After spending about a year mostly off Denver’s restaurant map, El Chingon is gearing up for a RiNo comeback. Owner Lorenzo Nuñez has locked in a new space at The Source Hotel and says the family’s Mexican restaurant is on track to reopen this fall. The return follows a devastating kitchen fire last summer and a string of other setbacks that sidelined the popular spot.
New lease at The Source
Nuñez has signed a 10-year lease for roughly 3,100 square feet inside The Source Hotel’s market hall and plans to run a scaled-back version of El Chingon there. The team is targeting a fall opening, according to BusinessDen.
Fire, taxes and a rocky run
The relaunch follows a rough run for the restaurant. A kitchen blaze last year shut down the Santa Fe Drive location, and before that, the business had faced a state tax seizure. As reported by Westword, the June 27, 2025, fire was blamed on a decades-long grease buildup behind the hood and injured no one. Westword also previously reported on a May 2024 state seizure tied to about $44,000 in unpaid taxes.
Why RiNo makes sense
The Source Hotel’s market hall already pulls in diners with chef-driven spots such as Safta, Temaki Den, and Smōk, giving El Chingon built-in foot traffic and access to a roomy patio. The Source lists its address as 3330 Brighton Blvd in RiNo and promotes the market hall as a hub for local restaurants and shops, according to The Source Hotel.
Menu, drinks and a tighter operation
Nuñez said the RiNo location will serve a streamlined take on the elevated, modern Mexican dishes El Chingon is known for, with chicharrones, green enchiladas, carnitas, and his family's chile rellenos recipe all expected on the menu. He has also brought on Josh Beausang as a minority partner to design an agave-forward cocktail program capped at fewer than 10 seasonally rotating drinks, according to BusinessDen.
For regulars who have missed the old El Chingon patio, the move means family recipes and familiar flavors will have a new home in RiNo, just as the neighborhood keeps reshaping its dining scene. Nuñez says he is focused on steady, sustainable operations this time around and hopes the fall reopening will finally let the restaurant put the past year in the rearview.
