Photo: Jerry Jaramillo — Flight of the Eagle Dancer
Seven Denver businesses picked up new liquor licences between Friday, September 11 and Thursday, October 8, 2026, led by Risica, which the Denver Post describes as a Milanese pizzeria and wine bar from a former Il Posto chef, on Walnut Street in Five Points. A licence is the city's filing, not an opening date, so read this as a watch list. Source: the City and County of Denver liquor licence record.
Key takeaways
- Seven new business liquor licences in the 28 days to October 8: up from three in the period before, down from twelve a year earlier.
- All seven are Hotel and Restaurant licences, and four were issued in the last seven days.
- Risica (3463 Walnut St Ste 2, Five Points), licensed October 8, is the one with press coverage so far.
- The rest are spread thin: Barnum, Central Park, DIA, Hampden, Hampden South and Sunnyside each got one, and Five Points had the other.
- A licence is a filing, not a grand opening. Check with the business before you go.
The one to know: Risica
Risica holds a Hotel and Restaurant licence for 3463 Walnut St Ste 2 in Five Points, issued Thursday, October 8, 2026. The Denver Post identifies it as a Milanese pizzeria and wine bar, a project led by a former Il Posto chef.
Seven new licences, newest first
Names, addresses and dates are as the city records them.
| Business | Type | Address | Neighborhood | Date issued |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Risica | Hotel and Restaurant | 3463 Walnut St Ste 2 | Five Points | Thursday, October 8, 2026 |
| Panda Dim Sum Colorado Inc | Hotel and Restaurant | 4955 S Ulster St Unit 102 | Hampden South | Tuesday, October 6, 2026 |
| Miya Moon | Hotel and Restaurant | 6365 E Hampden Ave Unit 101 | Hampden | Friday, October 2, 2026 |
| Sunny's | Hotel and Restaurant | 2339 W 44th Ave | Sunnyside | Friday, October 2, 2026 |
| Olive & Finch/Finch Bar | Hotel and Restaurant | 9100 Pena Cc-24b | DIA | Tuesday, September 29, 2026 |
| Bubba's 33 | Hotel and Restaurant | 8268 E Northfield Blvd | Central Park | Friday, September 25, 2026 |
| Tacos La Junta | Hotel and Restaurant | 375 N Federal Blvd | Barnum | Monday, September 14, 2026 |
Where they landed
View as table
| Neighborhood | This period |
|---|---|
| Barnum Period before: 0 | 1 |
| Central Park Period before: 0 | 1 |
| DIA Period before: 0 | 1 |
| Five Points Period before: 1 | 1 |
| Hampden Period before: 0 | 1 |
| Hampden South Period before: 1 | 1 |
| Sunnyside Period before: 0 | 1 |
Source: City and County of Denver open data: liquor licenses, data as of
Seven neighborhoods each got one licence, with Five Points and Hampden South the two that also had one in the period before. A count this small does not make a trend, so this is a list of places, not a ranking. Against the period before and a year ago: seven licences, three and twelve.
Two more names to watch
Miya Moon is adding a fourth location at 6365 E Hampden Ave Unit 101 in Hampden; whatsopening.com gives the expected opening as September 2026. Panda Dim Sum Colorado Inc, at 4955 S Ulster St Unit 102, applied for a liquor licence, according to a permit signal.
What to watch
Next edition's count is compared with this period's seven. The raw records are on the city open data portal, and the Denver data tools are at /denver-data.
Methodology
The figures come from the City and County of Denver open data liquor licences, counted by the date a licence was originally issued, covering Friday, September 11, 2026 to Thursday, October 8, 2026. One-off event permits and tastings are left out. A licence is not an opening; counts are small and not rates.
Corrections
Errors are corrected in public; send one to hello@303happenings.com.
Sources
- City and County of Denver open data: liquor licenses
- Denver Excise and Licenses
- risicadenver.com
- Denver Post: former Il Posto chef opening Italian restaurant in RiNo
- opengovco.com
- Change Signal: permit signal
- whatnow.com
- whatsopening.com: Miya Moon
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