Racca's Pizzeria Napoletana to Open Colorado Mills Location on Monday

West-side pizza aficionados will finally be able to get their fix of Neopolitan pie when the third outpost of Racca's Pizzeria Napoletana fires up the wood-burning oven and swings open its doors at the Colorado Mills shopping center on West Colfax Avenue on Monday. If the name doesn't quite ring a bell, it's because the Racca's moniker was born just a few months ago, after Marco's Coal-Fired Pizza changed names at the end of last year.

It's still the same company, though, with the same high standards set by founder Mark Dym, who remains the only pizzaiolo in Colorado certified by Italy's Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, which requires adherence to strict pizza-making methods and ingredients from all of its members. If that doesn't mean much to you, know that Dym's attention to detail and quality earned Racca's our Best Pizza award in this year's Best of Denver.

Dym opened his first pizzeria in Denver in 2008 at 2129 Larimer Street and followed with a second in the Vallagio developent in Englewood in 2011. The name change from Marco's to Racca's came as a result of the growing presence in Colorado of national discount pie chain Marco's Pizza, which was founded in Toledo, Ohio, in 1978. Racca's is also launching its first pizzeria outside of Colorado this spring in Casper, Wyoming.

For those who complained that our recent list of the best restaurants on Colfax Avenue didn't include any eateries west of I-25, the opening of the newest Racca's should elevate the West Colfax dining scene; you can judge for yourself beginning at 11 a.m. on Monday. After that, Racca's will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, staying open an hour later on Fridays and Saturdays.