New in Douglas County: A Speakeasy in Lone Tree, BBQ in Sedalia, and the Costco Everyone Keeps Getting Wrong

Welcome to the first edition of New in Douglas County, our weekly tracker of what is opening, closing, and coming soon across the county. Nobody covers this systematically here, so we will: every Monday, everything we can verify, with the caveats printed right next to the claims. If you have seen a space being built out or a quiet closure we missed, the address is on the About page. Here is everything that moved this spring and early summer.

Just opened

CV Proper Kitchen & Bar, Castle Rock. The I.C. Brewhouse space on Mercantile Street rebranded in mid-May into CV Proper, built around the revived Champagne Velvet beer brand, a label that has been kicking around American brewing since 1902. The menu commits to the bit: CV-braised corned beef Reuben, CV beer mac and cheese, CV-braised salmon. Same room, new identity, and a better one.

Riot BBQ at Wide Open Saloon, Sedalia. The best patio in the county got a kitchen worthy of it. Riot BBQ became Wide Open Saloon's exclusive culinary partner in May after a National Western Stock Show residency: smoked wings, brisket nachos, a brisket cheesesteak, and a double smash burger, built for concert season on the Handlebar Patio. Sedalia news is rare; Sedalia news this good is rarer.

The Blind Tiger, Lone Tree. The best story of the spring. Jack's Modern Steakhouse opened at Park Meadows in January and an electrical fire shut it down a week later. The rebuild came back in late April with an all-Wagyu steak program, and in May the downstairs reopened as The Blind Tiger, a New Orleans-leaning speakeasy with jazz, blues, and a secret menu. A fire that turned into a second concept is the kind of comeback we will always cover.

Graze Craze, Highlands Ranch. Charcuterie boards to go, on County Line Road. Sixth Colorado storefront but the first in the Denver metro, and the owner is a Highlands Ranch resident and former Douglas County School District teacher, which is about as local as a franchise gets.

Griddled Crêpes & Paninis, Castle Rock. The Outlets' 2026 tenant refresh is producing food now, not just footwear: a fast-casual crêperie landed in June alongside the spring wave of JD Sports, Stio, and Offline by Aerie.

Starbird Chicken, Castle Rock. The Bay Area "premium fast food" chicken chain opened its second Colorado location in late April at the Promenade, next to Whole Foods, and donated ten percent of opening-week sales to Castle View and Douglas County High School student programs.

Ovest Via, Parker. Mainstreet has a proper Italian ristorante again, a partnership with The Parker Hotel with the former West Main Taproom chef running the kitchen. It has been quietly building a following; consider this its overdue formal welcome.

Coming soon

Journeys and Peak Pizza, Outlets at Castle Rock. Both listed on the Outlets' own coming-soon page for summer 2026. The Outlets are having their busiest tenant year in recent memory, and we will note the opening dates when they land.

The Costco reality check. We keep hearing "the Castle Rock Costco opens this year." It does not. The Dawson Trails Costco is tied to the completion of the Crystal Valley interchange at I-25, which is slated for spring 2027, and Costco plans to open the day after the interchange does. Put it on the 2027 calendar and stop checking.

Closure watch

Stumpy's Pizza and CrossFit Loop, Castle Rock. The hard one. Rivers Church bought the strip mall on South Wilcox in April and will convert those spaces into its sanctuary in 2027. Both businesses are open now, on month-to-month leases with the clock running. Stumpy's has fed Castle Rock for 26 years and its manager says relocation is not possible. If you have been meaning to go, this is the year to go.

Toastique, Highlands Ranch. The health-food café on South University appears to have closed quietly this spring; listings mark it permanently closed, though no announcement was ever made. If you know the story, we would like to hear it. Egg Harbor Cafe opened essentially next door in March, which may be all the explanation the market needed.

That is edition one. Every Monday from here on: what opened, what closed, what is coming, verified. See something we missed? Tell us, and we will run it down.