustainable vegan dishes. Ali Pacha was named one of the five most exciting Latin American restaurants to watch in 2019.
• The signature fare from Venezuelan chef Federico Tischler‘s White Envelope Arepa + Ceviche Bar – a new concept from the Baltimore favorite – is inspired by the cultures, geographies and individual people that have influenced the chef’s career and personal taste over the years. White Envelope will feature a menu that mixes traditional preparations and recipes with modern adaptations, combining local products with global flavors.
• Grand Cata owners and co-founders Pedro J. Rodriguez and Julio Robledo hail from Puerto Rico and Chile, respectively, but their wine shop in Shaw specializes in bottles from across Latin America and heritage nations. Grand Cata’s second D.C. location is a new grocery-wine bar concept for La Cosecha featuring a curated selection of classic and sustainable natural wines from Latin America in addition to artisanal gastronomic products from the region. Grand Cata will also feature a wine club, workshops and private events.
  • “La Cosecha is the perfect next step for Grand Cata as a natural meeting point of the diverse Latin American cultures in the nation’s capital,” say Rodriguez and Robledo. “We love connecting and telling our story through the products from our home countries. We think of ourselves as Latin American ambassadors of the culture and we love to share this with everyone.”
• The sibling duo behind D.C.’s popular Peruvian Brothers – Giuseppe + Mario Lanzone – were born and raised off the coast of Lima, pursuing separate professional paths (including Olympic rowing for Giuseppe) for more than a decade before teaming up for their culinary venture. With their first brick-and-mortar location and the expansion of the business, they’ll bring Peruvian-style sandwiches, empanadas, desserts and hot sauces to the market.

Designed in collaboration with Gensler, La Cosecha will feature beautiful concessions and gathering spaces, including a private event space, reflecting some of the most intriguing aspects of Latin American architecture and interior design.

“Growing up in Colombia, I drew on my experiences of being at the plaza for market day and holidays,” says Gensler Principal Design Director Walter Trujillo. “Our goal with La Cosecha was to design a rich tapestry of spaces centered around a ‘plaza,’ celebrating Latin culture and community through food and experience.”

Future La Cosecha retail partners include a coffee shop, mezcaleria, books + paper boutique and more, adding to an already rich cultural district that has hosted the annual James Beard Foundation Sunday Supper fundraiser at Union Market, as well as world-renowned artists Yoko Ono and Mr. Brainwash.

Additionally, La Cosecha’s Culinary Immersion Studio will offer artists, chefs and the public the opportunity to dive head-first into Latin American kitchens, sampling cuisines that can only be shared through hands-on experience. The studio will also be a hub for other creative activations and education, such as language classes, workshops, art exhibitions, talks and pop-ups, serving as a place to get creative, share stories and learn from doing.

Also as part of its community outreach, La Cosecha will work in tandem with the Carlos Rosario School, which has transformed the lives of tens of thousands of immigrants in D.C. by investing in and supporting their development and skills. The complementary Carlos Rosario Culinary Arts Internship Program will provide internship job placement opportunities, work experience and exposure via La Cosecha’s retail partners.

Another highlight is EDENS’ newly established La Cosecha Foundation, which will contribute to and support important causes in Latin America. Retail partners will donate a portion of sales to the Foundation to achieve this goal. The Foundation will also be supplemented by additional fundraising and support from strategic partnerships and sponsorships.

La Cosecha is slated to open in June 2019. For more information, visit www.lacosechadc.com and @lacosechadc.

ABOUT LA COSECHA
La Cosecha is a contemporary market in Washington, D.C. celebrating Latin American culture and conversation by telling the stories that unite the Americas: love of family, community and life; pride in values; credence in hard work; and celebration through food and art. At La Cosecha, a place designed for community, we discover seasonal experiences in music, film, culinary learning and creative tourism all grounded in the cultures it serves with a philanthropic mission to foster business education throughout Latin America. Our unique and rich experiences are curated in partnership with Latin American embassies and cultural tastemakers. The harvest, la cosecha, is the natural time of joyfully reaping what has been cultivated by a dynamic community. Celebremos.

ABOUT EDENS
EDENS is a retail real estate owner, operator and developer of a nationally-leading portfolio of 125+ retail places. Our purpose is to enrich community through human engagement. EDENS has 250 employees across offices in key markets including Washington, D.C., Boston, Dallas, Columbia, Atlanta, Miami, Charlotte, Houston and Denver. For additional information about the company and its retail real estate portfolio, visit www.edens.com.

SOURCE EDENS