Hosea Rosenberg to open Morso in South Boulder this June

Hosea Rosenberg is betting South Boulder has room for one more neighborhood restaurant, and he and Lauren Feder Rosenberg are turning that idea into Morso at the former Under the Sun space at 627A S. Broadway in the Table Mesa Shopping Center. The new spot was expected to open in June, and the location itself is part of the pitch: Rosenberg saw a large kitchen, good parking and a part of town that sends diners elsewhere because choices are limited.

That is a meaningful shift for the block Under the Sun occupied for 11 years before closing on Aug. 17, 2024. Its owner pointed to staffing shortages, rising costs and concerns about Boulder’s business climate when the restaurant shut down, leaving a familiar address open for a new operator with a different playbook. Rosenberg said his friendship with Kevin Daly helped make the opportunity possible, a reminder that in Boulder hospitality, relationships still matter as much as square footage.

Morso is being built as a contemporary Italian-American neighborhood restaurant and bar, which puts it closer to a red-sauce comfort room than a polished, modern pasta temple. The menu is set to lean into pizza, house-made pasta and familiar Italian-American staples such as chicken parmesan, eggplant parmesan and shrimp parmesan, with additional dishes including rigatoni alla vodka, mafaldine bolognese and a giant mozzarella-stick-style appetizer. Diners can also expect regional Italian wines, cocktails and an amaro list, along with wood-fired pizzas drawn from a oven that was already in place in the space.

The concept fits the Rosenbergs’ broader Little Piggy Hospitality portfolio, which already includes Blackbelly and Santo. Blackbelly opened in 2014 and became a Boulder mainstay, while Santo debuted in 2017 with a New Mexico-inspired point of view. Morso extends that run in a different direction, one shaped by Lauren Feder Rosenberg’s New Jersey roots and by the team’s recent work experimenting with naturally fermented pizza dough for the past couple of years.

The geography matters as much as the food. Visit Boulder describes South Boulder as a residential district with a strong community feel, easy trail access and just 13 places to eat in its neighborhood guide. Morso is stepping into that gap with a format built for repeat visits, not one-off splurges, and Rosenberg is making the case that keeping more dining dollars on the south side of town is part of the story. In a neighborhood with a short list of places to eat, Morso is arriving as both a pasta shop and a sign of where South Boulder dining may be headed next.