"We don't have an exact final day. So please come in and support us in our final weeks. We are still looking for a new location but sadly we have not found one yet."
The Stumpy's Pizza team shared that message around town in late June. Two months later, on Wednesday, August 26, the oven at 138 S. Wilcox Street went cold after more than 25 years. The pizzeria left because its building was sold. Its business hadn't failed. That pattern runs through most of what changed in Castle Rock's food scene this year. Restaurants are opening and closing as buildings change owners, tenants leave and new operators move into rooms that were already built. The truly new construction, at The Brickyard, along Dawson Trails and in The Meadows, is mostly a 2027 story.
How a strip-mall sale moved a 25-year pizzeria
Rivers Church started in Castle Rock in September 2024 and had been working to buy 136, 138 and 140 South Wilcox Street, the section of strip mall next to the Philip & Jerry Miller Library, as a permanent downtown home. The church says it closed on a downtown building on May 20, 2026. It then extended Stumpy's lease through the end of August. Before the deal closed, CBS Colorado reported that the church was buying the three addresses from two different owners, needed about $4.5 million, and had raised roughly 70 percent of it.
The outlook for Stumpy's has shifted over the summer. In CBS's earlier coverage, management said the business couldn't afford to move and might close for good. After the closing news spread, manager Gretchen Norton said on Facebook that they were trying to reopen and that it would "just take a few months." As of a September 30 update from a Douglas County business tracker, no new address had been announced. So for now, the New York-style thin crust, pinball and arcade games, and full bar that regulars knew on Wilcox have no new home.
On New Memphis Court, a sale went the other way
Trifecta Sports Bar & Grill closed for good at 810 New Memphis Court in August. A month later the building had a new tenant. Border Burger Sports Bar opened at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, September 30, using all three floors of the old Trifecta space. Owner Rick Good also runs Border Burger Bar in Manitou Springs, says he has spent more than 40 years in the restaurant business, and plans to be in Castle Rock at least half of each week while the new location gets going. Border Burger started in El Paso, Texas, in 2015, and it's locally owned, not a franchise. Sal manages the Castle Rock location.
If you're driving by, the sign out front still says Trifecta. Temporary signs are coming first, with permanent signage after that. The posted hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends.
Border Burger isn't the only 2026 opening that moved into a familiar room. Several of the year's most talked-about openings are in spaces locals already knew by another name:
| Address | Previous tenant | Who's there now | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 810 New Memphis Ct | Trifecta Sports Bar & Grill | Border Burger Sports Bar | Sept. 30, 2026 |
| 2355 Mercantile St | I.C. Brewhouse | Champagne Velvet Proper Kitchen & Bar | May 17, 2026 |
| 4991 Factory Shops Blvd, Unit A-130 | Sharetea | Badger & Bloom Boba | Open by late June 2026 |
| Outlets at Castle Rock | Former food-court area | Griddled Crêpes & Paninis | May 8, 2026 |
Champagne Velvet is run by Upland Brewing Company. Olivia Gierhart, who owns Badger & Bloom, sourced ingredients in Taiwan. Local reporting names Castle Rock couple Jake and Bri Blaylock as the founders of Griddled.
The rooms that are still empty
Every refill on that list matches a departure, and some of this year's departures don't have a replacement yet.
Sawara Sushi served its last meal at 312 Metzler Drive on Saturday, August 15, after 13 years. The SaWaRa family's closing note said they had "no plans to open another location at this time." The Jack in the Box at 27 E. Wolfensberger Road had closed by the time of an August 22 report, and no new tenant was known. Hideaway Bar & Grill at 600 Jerry Street closed after two fires on May 12 and 13. Owners Bob and Becky Stroh had not announced a reopening plan as of the latest status check. Outside of restaurants, Spray, a women-owned tanning studio at 3855 Ambrosia Street, closed after September 15. Its owner said the decision was personal and that she was focusing on family.
Wilcox Street is in the same position as Metzler Drive and Wolfensberger Road right now. Each has a closed storefront and no announced successor.
What still says "coming soon" this week
Several Castle Rock openings were projected for about now. As of early October, none of them has a confirmed date.
- Dunkin', 1185 Aloha Street, Founders Marketplace. When Dunkin' announced the store on September 1, it gave a target of "late September or early October." Quality Brand Group is the local operator. The chain's official store locator still lists the location as "Coming Soon."
- Thai Wow, 794 S. Perry Street, Plum Creek Centre. The official site still says "coming soon," and a September 28 local tracker cautioned against trusting third-party projections of a November opening.
- Peak Pizza, Suite 660, Outlets at Castle Rock, 5050 Factory Shops Boulevard. It's described as locally owned. The storefront still read "Coming Soon" on September 30.
- Pilates Addiction, 333 Perry Street. It's aiming for October 2026 but hasn't named a day.
- HOKA, Outlets at Castle Rock. The Outlets' official page lists it as coming soon, with no date.
Each of these is also moving into an existing retail center: Founders Marketplace, Plum Creek Centre, the Outlets or a Perry Street storefront. None of them needs new construction.
The ground-up projects all point to 2027
The places being built from scratch are on a slower schedule.
At The Brickyard, Confluence Companies is redeveloping the former Acme Brickworks into a 31-acre mixed-use project just west of downtown, near Philip S. Miller Park. Its food centerpiece, Weatherford Hall, broke ground on September 1. The announced tenants are:
- Willy Nilly, a new concept from Shucking Good Hospitality, the Denver group behind Oliver's Italian, Blue Island Oyster Bar & Seafood, and Ash and Agave
- Three, a coffee and market concept from the team behind Castle Rock's COFF33
- Lolley's Ice Cream, which will be its fourth location
- Where Food Comes From, the Castle Rock-based food verification company, which is moving its headquarters there and adding a restaurant concept
- Owen-Ames-Kimball, a commercial construction firm, also taking space
Confluence CEO and founder Tony De Simone called the building "the heartbeat of The Brickyard development." It's expected to be finished by the end of 2027. The Town has said the Castle Rock Sports Center on the same Prairie Hawk Drive site is targeting summer 2027. The developer has projected that the first phase of the 298-unit Brickyard Apartments will be done around the same time. Recent reporting turned up no Brickyard restaurant or shop that is already open.
The same timeline shows up elsewhere in town. King Soopers has approval for a third Castle Rock store, with a fuel station, southwest of Dawson Trails Boulevard and Gambel Ridge Boulevard, and the Castle Rock News-Press reports it's expected to open in 2027. In The Meadows, franchisees Maureen McFerson and Luke Hadden announced in late June that Chicken Salad Chick was finally breaking ground near Meadows Parkway. They haven't published an opening date.
Where to eat while the new buildings go up
Until Weatherford Hall opens, Castle Rock's new options are the ones already open in existing spaces. Here's what's serving now, with opening dates:
- Border Burger Sports Bar, 810 New Memphis Ct. Open since September 30.
- Jet's Pizza, 62 Founders Parkway, Unit F. Detroit-style square pizza since July 17. With Stumpy's gone, it's the newest pizza option in town.
- Izumi Sushi, 115 Third Street. Open since May 11. Owner Manna Pan also runs the Littleton Izumi.
- Starbird Chicken, 6360 Promenade Parkway. Open since April 27. Operator Daniel Wagner said, "We want to be part of families, we want to be part of the community."
- Bar Hummingbird, 6371 Promenade Parkway. A Brinkerhoff Hospitality concept led by CEO Mark Brinkerhoff, open since at least March.
- Champagne Velvet, Badger & Bloom Boba and Griddled Crêpes & Paninis, at the addresses in the table above.
For something other than eating out, The Hot Spot Studios opened a walk-in craft studio at 729 Barranca Drive, Unit 107, on July 14. It's the chain's first Colorado location. Thrive Workplace, a coworking space at 610 Jerry Street, Suite 200, was already operating by early August and held a grand-opening celebration on October 1.
If Stumpy's finds a new location, it would be the first of this year's displaced businesses to reopen under the same name.
If you own a building, storefront or home near Wilcox Street, The Brickyard or Dawson Trails and want to know how these changes affect what your property is worth, Colorado's Choice Homes can help. We're available evenings and weekends. Ask us for a free home valuation, or for a relocation plan if a PCS move is bringing you to Castle Rock.
