A Denver restaurant company is putting down roots in north Colorado Springs, breaking ground on a $3.5 million outpost of its wood-fired grill concept Sierra right next to one of the city's busiest entertainment venues. The 9,000-square-foot building is rising on 2 acres at 130 Spectrum Loop, inside the 200-acre Polaris Pointe retail center, with a target opening of late 2027.
The project comes from Brinkerhoff Hospitality, described by the Gazette as a Denver-based restaurant company with existing concepts in Castle Rock, Denver and Lone Tree. The company is constructing the second location of Sierra at Polaris Pointe, placing it directly beside the 8,000-seat, open-air Ford Amphitheater and the Texas de Brazil steakhouse that opened at the same retail center in summer 2026. Jo Mendoza Brinkerhoff, wife of Brinkerhoff Hospitality CEO Mark Brinkerhoff, described the venture as the $3.5 million project, according to the same Gazette report.
Sierra is billed as Brinkerhoff Hospitality's wood-fired grill concept, serving American and Southwestern fare out of a scratch kitchen where everything is made in-house. The Colorado Springs building will include an open kitchen and a 3,014-square-foot patio with views of Pikes Peak and the Air Force Academy — a patio the company says will keep its sightlines unobstructed since nothing will be built in front of it. The space is also expected to feature custom-made furniture, abundant windows and a custom brick design meant to create what the company calls a welcoming, immersive atmosphere designed to evoke memories of a family kitchen.
Why North Colorado Springs
Mendoza Brinkerhoff said the family has long loved Colorado Springs and that the right opportunity finally arrived, per the Gazette's reporting. She said north Colorado Springs was chosen specifically for its mountain views and its proximity to Interstate 25 and other high-traffic corridors. Polaris Pointe already houses Topgolf, Surf Shack, Phil Long Music Hall at Bourbon Brothers, along with additional shops, entertainment complexes, restaurants and lodging, giving the new Sierra built-in foot traffic.
Mendoza Brinkerhoff also said the project aims to create great-paying hospitality jobs, and that attention to detail remains a signature of the company's approach — guests, she said, should feel warmly welcomed and at home. The Gazette's report notes she expects construction on the Colorado Springs site to ramp up once the company's Savina's restaurant opens in Loveland.
A Menu Rooted in Family History
Sierra's recipes draw inspiration from the Brinkerhoff family itself, particularly from Mark Brinkerhoff's grandfather, Sonny Brinkerhoff, with dishes influenced by the family's ties to Texas and Louisiana. Expect rotisserie chicken, double bone-in pork chops, Texas rib-eye, cheeseburgers, crispy chile rellenos, Louisiana killer shrimp and Alaskan halibut tacos, alongside appetizers, soups, salads, sides, desserts, wines, cocktails, beers and mocktails. The Colorado Springs location will also serve homemade tortillas that come from the same recipe used at the company's Savina's restaurants.
Brinkerhoff Hospitality launched its first Sierra in the RidgeGate community of Lone Tree in 2017, when Mark Brinkerhoff and his father, William, expanded the family's restaurant portfolio, according to Savina's Mexican Kitchen. Today the company operates four restaurants and a bar across Southern Colorado, including the Brinkerhoff, a Mexican steakhouse and sushi restaurant in Castle Rock that houses Bar Hummingbird.
From La Loma to Savina's
The company's Savina's brand traces back to 1973, when Savina Mendoza opened the family-run Mexican restaurant inside a small brick home in Denver, originally under the name La Loma. The Brinkerhoff family later purchased the business, which now operates in downtown Denver and Castle Rock, with a third location anticipated to open in Loveland this fall. In 2025, the restaurant was renamed Savina's in honor of the woman who founded it, per Savina's Mexican Kitchen. Brinkerhoff Hospitality no longer operates other La Loma locations built by the family.
Part of a Broader Colorado Springs Trend
The Sierra project fits a pattern of Denver-area hospitality brands pushing south. The Gazette has previously reported that Colorado Springs' population growth has made it a prime target for restaurant expansions in recent years, pointing to concepts such as Illegal Pete's, White Pie Pizzeria, My Neighbor Félix, the ViewHouse and Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar as examples that have already opened locations in the city.
Other chains are moving in around the same timeline. Ramirez Hospitality Group has said it intends to open two to three Los Dos Potrillos restaurants annually across the Rocky Mountain region, according to ColoradoBiz, including a seventh Los Dos Potrillos location planned for 5832 Barnes Road in Colorado Springs in early 2027 and an eighth planned for The Promenade Shops at Centerra in Loveland in spring 2027. ColoradoBiz reports those two restaurants alone are expected to create about 100 jobs.
Polaris Pointe has become something of a magnet for out-of-town dining concepts in its own right. Dallas-based Texas de Brazil opened its 8,019-square-foot restaurant at the retail center after plans were first reported in 2024, a project the Gazette said was expected to employ 55 to 60 full- and part-time workers. Colorado Springs already has its own Brazilian-style dining options, including Tucanos Brazilian Grill, which opened at First & Main Town Center in 2012, and the northwest-side Taste of Brasil.
