"The biggest change is leaving fine dining — which was a little bit of a shock at first, but it's become the best part of the whole project," says chef Jeff Schwing, who was born and raised in the metro area and has spent much of his culinary career working in high-end French restaurants, including Brasserie Brixton and, most recently, celebrity chef Ludo Lefebrve's Chez Maggy.

Now he's teamed up with longtime industry pros Eric Allen and Fred Altberger to open something completely different: Provolino, a low-key, family-friendly Italian joint in a King Soopers-anchored shopping center in southeast Denver. Set to debut later this month at 3563 South Monaco Parkway, it's replacing longtime neighborhood staple Piccolo's, which was owned by the Canino family and served both Italian and Mexican fare for fifty years before shuttering in April.