Frasca Hospitality Group is moving south for its fifth concept.
The local restaurant group plans to open an Italian concept called Osteria Alberico on the Englewood-Cherry Hills Village border next spring.
The 3,000-square-foot space at 3455 S. University Blvd. was formerly home to Patxi’s Pizza, and sits next to Little Man Ice Cream. Patxi’s closed in 2022.
Peter Hoglund, Bobby Stuckey and Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson founded Frasca Hospitality Group in 2004 with its original restaurants, Frasca Food and Wine. The company’s four existing concepts each have one location.
Hoglund said the new spot is a spinoff of the company’s Pizzeria Alberico, which has operated in Boulder since 2011. Originally named Pizzeria Locale, Frasca signed a deal with Chipotle in 2013 to expand the brand. Chipotle opened five locations out of state, all of which closed in 2018. It closed the remaining five Denver locations and dissolved the business this July, Westword reported.
Frasca, which still owns and operates the original Boulder location, rebranded it to Pizzeria Alberico last year.
“It’s that idea of a collection of great people, of coming together over food and wine – that is the reason behind Alberico,” Hoglund said.
Alberico is the maiden name of Stuckey’s wife Danette. Osterias, meanwhile, are casual restaurants found in Italian neighborhoods that serve as gathering points.
“The Italian eating culture to us is absolutely magical and at the core of that is the osteria,” Hoglund said.
While stemming from the original pizza concept, Hoglund said Osteria Alberico will have a very different menu, offering a wide range of traditional Italian food like house-made pastas.
“The physical space in Boulder doesn’t allow us to expand our cooking capacity,” Hoglund said. “Our pizza oven is our heart, our focal point … but the physical limitations of the space have dictated its course.”
Hoglund said the group already had customers traveling from Englewood to Boulder and downtown Denver to visit its restaurants, so expanding to Cherry Hills Village was a good fit.
“This feels like both kind of a leap south in terms of our geography but also a very familiar, welcoming, warm place to spread our wings,” Hoglund said.
He said the space needs to be renovated, but declined to disclose how much the group is investing for the buildout.
In addition to Pizzeria Alberico and Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, Frasca operates Tavernetta and Sunday Vinyl along the 16th Street Mall.
Frasca Hospitality Group is moving south for its fifth concept.
The local restaurant group plans to open an Italian concept called Osteria Alberico on the Englewood-Cherry Hills Village border next spring.
The 3,000-square-foot space at 3455 S. University Blvd. was formerly home to Patxi’s Pizza, and sits next to Little Man Ice Cream. Patxi’s closed in 2022.
Peter Hoglund, Bobby Stuckey and Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson founded Frasca Hospitality Group in 2004 with its original restaurants, Frasca Food and Wine. The company’s four existing concepts each have one location.
Hoglund said the new spot is a spinoff of the company’s Pizzeria Alberico, which has operated in Boulder since 2011. Originally named Pizzeria Locale, Frasca signed a deal with Chipotle in 2013 to expand the brand. Chipotle opened five locations out of state, all of which closed in 2018. It closed the remaining five Denver locations and dissolved the business this July, Westword reported.
Frasca, which still owns and operates the original Boulder location, rebranded it to Pizzeria Alberico last year.
“It’s that idea of a collection of great people, of coming together over food and wine – that is the reason behind Alberico,” Hoglund said.
Alberico is the maiden name of Stuckey’s wife Danette. Osterias, meanwhile, are casual restaurants found in Italian neighborhoods that serve as gathering points.
“The Italian eating culture to us is absolutely magical and at the core of that is the osteria,” Hoglund said.
While stemming from the original pizza concept, Hoglund said Osteria Alberico will have a very different menu, offering a wide range of traditional Italian food like house-made pastas.
“The physical space in Boulder doesn’t allow us to expand our cooking capacity,” Hoglund said. “Our pizza oven is our heart, our focal point … but the physical limitations of the space have dictated its course.”
Hoglund said the group already had customers traveling from Englewood to Boulder and downtown Denver to visit its restaurants, so expanding to Cherry Hills Village was a good fit.
“This feels like both kind of a leap south in terms of our geography but also a very familiar, welcoming, warm place to spread our wings,” Hoglund said.
He said the space needs to be renovated, but declined to disclose how much the group is investing for the buildout.
In addition to Pizzeria Alberico and Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, Frasca operates Tavernetta and Sunday Vinyl along the 16th Street Mall.