Japanese Restaurant to Replace Longtime Centennial Barbecue Staple

Late last year, the only Colorado location of the popular Florida chain Bono’s Pit Bar-B-Q shut its doors after a twenty-year run, and ever since, the space at 9393 East Dry Creek Road in Centennial has sat vacant. 

Shortly after, the neighboring Arrow Electronics HQ building was demolished, with plans to replace the lot with apartment complexes. With the pending addition of this residential inventory, the Drury Inn & Suites hotel next door, and the Dry Creek light rail station just across the street, the location seems a prime opportunity for a new restaurant owner to establish themselves with built-in foot traffic. 

While Bono owners Alex and Jessie Liesegang may have closed the restaurant, they retained ownership of the property, so it stands to reason that another restaurant would soon be taking over. 

“A new tenant will begin development almost immediately after we close. They are excited to join the Centennial community,” the couple said in a statement announcing Bono’s closure in October 2025. 

Now we know what that new tenant will be. Hanging over the old Bono’s sign is a banner announcing the pending opening of a sushi and izakaya concept called Kinoya. 

Before we all get too excited, no, it’s not the only U.S. outpost of the Michelin-recommended ramen and izakaya restaurant of the same name in Dubai (which landed on the 50 Best Restaurants 2026 list for the Middle East and North Africa). Nor is it the U.S. extension of Toronto’s Kinoya Sushi and Bar. Kinoya is Japanese for “little house” so you can see how it may be a common name. 

Instead, it appears to be the latest Japanese concept from the same restaurateur behind Shoyu Sushi & Japanese Cuisine in Parker. According to Colorado Secretary of State records, both restaurants have the same listed owner. 

If the Parker Shoyu location is any indication, Kinoya is likely to be a bright and lively Japanese concept that leans heavily on atmosphere. At Shoyu, the music is loud, the drinks are plentiful and the walls are covered in colorful Japanese posters and prints. 

The menu, while Japanese in title, is decidedly “all-things-Asian-American” type fare. Ramen? Of course. Chicken teriyaki? There it is, in all its gloopy-sauced glory. Sushi? All the yellowtail, salmon and unagi you can hope for, served in a nice big wooden boat. But just in case, there’s also a very non-Japanese (or Chinese for that matter) crab cheese wonton on the menu as well. 

By all accounts, the locals seem to like it — it has an average 4.7-star rating on Google and 4.5 stars on Yelp. 

While there’s a “coming soon” banner on the Kinoya space, the renovation project looks to be just getting started. The windows are covered with cardboard, and construction pods line the parking lot. The old Bono’s location appears to be about twice as large as the Parker Shoyu and comes with a delivery window (although no word yet on whether it will offer sushi to go). 

The Kinoya/Shohu Sushi ownership team has yet to respond to a request for comment on the project, but we’ll provide updates as they become available.