Francois Safieddine purchases the former Mori

Photo courtesy of Jay Graves.

Mori was once a shining star on Market Street.

For decades, Mori was one of our favorite Japanese restaurants, a real find tucked behind the Nisei lodge at 2015 Market Street, in an area that was far from a hipster hangout before the ballpark moved in.

The place never quite recovered from a remodeling that turned the dark, cozy veterans' bar in front into a sake bar, though, and two years ago, Mori suddenly closed.

Now this prime piece of property -- in the shadow of Coors Field, but outside the confines of the LoDo Historic District (and its design review board) -- has been purchased by club king Francois Safieddine, who bought it from the Nisei Veterans Heritage Foundation for a reported $900,000. The spot, which includes a huge parking area, has a lot of potential, and plans are still in the early stages, according to marketing veep Paulina Szafranski.

And that's not all: Safieddine's Lotus Concepts Properties has also purchased the Zeppelin-owned building at 1414 Market for a cool $1,525,000.