Leaf Turns 20 and Steps Out of the Teahouse Family: What Changes at 1710 Pearl

"Leaf, a Boulder favorite, is packed at lunch with everyday folks eating things like bibimbap and seitan Reuben sandwiches." Bon Appétit wrote that in 2010, when Leaf was four years old and still on 16th Street. Sixteen years later the restaurant has a different address and a different schedule, and it's in the middle of an ownership change bigger than any since it opened.

In August, Boulder Weekly reported that Leaf Vegetarian Restaurant at 1710 Pearl St. would pass from Three Leaf Concepts to Lauren Rosellini, its executive chef since 2024. For two decades Leaf belonged to a family of restaurants that included the Dushanbe Teahouse and the Chautauqua Dining Hall. A farm in Lafayette sent most of its harvest to Leaf's kitchen. The handoff makes Leaf a chef-owned restaurant on the East End of Pearl, and that changes what the place depends on.

A restaurant that grew up inside a group

Lenny and Sara Martinelli own Three Leaf Concepts. Lenny bought the Naropa Cafe in 1992, and the couple took over the Dushanbe Teahouse in 1998. They opened Leaf in 2006. By 2015, BizWest listed a portfolio that included the Teahouse, the Chautauqua Dining Hall, The Huckleberry, Zucca, Leaf, Aji, the Naropa Cafe, Three Leaf Farm, a catering business and Boulder Tea Company.

For most of its life, Leaf shared space and resources with that group. On 16th Street it shared a kitchen with Aji, the group's Latin American restaurant, which has since closed. The 2018 move to 1710 Pearl gave Leaf its own kitchen for the first time and about 30 percent more seats. It also moved the restaurant onto Pearl Street itself. Sara Martinelli told Boulder Reporting Lab that "being right on Pearl Street has been wonderful," mostly because of the extra foot and car traffic.

The 2018 move gave Leaf a kitchen of its own. The 2026 handoff gives it an owner of its own.

The farm on Coal Creek

What made Leaf's menu was its supply line. The Martinellis bought Three Leaf Farm in 2010. The farm describes itself as a working family farm along Coal Creek in Lafayette, growing organic produce, herbs and flowers for the group's restaurants. The Teahouse's farm page names Gerald Manning as a partner.

All of the group's restaurants got some produce from the farm, but in 2023 Boulder Reporting Lab reported that most of it went to Leaf. Lenny Martinelli, the group's co-founder and executive chef, worked with each kitchen to build menu items around the season's harvest, such as heirloom tomato caprese and roasted beet steak.

In practice, a vegetarian restaurant on East Pearl was the main outlet for a farm about a dozen miles east. The menu followed the farm's growing season. That arrangement was easy to keep up when one company owned both the farm and the restaurant. Under separate ownership, it becomes a business decision.

What the announcement said, and what it didn't

The August 17 announcement framed the change around the anniversary. Leaf planned a celebration on Wednesday, August 26, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. It promised "a refreshed atmosphere," signature drinks including nonalcoholic options, vinyl records on the turntable, a photo booth and "announcements about the restaurant's future." Tickets were $20. The same story included a photo captioned "Leaf's new look," a fresh coat of paint ahead of the party.

Rosellini's own statement looked ahead:

"I am incredibly excited and thankful to be stepping into a larger role in the community. I truly cannot wait to bring so many new ideas to life, and to see new and familiar faces at all of our upcoming events and services."

The announcement said Leaf would keep its plant-forward, vegetarian focus and its emphasis on sustainability and local ingredients. It also said the menu would keep featuring local farms, distilleries, breweries and makers, and that many longtime dishes would stay. The change also makes Leaf a woman-owned business.

The announcement mentions "local farms" in general. It does not name Three Leaf Farm. As of early October, we haven't found any later coverage confirming that the ownership transfer has closed. The Three Leaf Concepts website still lists Leaf next to the Teahouse, the Dining Hall, Huckleberry, Zucca and the farm. That listing may simply not have been updated yet. For now, "transitioning" is the accurate word.

The menu posted right now

Leaf's website already reflects the new arrangement in one way. The current dinner menu lists Lauren Rosellini as executive chef, and the dinner, brunch and beverage menus all carry August 2026 dates in their file names. The menus don't mark which dishes are new and which are carryovers, so the list below is what's on offer now, with no claim about when each item started.

Dinner includes carrot kofta, okonomiyaki Brussels sprouts, a Colorado gold BBQ lion's mane sandwich, a woodland "steak," parihuela, sesame tofu and kimchi fried rice.

Weekend brunch includes carrot lox, a farmer's scramble, Flatirons hash, a Turkish benedict, chilaquiles and chik'n and grits.

The bar has a zero-proof list with a kava rose, an amarena sour and a birdseye basil, plus Best Day nonalcoholic beer, alongside a honey-ginger gin and tonic.

One longtime dish is an easy test of whether the old favorites survived. Boulder Reporting Lab calls Leaf's buffalo fried cauliflower tacos, with vegan blue cheese, celery and carrot, an "Untouchable," one of the Boulder dishes regulars keep ordering. Cauliflower tacos also appear on Leaf's happy hour card, though that card is dated May 2026, before the handoff was announced.

The schedule has also moved far from the busy weekday lunch Bon Appétit described. Here is what Leaf's website lists now:

The posted schedule has no weekday lunch. The best times to drop in are dinner, the early-evening happy hour, and the weekend brunch-into-happy-hour stretch.

What to watch on the plate

Whether Leaf is still connected to Coal Creek is the question no current source answers. If the farm keeps supplying the restaurant under a new arrangement, the seasonal rhythm Lenny Martinelli built into the menu can carry on. If it doesn't, Rosellini's promise to feature "local farms, distilleries, breweries and makers" points to a wider network of suppliers, and the menu would follow her choices instead of one farm's harvest calendar.

Either way, the evidence will show up in the menus, which Leaf has reformatted once already this year. Seasonal dishes with named farms would be the clearest sign. Leaf's website also has an email signup for special dinners, events, holiday reservations and menu changes. It hasn't posted any specific dates yet, and Rosellini's mention of "upcoming events and services" suggests a calendar is coming.

Leaf has been feeding East Pearl since it moved to 1710 Pearl in 2018. For the first time, the chef who writes the menu will also own the restaurant.

Long-running places like Leaf are part of what makes the East End feel like a neighborhood. Marybeth pays close attention to how they change hands, because the blocks around them change too. If you live near Pearl and want to talk about what shifts like this mean for your street and your home, Marybeth Emerson would be glad to sit down with you. Schedule a consultation.