Botto Italian Grill spot could become a Mexican restaurant

• Ok, here's the scoop: saw a man outside the restaurant while biking by this morning, and it was Steve Gelman. He and his wife still own the place, but sounds like there's a team of three chefs about to open a place serving Mexican cuisine, focused on the Yucatan region Sounds good. Should open August 12, maybe soft opening sooner than that. Fingers crossed!

• So now what's going on?  I see a giant "Gelmans Resturant and Bar" sign about to go up, but no word anywhere on what type of place it will be or when it will open?  Lots of work has gone on there lately.  Flowers even in the pots.  Any news?

• Sorry, NW Denver.  That's not accurate.  Sunnyside is pretty ripe for the picking if someone has a good concept.  It isn't gentrified in the sense that Lohi (I use that name in jest - it sucks) is.  The people who think Lohi is cool haven't come in to Sunnyside, thankfully.  It's a mixed neighborhood, with newcomers who by and large embrace the fabric of the area.

• The problem is that this part of tejon isn't gentrified yet.  Once you get above about 38th, you can tell that the gentrification has stopped.  So all the yuppies who loooooooove the Highlands (including lower part) are not yet going to go there.

• I don't really get this whole idea that "it's a bad idea because there's already an X in that neighborhood." The place never even opened! It was obviously a failure due to funding or ownership issues, not because of the type of food. This is the kind of commentary that makes Denver look like it's still a cow town. Have you ever been to Boston's North End? San Francisco's Chinatown? Even our own beloved stretch of  South Federal? Density of a specific ethnic cuisine generally draws MORE people to that neighborhood specifically to experience that type of food. Denver's north side used to be a hub of Itanian-American culture and food. Remnants of that era still persist, so it seems like a wise move to capitalize on that history and even attempt to bring back some of the former glory. The unfortunate thing was not the choice of cuisine but the failure of a business venture before it even got off the ground.

• Gelman's and Boston Fish shack were train wrecks.  But the idea of opening an "upscale northern Italian restaurant" within a stone's throw of Fiernze a Tavola was even worse, especially in a neighborhood already littered with Italian restaurants.

• Wow, just what the neighborhood needs- a Mexican restaurant. How about a decent Chinese or Indian place instead? You'd make a killing!

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