Rock Bottom Brewery on East County Line Road and Chicago Mike's Beef & Dogs on Briarwood Avenue both closed in August 2026, after almost 30 years each. Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant is opening a few doors down County Line Road from Rock Bottom's old address, in the former Stickley's Furniture space. In July, the city council took up a sales tax agreement meant to help fill it.
So the dining scene around Park Meadows is being reshaped from two directions. Restaurants closed on their own timelines over the summer. Meanwhile, the newest arrival is part of a planned remake of a retail center, and the city has a financial stake in how it turns out.
What closed, and how long it had been there
Here are the closures in the area this summer, with each one's age.
| Restaurant | Address | Open since | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Bottom Brewery | 9627 E. County Line Rd. | 1997 | Reported August 17, 2026 |
| Chicago Mike's Beef & Dogs | 11405 E. Briarwood Ave. | 1998 | Reported August 29, 2026 |
| BopBowl | 8719 E. Dry Creek Rd., Unit C | About three years | Reported September 1, 2026 |
BusinessDen reported on August 17 that Rock Bottom had recently closed its Centennial and Highlands Ranch restaurants. The Centennial location opened in 1997, and its closing left the chain with a single brewpub in Colorado. The Denver Post's version the next day said the closures happened "in recent weeks" and gave no last day of service.
Westword reported on August 29 that the family behind Chicago Mike's had closed the restaurant, which had been on Briarwood since 1998. The notice on the door thanked customers for their support. A few days later, Westword's August closures roundup included BopBowl, the Korean bowl spot on Dry Creek Road.
Together, the two oldest closures add up to more than 55 years of business. None of the reporting reviewed for this post mentions a new tenant for the former Rock Bottom building at 9627 E. County Line Road.
Where new tables showed up instead
The openings this year were spread out and mostly small. None of them landed on County Line Road.
On Dry Creek Road, Kinoya Sushi & Izakaya took over the former Bono's Pit Bar-B-Q space at 9393 E. Dry Creek Rd., near the light rail station. WhatNow Denver reported in April that the operator planned an elevated all-you-can-eat Japanese menu there. Westword listed it as open in its June 27 roundup. That makes it the one new opening this year on the same stretch where BopBowl later closed.
Further east, Pho Tumi opened at 8283 S. Akron St. and appeared in Westword's September 5 roundup. On Arapahoe Place, Bawarchi Indian Cuisine reopened at 11001 E. Arapahoe Pl. after a fire in August 2025. Westword reported on September 22 that the owners ran a food truck while they remodeled the dining room.
Since then, Centennial has been quiet. Westword's September roll call listed Pho Tumi as the only Centennial opening, and its October 10 weekly roundup listed no Centennial openings or closures. All three new spots moved into spaces of their own. None of them is replacing Rock Bottom or Chicago Mike's.
The Stickley's building and the deal behind it
The large County Line Road opening has a different backstory. On July 21, 2026, Centennial City Council considered Resolution 2026-R-20. The resolution is a sales tax reimbursement agreement with B33 Centennial Promenade III LLC, which owns Centennial Promenade, the shopping center near County Line Road and South Chester Street. Under the agreement, the former Stickley's Furniture space becomes two tenants: Cooper's Hawk and L.L. Bean.
The council packet gives the details:
- Cooper's Hawk gets a restaurant and wine-tasting area of about 12,000 square feet. The packet describes it as the chain's first Colorado location.
- L.L. Bean is moving from Park Meadows Retail Resort into a store of about 15,000 square feet at the Promenade.
- The remodel covers the interior and exterior, with more than $11 million in private investment from the owner and tenants.
- The city's share is half of the city sales tax the project generates each year, up to $700,000 in total. Staff estimated the cap would be reached in about four years, and the city pays nothing up front.
Staff projected the two tenants would bring in about $17 million in combined annual sales, which the packet calls "a dramatic increase" over the furniture store. The memo also says the new tenants should draw more shoppers across Centennial Promenade and help neighboring businesses. The packet frames the project as part of the city's retail center transformation strategy.
The L.L. Bean move has a practical side for anyone who shops at Park Meadows. The store is staying in the same trade area, just across County Line Road. According to the packet, keeping L.L. Bean within Centennial's trade area was one of the reasons for the deal.
What the dates actually say
There are three dates for Cooper's Hawk, and they mean different things.
BusinessDen reported on September 30 that the company plans to open on November 23 at 9511 E. County Line Road, across from Park Meadows. Cooper's Hawk's own Centennial page is less specific. It says only that the location "will be opening this winter" and invites people to sign up for grand opening news and early access to reservations. The city agreement sets the outer limit: both tenants have to be open to the public by June 1, 2027, and the owner can extend that by up to 12 months for circumstances outside its control.
As of October 12, the company's November 23 target is about six weeks out. L.L. Bean hasn't announced an opening date in any of the material reviewed for this post.
The Cooper's Hawk page has already posted hours, which suggests how the place plans to run:
| Days | Restaurant and tasting room hours |
|---|---|
| Monday to Thursday | 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
| Friday | 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Saturday | 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Sunday | 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
The page also advertises a happy hour with small bites starting at $10. The chain's Wine Club gives members on the two- and three-bottle plans a free monthly tasting for two. For Centennial, that gives people a reason to keep coming back to a space that used to be a furniture store. The chain was founded in 2005 and has about 80 locations, according to the council packet.
The spaces nobody has claimed yet
Each of the summer's closures left an empty space, and each has its own open question:
- 9627 E. County Line Rd., the former Rock Bottom. No new tenant appears in the reporting reviewed for this post, even though the Stickley's space down the road has been filled.
- 8719 E. Dry Creek Rd., Unit C, the former BopBowl. It's on the same stretch where Kinoya just opened, with no announced replacement.
- 11405 E. Briarwood Ave., the former Chicago Mike's. No successor has been reported.
- 85°C Bakery Cafe plans a second Denver-area location in the SouthGlenn area. Westword's report gave no street address or opening date.
These are the openings to watch over the next year. A shopping center owner with a plan, a city incentive and a tenant lined up gave the Stickley's space a planned opening date about ten weeks after the July 21 council meeting. The old restaurant buildings don't have any of those things working for them right now.
If you'd like a closer local outing before the County Line Road opening, Sip in Centennial runs Saturday, October 17, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Centennial Center Park, 13050 E. Peakview Ave. Admission is free, and guests 21 and over can buy tasting cards.
At The Hoffman Group, we follow changes like the Stickley's conversion because they shape how a part of town feels to live in. If you're curious how this new mix on County Line Road might affect what your home is worth, start with a free home valuation and we'll walk you through it.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
