The Pony held a grand opening at the end of August and celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Denton Chamber of Commerce.
The details
The family-owned and operated space will now be open during standard hours as of Aug. 28. Jessica Madsen co-owns the business with her husband Owen Madsen, her son Dorian Marsh and with Marsh’s fiancee, Bella Tylen.
Local business owners, community leaders and chamber members were on hand and sampled strawberry basil cheesecake with champagne before the ceremonial ribbon cutting.
“This has been a passion project for us to launch,” Owen Madsen said. “We sat and thought about what we wanted to do for the next 20 years, and we knew that would be here in Denton. I couldn’t be more proud of my family.”
The backstory
Owen Madsen said Marsh and Tylen were their muses and inspired them to follow their creative side, leave the corporate world behind and become small business owners.
The Madsens are behind the cocktail bar and Italian-inspired restaurant, while Marsh serves as the business’s director of entertainment and marketing. Tylen, a ceramicist, runs the small-scale pottery studio on site.
The space will have live music every weekend. Marsh, a musician, is The Pony’s first music act for its opening night.
“We are a central element of live music in the city and I wanted to give back to the community that’s given me so much,” Marsh said.
Madsen said the food menu will be locally sourced and is inspired by authentic pizzas and appetizers from Rome, according to previous reporting. Some menu items include fresh olive oil tastings, prosciutto and melon bites, meatball sandwiches, pizzas like the prosciutto and stracciatella, and desserts from Denton-based eateries Ivan’s Cakes and Treats and Two Gentlemen of Verona.
