(Image: Fogon)
E Pine’s much loved Fogon is adding an E Pike sister bar that will also honor a lost loved one.
La Josie’s Tequila Bar will give fans of Fogon’s Capitol Hill take on “family style” Mexican restaurants a new place to hang out and enjoy a beer or a house margarita just a block from the popular E Pine eatery.
“Sometimes people just want to have a snack and a drink,” Noel Cortez tells CHS.
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La Josie’s will take over the space where East Trading Co. shuttered last month after a little more than a year of business in the former Sun Liquor Distillery location at Pike and Belmont. Cortez says he has been looking for “the perfect fit” in recent years as Fogon has grown into a steady business following its 2012 debut on E Pine where it successfully broke a chain of quick failures by other food and drink ventures.
La Josie’s will also honor Cortez’s nephew and late business partner who helped him turn Fogon into a Capitol Hill success. Jose Ambriz passed away in February. He was 35. Jose’s sister Amparo Ambriz will now join Cortez as an owner launching the new business.
Cortez says that after some maintenance work and a few upgrades, he and Ambriz hope to open La Josie’s in early 2020.
What a lovely tribute to Jose. Looking forward to see what the Fogon family creates there. Fogon has been one of my favorites since they opened, and clearly with so many others since the line is often out the door in peak times. Wishing Noel and Amparo all the best!
We love Fogon since it opened. Glad to see another place is opening around the corner, I’m sure it will be as successful.
Fogon’s food, like most of the ‘Mexican’ food on the hill, is so mediocre. Looking forward to trying this new bar though.