Renee and William Brinkerhoff divorced in December, causing their restaurants to be split between them. (BusinessDen illustration)
Renee Brinkerhoff is keeping her last name and the name of her newly acquired restaurants.
The exclusive rights to La Loma, the local Mexican restaurant chain that first opened nearly 50 years ago, now belong to Renee following a tumultuous divorce with ex-husband William Brinkerhoff.
As a result, the La Loma restaurants at 1801 Broadway in downtown Denver and Castle Rock, which William retained following the divorce, have been rebranded as Savina’s Mexican Kitchen. The new moniker honors Savina Mendoza, whose recipes have been at the heart of La Loma’s menu.
On Renee’s side, her La Lomas in Parker, Greenwood Village and downtown Denver’s McGregor Square — which she contentiously renamed from Caldero this spring — will keep operating under that name.
Mark Brinkerhoff, who is the president and CEO of Brinkerhoff Hospitality, said the deal was made “to bring peace to our family and to position (Renee) for success.” Neither he nor Renee addressed whether the rights to the La Loma name were sold.
The deal means La Loma now operates just in Parker, Greenwood Village and downtown’s McGregor Square. (Courtesy La Loma)
“It was important for me to preserve the integrity of the brand and to be able to continue to give guests what they know and love about La Loma,” Renee said in an email on Thursday. “What a lot of people don’t know is that La Loma is something I have always been involved with and passionate about, so I have a lot of pride in it.”
Mendoza started La Loma in her home in 1973 before William and his father, Sonny, invested and relocated the restaurant in 1981 to Jefferson Park.
Renee, who was married to William for 45 years, told BusinessDen she has been involved in La Loma’s operations since 2009, when she got a 50% stake in the business and the restaurant’s real estate, BusinessDen previously reported.
Back then, she said, La Loma was more of a family hobby. But she did things like hire the restaurant’s first general manager and create standard operating procedures. Her son William Jr, who sided with her during the divorce, also played a key role, she said.
Renee said long-standing employees like culinary director Paco Romeo are staying with La Loma. No menu changes are planned.
Savina’s in Downtown Denver. (Courtesy Savina’s)
“What guests have loved about La Loma for all these years remains exactly the same at all locations,” she added.
As for Savina’s, Mark Brinkerhoff said everything will stay virtually the same as well, sans a new logo featuring Savina.
He said he and his father plan to open a Savina’s in Loveland in January 2026 and have another elsewhere along the Front Range in the works.
Mark and William also run Sierra Restaurant in Lone Tree and have two restaurants slated to open in Castle Rock this fall, The Brinkerhoff and Bar Hummingbird.
“This process has been in the works for a while, and obviously there can’t be two different operators under the same name,” Mark said. “We’ve been operating La Loma for over 40 years and been working tirelessly to build trust of the guests in delivering the experience that they come to expect from us.”
“When we have the potential to lose that ability and trust,” he continued, “it was a necessity for us to change.”
Renee and William Brinkerhoff divorced in December, causing their restaurants to be split between them. (BusinessDen illustration)
Renee Brinkerhoff is keeping her last name and the name of her newly acquired restaurants.
The exclusive rights to La Loma, the local Mexican restaurant chain that first opened nearly 50 years ago, now belong to Renee following a tumultuous divorce with ex-husband William Brinkerhoff.
As a result, the La Loma restaurants at 1801 Broadway in downtown Denver and Castle Rock, which William retained following the divorce, have been rebranded as Savina’s Mexican Kitchen. The new moniker honors Savina Mendoza, whose recipes have been at the heart of La Loma’s menu.
On Renee’s side, her La Lomas in Parker, Greenwood Village and downtown Denver’s McGregor Square — which she contentiously renamed from Caldero this spring — will keep operating under that name.
Mark Brinkerhoff, who is the president and CEO of Brinkerhoff Hospitality, said the deal was made “to bring peace to our family and to position (Renee) for success.” Neither he nor Renee addressed whether the rights to the La Loma name were sold.
The deal means La Loma now operates just in Parker, Greenwood Village and downtown’s McGregor Square. (Courtesy La Loma)
“It was important for me to preserve the integrity of the brand and to be able to continue to give guests what they know and love about La Loma,” Renee said in an email on Thursday. “What a lot of people don’t know is that La Loma is something I have always been involved with and passionate about, so I have a lot of pride in it.”
Mendoza started La Loma in her home in 1973 before William and his father, Sonny, invested and relocated the restaurant in 1981 to Jefferson Park.
Renee, who was married to William for 45 years, told BusinessDen she has been involved in La Loma’s operations since 2009, when she got a 50% stake in the business and the restaurant’s real estate, BusinessDen previously reported.
Back then, she said, La Loma was more of a family hobby. But she did things like hire the restaurant’s first general manager and create standard operating procedures. Her son William Jr, who sided with her during the divorce, also played a key role, she said.
Renee said long-standing employees like culinary director Paco Romeo are staying with La Loma. No menu changes are planned.
Savina’s in Downtown Denver. (Courtesy Savina’s)
“What guests have loved about La Loma for all these years remains exactly the same at all locations,” she added.
As for Savina’s, Mark Brinkerhoff said everything will stay virtually the same as well, sans a new logo featuring Savina.
He said he and his father plan to open a Savina’s in Loveland in January 2026 and have another elsewhere along the Front Range in the works.
Mark and William also run Sierra Restaurant in Lone Tree and have two restaurants slated to open in Castle Rock this fall, The Brinkerhoff and Bar Hummingbird.
“This process has been in the works for a while, and obviously there can’t be two different operators under the same name,” Mark said. “We’ve been operating La Loma for over 40 years and been working tirelessly to build trust of the guests in delivering the experience that they come to expect from us.”
“When we have the potential to lose that ability and trust,” he continued, “it was a necessity for us to change.”
