Are there ever enough restaurants to satisfy you, Denver?
As the city grows, so do the dining offerings. It can be tough to keep up, especially when opening dates tend to remain vague until they're right on top of us, so it's sometimes best to just focus on what you're really looking forward to.
In that spirit, here's what we're excited to see open as we leave this scorched summer behind for fall.
Avelina
1550 17th St.
The chef and pastry chef couple that brought Denver Spuntino are just about ready to open the doors of their latest project, Avelina.
John Broening and Yasmin Lozada-Hissom, backed by the North Carolina-based Urban Food Group, will be serving a seasonal menu of wood-fired, New American cuisine. The bar will offer cocktails, craft beer and boutique wines.
You can get a glimpse of the menu on Instagram now. It features a rosemary-mustard roasted farmhouse chicken with spicy chorizo flageolets; Colorado lamb and mango with Oxford Farms greens, pickled Fresno chiles and a Thai vinaigrette; and ancient grains bruschetta with La Quercia prosciutto, pickled peaches and mustard grain caviar.
If you’re looking for a service industry job, good news: they’re hiring front- and back-of-the-house staff right now. Avelina is slated to open just down the street from Union Station by the end of August.
Dinner hours will be 4 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 4 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Stanley Marketplace
2501 Dallas St., Aurora
The crew behind Stanley Marketplace sure is good at building anticipation. They’ve been steadily announcing new tenants for the former Stanley Aviation building for months and offering glimpses of their construction progress through social media and events like The Big Wonderful.
Here’s a sampling of the businesses already announced: Belly Bliss, Zero Market, Glazed & Confuzed, Annette, Infinite Monkey Theorem, Maria Empanada, Cheluna Brewing Company, Sazza and Front Porch preschool.
The enormous space will house 50 businesses, and they’ll steadily start opening next month. There is no official opening date yet, but as Stanley staff recently pointed out on Facebook, the venue is hosting Cherry Creek Arts Festival events Sept. 16-18, so they’ll need to be ready by then.
Dio Mio
3264 Larimer St.
While the opening of this handmade pasta place is pretty vague -- set for sometime this fall -- it’s looking like they’re gearing up for the big moment.
And, more importantly, you'll get a chance to try their dishes beforehand.
Dio Mio already hosted one pop-up tasting at the end of July, serving a three-course dinner at Uncle on the 31st. And they’ve got another coming up at Hop Alley on Aug. 28. That one is already sold out, but more will be announced.
To get a sense of why you should be looking forward to this one, watch this extremely food-porny Dio Mio video.
Ocean to Plate
444 E. 19th Ave.
It’s a familiar tale, but that doesn’t make it any less charming: The Lobster Bliss food truck will soon get a brick-and-mortar home in Uptown.
The food truck and its wholesale counterpart brings seafood from the faraway oceans to Colorado plates within 24 hours. If you're homesick for the East Coast, this should help a little.
Earlier this year, the Denver Post reported that the 2,400-square-foot space, with seating for 80 inside and 36 outside, was looking to open around Labor Day weekend.
Ocean to Plate’s liquor license hearing is scheduled for Aug. 26, so, assuming it’s approved, feel free to start getting excited then. For now, you can keep getting their lobster rolls, lobster bisque and New England clam chowder at the food truck, which parks and serves at Civic Center Eats on Mondays and Fridays.
The Kitchen Cherry Creek
100 Steele St.
The Kitchen mini-empire expands soon with a new location in Cherry Creek North’s new Coda building.
Kimbal Musk and Hugo Matheson scored a desirable spot beneath luxury apartments, catty-corner from the Cherry Creek Shopping Center. There, they’ll have 4,500 square feet to seat 125 people indoors and patio seating for 45 outdoors.
The space was scheduled for completion sometime this month, and it looks like they’re still looking for a head chef, so don’t get impatient. The Kitchen’s Courtney Walsh says they’re looking at opening in October.
The Musk and Matheson will also open The Kitchen Next Door in Stapleton this November.
Que Bueno Suerte
1518 S. Pearl St.
Denver-based restaurateur Mission Yogurt, Inc. will open Que Bueno Suerte is bringing upscale Mexican cuisine to Platte Park in October.
Vincente "Vinny" Sosa is onboard as executive chef, and Chef Dana Rodriguez of Work & Class will oversee everything as consulting chef.
Que Bueno Suerte will be open for lunch and dinner, and will also feature a late-night menu.
Also on our radar:
- Ramen Corner, 1629 E. Bruce Randolph Ave., just had its liquor license hearing on Aug. 10, and we're interested to see what will happen at the former site of Daddy Bruces' B-B-Q.
- Olive & Finch is coming to 3390 E. First Ave. in Cherry Creek, but that’s about all we know right now. Chef and restaurateur Mary Nguyen closed P17 to focus on expanding the restaurant, bakery and market. The original is at 1552 E. 17th Ave.
