From left, Pit Fiend BBQ owners Esteban Gallardo, Michael Graunke and Paul Llano. (Lily O’Neill photos)
Michael Graunke and Paul Llano weren’t ready to say goodbye to Owlbear Barbecue when it closed in January.
So the former chefs at the RiNo restaurant are coming out from behind the smoker and taking over its lease at 2826 Larimer St. The pair, along with Llano’s cousin Esteban Gallardo, plan to open Pit Fiend BBQ on May 20.
“I think RiNo has missed the smell of barbecue in the air,” Graunke said.
Owlbear owner Karl Fallenius closed the restaurant on Jan. 23 as a result of rising food and supply costs, according to previous coverage.
Pit Fiend BBQ purchased two smokers from Owlbear owner Karl Fallenius.
Fallenius, who previously worked at the world-famous Franklin Barbecue in Austin, moved to Denver and opened Owlbear — named after a monster in the Dungeons & Dragons game — as a food stall in Finn’s Manor in 2015. He turned it into a brick-and-mortar restaurant in 2019.
Graunke, an overnight cook-turned manager, and Llano, who started as a dishwasher and ended up in charge of the brisket, had been working at Owlbear since it opened.
“We’re really not changing anything substantial from what Owlbear was,” Graunke said. “We liked it as it was and wanted it to continue, but Karl was pretty much the only one who didn’t want to continue.”
Graunke, 29, Llano, 41, and Gallardo, 35, said Owlbear’s landlord was happy to have them take over the remaining year-and-a-half lease in April. They purchased two smokers from Fallenius.
Pit Fiend BBQ will open on May 20.
The trio has been hosting pop-ups at Our Mutual Friend Brewing next door and Finn’s Manor across the street since March to help fund the new restaurant.
Fallenius wanted to keep the Owlbear name, the trio said, so they chose a new one. But the menu and space won’t change much.
“We still want to keep that Dungeons & Dragons theme because it’s one of the biggest things we all have in common,” Graunke said. “We had a whole staff game going towards the end.”
Pit Fiend BBQ will still have Owlbear’s staple mac and cheese and Texas-style brisket, but they also plan to offer different styles of barbecues from different regions, like Kansas City-style ribs, Mojo-style pork butt and Yucatan-style smoked jackfruit. They plan to continue to source meat from Denver-based River Bear American Meats, like Fallenius did before.
“We plan to smoke anything that tastes good smoked,” Llano said.
From left, Pit Fiend BBQ owners Esteban Gallardo, Michael Graunke and Paul Llano. (Lily O’Neill photos)
Michael Graunke and Paul Llano weren’t ready to say goodbye to Owlbear Barbecue when it closed in January.
So the former chefs at the RiNo restaurant are coming out from behind the smoker and taking over its lease at 2826 Larimer St. The pair, along with Llano’s cousin Esteban Gallardo, plan to open Pit Fiend BBQ on May 20.
“I think RiNo has missed the smell of barbecue in the air,” Graunke said.
Owlbear owner Karl Fallenius closed the restaurant on Jan. 23 as a result of rising food and supply costs, according to previous coverage.
Pit Fiend BBQ purchased two smokers from Owlbear owner Karl Fallenius.
Fallenius, who previously worked at the world-famous Franklin Barbecue in Austin, moved to Denver and opened Owlbear — named after a monster in the Dungeons & Dragons game — as a food stall in Finn’s Manor in 2015. He turned it into a brick-and-mortar restaurant in 2019.
Graunke, an overnight cook-turned manager, and Llano, who started as a dishwasher and ended up in charge of the brisket, had been working at Owlbear since it opened.
“We’re really not changing anything substantial from what Owlbear was,” Graunke said. “We liked it as it was and wanted it to continue, but Karl was pretty much the only one who didn’t want to continue.”
Graunke, 29, Llano, 41, and Gallardo, 35, said Owlbear’s landlord was happy to have them take over the remaining year-and-a-half lease in April. They purchased two smokers from Fallenius.
Pit Fiend BBQ will open on May 20.
The trio has been hosting pop-ups at Our Mutual Friend Brewing next door and Finn’s Manor across the street since March to help fund the new restaurant.
Fallenius wanted to keep the Owlbear name, the trio said, so they chose a new one. But the menu and space won’t change much.
“We still want to keep that Dungeons & Dragons theme because it’s one of the biggest things we all have in common,” Graunke said. “We had a whole staff game going towards the end.”
Pit Fiend BBQ will still have Owlbear’s staple mac and cheese and Texas-style brisket, but they also plan to offer different styles of barbecues from different regions, like Kansas City-style ribs, Mojo-style pork butt and Yucatan-style smoked jackfruit. They plan to continue to source meat from Denver-based River Bear American Meats, like Fallenius did before.
“We plan to smoke anything that tastes good smoked,” Llano said.
