Restaurant group leases former Green Russell space

A new tenant has taken the former Green Russell space within Larimer Square.

Josh Schmitz, co-owner of the Denver restaurant group Handsome Boys, said the company is opening a new concept at 1422 Larimer St., formerly home to Frank Bonnano’s speakeasy and barbecue restaurant Russell’s Smokehouse.

Baby D’s, as it will be called, will also be speakeasy-inspired.

“Green Russell was a prolific space and we’re super honored to continue the tradition,” Schmitz said.

Frank Bonnano’s restaurant group Bonanno Concepts opened the 1940s-inspired Green Russell and Russell’s Smokehouse in 2010. The group closed both concepts at the end of 2022, citing renovations being performed by the block’s new owner, Asana Partners.

Schmitz, a 36-year-old Denver native, wants Baby D’s to serve homage to both Green Russell and the history of Larimer Square. It will serve classic Prohibition-era cocktails, such as the Bee’s Knees or the Bathtub Gin Martini, and small bites.

Schmitz said Handsome Boys fell in love with the former space after hosting a Christmas-themed pop-up bar there and decided to bring a permanent concept to the space. They anticipate Baby D’s opening by the end of summer.

“The space we’re acquiring — the exposed brick, the history of the Prohibition tunnels leading to the mayor’s mansion — you can’t replicate that,” he said.

Schmitz described the space itself as a “labyrinth.” The speakeasy will be tucked in the back basement.

The front, where Russell’s Smokehouse operated, will hold another bar and a small retail store where Parker Thomas, who also has a shop in Cherry Creek, will sell custom-made cowboy hats.

“A lot of people still view Denver as a cowboy town and I don’t think we’re embracing that,” Schmitz said.

He said the pairing will emphasize the history of Colorado and give people a memorable experience.

“If I just wanted to get drunk, COVID taught me how to do that at my house,” he said. “If I’m putting on clothes, taking a shower, going out and spending money, what is the experience attached to that?”

San Francisco-based Fillmore Capital is partnering with Handsome Boys on the concept, Schmitz said. The two groups have a handful of other projects together, including restaurants in the 1900 block of Mar

ket Street. “Ron and Tom (Fillmore executives) have become amazing mentors to me and my business partner Mat,” Schmitz said.

Handsome Boys is investing roughly $225,000 in minor work, equipment and training roughly 30 new employees for the new

location, Schmitz said. The company has done a few other concepts in Larimer Square, such as Disco Pig and the former Hidden Gems Ice Cream.

Asana, which bought Larimer Square in 2020 for $92.49 million, recently said it expects exterior building renovations along Larimer Square to be complete this May.

An additional 50,000 square feet of interior renovations

have been completed, according to the firm, with another 45,000 square feet expected to wrap up by early 2025.

Denver fine jewelry designer John Atencio will be returning to the block, according to Asana Partners, and custom suit maker Black Lapel has opened a showroom.

Huckleberry Roasters has leased the former Starbucks space.