Walk the 1400 block of Larimer Street this month and the windows at the corner of 14th tell a different story than they did all summer. For three years, the space that once held Ted's Montana Grill remained vacant. Now there's a nine-foot fiberglass giraffe named Grace holding a chandelier in her mouth over the host stand, and the tables behind her are full most nights of the week.
The restaurant is called Rōmyō. It matters less that it's new and more who opened it.
A Block in Transition
Over the past several years, several long-standing businesses in Larimer Square have closed. The Market, a longtime neighborhood grocery and gathering spot, closed in 2020. Troy Guard's flagship TAG followed in 2021. Bistro Vendôme, a French bistro that had defined a certain kind of Larimer Square dinner for years, closed in 2022. Ted's Montana Grill was next, in 2023. Some of those spaces found new life quickly: the old Market storefront is now a vintage shop, and the former TAG space became an NADC Burger location. Others, including the space Bistro Vendôme left behind, remained vacant for years.
Businesses and storefronts on the block have changed over time, and some spaces remained vacant before new tenants arrived. The corner at 14th and Larimer went through its own version of that uncertainty. A sushi restaurant called Kiso had been slated for the Ted's space at one point, and that plan did not reach opening day. The corner stayed empty for another stretch.
A Restaurateur with Longstanding Ties to the Block
The next tenant came from inside the block. Frank and Jacqueline Bonanno have run Osteria Marco on Larimer Square since 2007. Frank Bonanno opened his flagship, Mizuna, in 2001, and this year marks 25 years of that restaurant staying open on a street where the average tenure, by his own estimate, runs closer to six or seven years. Bonanno renewed the lease on Osteria Marco for another 10 years around the same time he signed on for the Ted's space.
The timing of the two lease decisions is one part of Bonanno's longer history on the block. Bonanno has also seen changes on the block, including the closure of Russell's Smokehouse and its adjoining speakeasy. In an interview with Westword ahead of the opening, Bonanno described Larimer Square's older buildings bluntly, saying property management there is dealing with "a lot of things that are broken," while also noting that the current ownership has been more responsive about fixing them than in years past.
What Actually Opened
Rōmyō is not a rebrand of one of Bonanno's older concepts. It's built from pieces of several: the broths from his now-closed Bones, the technique from Mizuna, the pasta work from Luca, the Asian comfort-food instincts from the recently shuttered Dumplin', and proximity to Osteria Marco's Italian cooking next door. The restaurant's name is a portmanteau of Rome and Tokyo, and the food is built around itameshi, a Japanese term for Italian cooking filtered through Japanese technique. The opening menu includes Chicken Katsu alla Piccata, 'Nduja Dumplings, Udon Carbonara, Cacio e Pepe Ramen, a Parma Prosciutto Roll, and Chitarra alla Sake, alongside chawanmushi and a rotating kakigori dessert menu served from a cart built by FinArt Denver.
The space itself, inside the historic Miller Building at 1401 Larimer Street, seats 80 in the dining room, with additional outdoor seating on the pedestrian block that faces the foothills. Executive Chef Johnny Rodriguez, who started as a line cook under Bonanno at Bones and later ran the kitchen at Dumplin', leads the food. The restaurant also worked with Colorado's Leopold Bros. distillery on a few specific details: the soy sauce is barrel-aged in whiskey casks, and a Colorado peach vinegar from the distillery shows up as a dipping sauce for the dumplings. Rōmyō serves dinner seven nights a week, with lunch added Friday through Sunday.
"Itameshi isn't a trend for me," Bonanno said of the concept. "I'm doing this because they're two cuisines that I love."
The Rest of the Block's Fall Calendar
Rōmyō's opening is the biggest single change on Larimer Square this season, but it isn't the only reason to plan a walk down there before the weather turns. The block's Heritage Harvest event brings pumpkins, seasonal cider, live bluegrass, and author talks to the square, along with hands-on candle-making and mini pumpkin workshops for anyone bringing kids along. Denver BAZAAR, the outdoor maker market that takes over the block every third Saturday from 3 to 8 p.m., runs through October, with a rotating lineup of local vendors and the same string-lit backdrop the block is known for after dark.
Tamayo, one of the square's longer-standing restaurants, is hosting a Día de los Muertos tasting dinner on Tuesday, October 27, built around fine dining, cocktails, and remembrance. Larimer Square's Movie Night on the Block series has continued its outdoor screenings through the fall, and the monthly Larimer Square Live series brings local sets to the block on First Fridays as part of Denver's citywide First Friday tradition.
None of these events require a ticket to just walk through. Between Rōmyō's kitchen finding its rhythm and a fall calendar featuring local vendors and one of the block's own restaurants, there are several reasons to visit.
The Pattern Underneath the Pattern
The block had four closures from 2020 through 2023. The tenant who filled one of the block's most visible vacancies has run Osteria Marco on Larimer Square since 2007. That's a different kind of signal than a new restaurant opening on its own would send, and it's the kind of detail that doesn't show up unless you're paying attention to who signs which lease and when.
If you're already walking this block on your way to dinner or a Saturday market stop, that context is worth carrying with you. The corner that sat vacant for three years is now home to Rōmyō, opened by someone who has run a restaurant on the block since 2007.
If you're curious what a block like Larimer Square, with this kind of turnover history and this kind of long-term reinvestment, actually means for property values or investment timing nearby, that's a conversation My Denver Team is glad to have. Reach out any time.
