The Most Anticipated Restaurant Openings of 2025

Last year was another big one for the local dining scene, with nearly 300 new places to eat and drink making their debut. Many new additions got national recognition, including Alma Fonda Fina, which nabbed a Michelin star and landed on our list of the ten best new restaurants of the year. Husband-and-wife owners Johnny and Kasie Curiel also opened a restaurant in Boulder, as well as a sister concept next door to Alma Fonda Fina, Mezcaleria Alma.

But we're already hungry for what's coming next: a fourth restaurant from the Curiels. And that's just one of the most anticipated restaurant openings in metro Denver in 2025. Here's the lineup:

Alteño
249 Clayton Street
Projected opening: Spring/summer
Opening three restaurants in a year is ambitious, but that's exactly what chef Johnny Curiel and his wife, Kasie, pulled off between December 2023 and the end of 2024. Earning a Michelin star for the first of those concepts, Alma Fonda Fina, just nine months into its run was even more impressive. But the Curiels aren't slowing down. They're currently working on a fourth restaurant, Alteño, which will take over the former Kini's space inside Cherry Creek's Clayton Hotel & Members Club. While the details are still being finalized, the name is a nod to Altos de Jalisco, a region of Mexico where Johnny moved as a child with his father. The new project will be helmed by Eric Honas, the original chef de cuisine at Alma Fonda Fina.

Blossom by SYC
1691 Central Street
Projected opening: Spring
LoHi is a hot neighborhood for restaurants, but one space has seen a lot of turnover: 1691 Central Street. Most recently home to El Chingon, which shuttered last year (though it still has an outpost inside DIA), since 2012 this address has also been home to Central Bistro, Candela Latin Kitchen and Northside Eatery + Market. Will high-end Chinese cuisine be a hit in the neighborhood? That's what Shuang Crossland is hoping. The chef has operated restaurants under the One Concept Restaurant Group brand in Denver for nearly two decades. Blossom by SYC will be part of Crossland's new, more upscale SYC Concepts sister brand; the spot is expected to have striking decor and a full bar.

Boombots Pasta Shop
2647 West 38th Avenue
instagram.com/boombots_pastashop
Projected opening: Spring/summer
Like the Curiels, the husband-and-wife team of Cliff and Cara Blauvelt is keeping busy. The Blauvelts launched their first solo venture, the rowdy Sunnyside sandwich shop dubbed Bodega, in 2022. The restaurant, which serves craveable sandwiches and more for breakfast and lunch, quickly gained a lot of fans — and the attention of a Kansas City restaurant called La Bodega Tapas & Lounge, which, it turns out, has had a trademark on "bodega" for 25 years. So in July, the Blauvelts rebranded that spot as Odie B's — in the midst of working to open a second location, coming soon to the Novel RiNo building. They're also in the final stages of developing a brand-new concept, Boombots Pasta Shop, which will be located in the space next door to the original Odie B's. The name is "old-school Italian slang for 'idiots' — which seems fitting for what we're doing," Blauvelt jokes. "Pasta is across all cultures, and nothing is off the table." Look for a Boombots sneak-peek pop-up in February.

Denchu
1551 South Pearl Street
Projected opening: Late winter
Christmas Eve marked the fortieth anniversary of Sushi Den, which remains one of the top sushi spots in the city. Over the years, founders and brothers Toshi and Yasu Kizaki have expanded their mini-empire on South Pearl Street, creating Den Corner — which consists of Sushi Den, Ototo and Izakaya Den. This year, they will add a fourth eatery to the block, Denchu, "a new, Japanese chef-led boutique restaurant created by master chef and owner Toshi Kizaki," Yasu says in a press release announcing the news, which notes that the new addition "will guide guests on a delicious and deep-rooted culinary journey. Using long-established relationships and connections in Japan, the menu will showcase the highest quality ingredients and traditional techniques found in upscale omakase restaurants in Tokyo."

Emilia
3615 Delgany Street
instagram.com/emilia_ristorante
Projected opening: Spring/summer
Since opening in 2020, Restaurant Olivia in Washington Park has consistently impressed, nabbing Best of Denver awards including Best New Restaurant in 2021 and Best Pasta in 2022 and becoming a staple on our annual Top 100 Restaurants list. Now co-owners chef Ty Leon, hospitality director Heather Morrison and beverage director Austin Carson are putting their talent behind a new restaurant that will be located on the first floor of the Current office building in RiNo. Emilia's inspiration will draw heavily from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, home to such iconic Italian staples as Parmesan cheese, prosciutto di Parma and balsamic vinegar (balsamico) from Modena. "We are going to be a restaurant where the ingredients tell a story," Morrison tells Westword, but that story will be narrated with a distinctively Colorado voice. According to Leon, Emilia will be more focused on importing Italian techniques and philosophy than actual ingredients, which he hopes to source locally to create a new kind of Italian-Coloradan cuisine.

Johnny Bechamel's
Washington Park
instagram.com/johnnybechamels
Projected opening: Spring
It's been just over eight years since chefs Spencer White and Alex Figura, along with co-owner Lulu Clair, debuted their fast-casual pasta joint Dio Mio. Since then, it's remained a favorite in an ever-shifting RiNo. In 2022, the team doubled down on its presence in the neighborhood with the addition of Redeemer Pizza. In 2025, they'll bring their culinary skills to a new part of town. While the specific location is still under wraps, Johnny Bechamel's is definitely coming to the Wash Park neighborhood. Details are sparse for now, but we know it will serve both pizza and pasta.

Leven Supply
300 East Alameda Avenue
instagram.com/levensupplyco
Projected opening: January 13

Leven Downtown
675 15th Street
instagram.com/levendelico
Projected opening: Summer
In 2018, industry vet and sommelier Anthony Lygizos opened Leven Deli in the Golden Triangle neighborhood. The daytime spot has become a go-to for breakfast burritos, pastrami sandwiches and glasses of wine during happy hour. Now it's expanding twofold. On January 13, Leven Supply will open near Wash Park; the counter-service restaurant, market and gift shop will serve grab-and-go-style meals, as well as a curated selection of high-end grocery goods and approachable wines. Later this year, Leven will add a second deli location in the Central Business District, on the ground level of the Block 162 building. The downtown outpost of Leven will offer an expanded menu that includes dinner service; it will also be outfitted with a full bar, an open kitchen and fully grown live trees inside the space.

Risica
3463 Walnut Street
instagram.com/risica_denver
Projected opening: Summer
Andrea Frizzi operated Italian restaurant Il Posto in an intimate space in Uptown for a decade before it moved to RiNo in 2017; last year, he shuttered Il Posto after a seven-year run in that neighborhood. In 2025, he'll be back with a brand-new venture inside the Edit building in RiNo. "Risica comes from the phrase 'chi non risica non rosica,' meaning if you don't take a risk, you will regret it," the chef explains. The restaurant will be an "energetic" Milano-style pizzeria with charcuterie, oysters and small plates such as classic carpaccio, crudo, patate pasticciate, crostini, arancini, stuffed calamari, burrata made in-house and "a very spirited bar," Frizzi says, with plenty of wines by the glass and simple cocktails priced at $12 or under, with a focus on Aperol spritzes.