Fans would apparently give the shirt off their backs to visit Bagali's in Vail.

The chain gang will be getting some competition in Broomfield. After a private event tonight, Bagali's Italian Kitchen will open to the public tomorrow at 570 Zang Street. “We just saw this spot, it’s among a bunch of chains," explains Stuart Bucy, who owns Bagali's along with his brother, Scott, and an old college friend, Lance Hollinger. "We're a mom-and-pop. One owner is going to seat you, and one is going to cook your food."

Since this is the second Bagali's, the Bucys now have their own mini-chain -- but the brothers plan to keep the attention personal both in Broomfield and at their original restaurant, the popular Bagali's Italian Kitchen in West Vail, which they'[ve had for close to ten years and where Stuart will continue to oversee the kitchen.

Starting tomorrow, the Broomfield kitchen will be serving from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week. Take that, Olive Garden.

Nine75 is slated to reopen on Friday, October 10, under its new owner, the Jet Entertainment Group. There are lots of questions involved in this deal -- for example, will suppliers who'd cut off former owner Jim Sullivan return to Nine75? Will those outstanding bills be paid? How many of Sullivan's Nine75 employees will reappear at the new incarnation, which really returns Nine75 to its original, rock-and-roll roots?

But we have a more pressing question: What will happen to the booth dedicated to Jason Sheehan, "the worst table in the house" (right by the kitchen's side door) that he occupied, incognito, during one of his review meals there back in 2005, a few months after Nine75 opened.

After that piece was published, Leigh Sullivan, Jim's daughter and wife of original Nine75 chef Troy Guard, put up a plaque dedicating the booth to Sheehan. Both Leigh and Troy long ago cut ties to Nine75 -- but they left the plaque behind.

Jay Chadrom hasn't been able to settle a dispute with his landlord at the Beauvallon -- but he did managed to settle something else: He just closed Aqua, his raw bar and kitchen-free restaurant at 925 Lincoln, and reports that he's "very busy removing everything."

But some of the things will resurface. The entire menu, for example, which is now being offered at Opal, Chadrom's restaurant just across the street at 100 East Ninth Avenue.

All in all, it's been a tough couple of weeks at the Beauvallon. After all, the space at the top of the block belongs to Nine75, which Jim Sullivan closed on September 29 -- and now is slated to reopen Friday with new owners.

The idea sounded too good to be true. But after less than two years in business, SAME Café -- the philanthropic restaurant based on the simple yet revolutionary idea that everyone deserves a healthy, fresh, organic meal at whatever price they can afford-- is expanding.

The name of the place is an acronym for So All May Eat, and everyone who comes into SAME Cafe is offered the same rotating menu of fresh pizzas, salads and soups. Instead of paying a set price, diners pay what they think the meal is worth -- placing their money in a donation box, or simply volunteering time to the restaurant.

Owners Brad and Libby Birky originally hoped to open SAME in the old Walnut Café space at 338 East Colfax Avenue, but that spot wound up going to Emilio's Super Chef. So instead, the Birkys found a cozy storefront at 2023 East Colfax. Too cozy, it turns out. Thanks to a recent boost in traffic, SAME is nearly bursting at the seams, and so the cafe will be expanding into vacant space next door.

There's no timetable yet for the expansion; in the meantime, SAME will be doing business as usual in its original spot, offering organic Oogave sodas and a tasty seasonal menu that today features turkey, brie and cranberry pizza; tomorrow tomato soup with chicken and gorgonzola; and Friday potato bacon soup and puttanesca pizza.

More of the SAME, please. -- Aubrey Shoe

There have been lots of problems at the Landmark project in Greenwood Village -- prices up, tenants out. (At one point, Sparrow was going to not only open a second restaurant in the development, but a market -- but then the restaurant on Seventh Avenue closed, and Sparrow Market Cafe flew the coop, too). But while Jing has been bursting at the seams, other restaurants that are sticking with the project have not been able to stick with their original schedule; Chinook Tavern left Cherry Creek in June, but there's no telling when it will open in Landmark; Lime likely won't make its mid-October target.

But finally, Comedy Works South is really getting its doors open at 5345 Landmark Place in Greenwood Village. On Thursday, October 9, Wende Curtis's second club will throw a big, private party, and on October 10, Comedy Works South will be open to the public. And this club not only has a stage (George Lopez is the headliner that first weekend), but a private ballroom and Lucy, an American restaurant with a Southern accent that's named for Curtis's bulldog.

We've learned a lot about fainting goats -- also known as stiff-legged goats and nervous goats, goats whose propensity for falling down have earned them their own international society -- since we heard that an outfit called The Fainting Goat has applied for a liquor license at 846 Broadway, just down the street from the Westword office. That's the spot formerly occupied by Moon Time, and the Minturn before that, and Basil before that, and a long, long time before that, by the Parlor.

And now, if all goes according to plan and the deal comes through, it will be the Fainting Goat. Which sounds like an ideal Westword hang out since, as one fainting goat expert explains, the animals can get "excited over being fed."

See for yourself after the jump.

More

Steve Lerach wrote Fried: Surviving Two Centuries in Restaurants as his thesis as he prepared to become a culinary instructor in Minnesota. Because of its academic orientation, the book includes historical accounts of cooking intertwined with Lerach's own experiences in the kitchen over the decades – and even a few shockers.

Lerach will be reading from the book at the LoDo Tattered Cover at 7:30 p.m. on October 16; I reached him in advance of his appearance to ask a few appetite-whetting questions. His answers follow. -- Tyler Nemkov

More

The Landmark project in Greenwood Village will get a big boost this week, when Comedy Works South finally opens. But what was supposed to be one of the development's big tenants was grounded long ago: Sparrow was once going to open not just a second restaurant that played off the original (and overrated, according to Jason Sheehan) location at 410 East Seventh Avenue, but also a market to complement the new restaurant.

But then owner Nancy Scruggs pulled Sparrow out of both its future Landmark spot and also the Seventh Avenue space (with today is home to LaLa's). The project retreated to just the Sparrow Market Cafe at 701 Grant Street, next to Luca D'Italia, taking over for one of the many coffee houses that had occupied that address.

And now this Sparrow, too, has flown the coop, the phone disconnected, the doors locked and the windows covered. Bye bye, birdie.

While other chains are pulling back, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers just keeps growing. This morning, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers -- which got its start outside the University of Washington in the '40s, but moved its national headquarters to Greenwood Village in 1996 -- is opening its 22nd Colorado restaurant at 6795 South Cornerstar Way in the new Cornerstar Mall in Aurora.

As part of the grand-opening celebration, the Aurora outlet will be hosting a Burgers With a Heart fundraiser to benefit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Almost right on schedule, Moe's Original BBQ opens today at 2395 South Broadway, in the former Falcon space next to the Gothic Theatre, and we hear the place should be smoking!

Moe's is originally out of Tuscaloosa, but the company moved its headquarters to Vail eight years ago.

Now that Ocean has closed, no one will ever make a reservation at Oceanaire thinking they're dining in Cherry Creek.

But once you step inside Oceanaire, the Denver link in a national chain of upscale seafood houses that debuted last year at 1400 Arapahoe Street, you could never mistake it for the restaurant Jim Sullivan created out of the remains of Mao.

Oceanaire is all sleek, smooth lines, with a smart design that evokes art deco-style ocean liners. The dining room is elegant yet comfortable, the food impressive enough to earn Oceanaire the Best Seafood Restaurant award in the Best of Denver 2008. But the best place to appreciate this culinary trip may well be the bar, where the view includes the raw bar filled with oysters, shrimp and other sea creatures; a big TV (why not watch the next debate over a plate of oysters, as raw as the emotions onscreen?); solo diners from out of town or just delaying the trek home; and entertaining bartenders shaking up icy martinis.

And pushing the happy-hour menu, which runs until 7 p.m. and includes ahi sliders for $6 (spanking fresh tuna chopped and burgerized) or a boatload of matchstick fries for just 95 cents.

All aboard.

"Highlands is no more." That's the word from 8 Rivers, which closed its original Denver (but not its original metro) location at 3609 West 32nd Avenue this week. Jason Sheehan loved the place when he reviewed it last November: loved the food, loved the history, loved the fact that chef/owner Scott Durrah had opened his Jamaican restaurant in this land-locked city after first trying Santa Monica, then Superior, Colorado.

But don't worry. Be happy. Because even though the tiny Highland spot is gone, 8 Rivers is bigger -- and, presumably, better -- than ever: Today, it finally opened its LoDo location at 1550 Blake, in a much bigger space that's serving both breakfast and lunch in a place "where island flavor and mile high style converge."

For weeks, we kept our eye on the business opportunity ads in the dailies, watching in horror as the price of a "newly remod restaurant for sale" kept dropping, and dropping. The address listed was 102 South Broadway, which meant it was the oddly named Old Guy Pasta & Salad Express, a too-bright joint that also seemed oddly conceived, since it was a fusion of Italian/Asian fare. When last we looked this summer, the price had dropped to $22,000 and the Old Guy finally gave up and closed its doors.

But apparently the price was finally right for someone, though, because the space now has a "grand opening" sign out front for its new occupant: Persian Gourmet.

The only evidence that Old Guy once existed are the handful of coupons still stuck in Broadway doorways and a review on Yelp, which includes this: "As I open up my Westword I notice again just how dead it is in the restaurant. This is not a good sign and I start to question my random stop. Then again, I love the movie Waterworld and nobody showed up to that...."

When we heard that the folks behind the Jet Hotel planned to open a new bar in Larimer Square, we couldn't figure out where it would go. Troy Guard has already claimed the only remaining storefront for TAG, his restaurant that's slated to open early next year and has already swallowed up the Slim 7 space for a kitchen and private party room.

But then we spotted this sign on the entrance to Open Bar, which in January 2008 took over the spot formerly occupied by Hush, which closed soon after a patron who'd been in that club earlier in the evening opened fire at 15th and Market streets, killing one and injuring six.

Open Bar didn't even last a year. Next up: Wicked Garden.

Back in 2006, Matthew Jansen, chef/owner of Mateo in Boulder, decided to stretch by opening Radda Trattoria, which Jason Sheehan raved about when he reviewed the restaurant in February 2007.

Mateo dates back to 2001, and Jansen has scratched the seven-year itch there by adding a new partner: Rayme Rossello, a Boulder restaurateur who's the former co-owner of Proto's Pizza. While Jansen will continue to run the kitchen, Rossello will lead Mateo's front-of-the-house team and focus on the wine list (with an emphasis on small-batch French, Spanish and Italian).

The space at 1837 Pearl Street has also been updated, and a new, seasonal menu introduced that features old favorites as well as new dishe that continue to draw from the Provence region.

"With over twenty years combined experience in the Boulder restaurant scene," Rossello and Jansen say in a release announcing their partnership, "we are excited to be working together to personally cook and care for our guests on a nightly basis."

8 Rivers didn't get its new LoDo restaurant up and running in time for the Democratic National Convention, as originally planned, but according to a sign on the door at 1550 Blake Street, it's really, really going to open on Wednesday, October 1. And that's good, because Jason Sheehan is getting impatient for another taste of chef/owner Scott Durrah's Jamaican cooking.

The LoDo location will be serving lunch and dinner -- and it looks like it will also be taking over all the business from the original spot on West 32nd Avenue, which reportedly will close when the new joint finally opens. For more information, go to www.8riverslodo.com.

Gelman's, which opened in 2006 as Gelman's Gourmet Market, then evolved into more of a deli/restaurant, then closed for remodeling, has re-opened at 2911 West 38th Avenue. It's now officially Gelman's Restaurant & Bar, with renovations to both the space (it's more sophisticated) and the menu (it's more seasonal), and an expansion of the bar (it's bigger!).

Executive chef and co-proprieter Thomas Connolly's new board emphasizes local ingredients, with such entrees as pan-seared sea scallops with roasted root vegetable hash, creamy leeks and apple cider jus; buffalo pot roast with horseradish mashed potatoes, garlic glazed vegetables and natural jus; and seabass bourride with roasted fingerling potatoes, mussels, fennel, leeks and tarragon aioli. Gelman's has also added cheese board / butcher block menus and "Land, Sea & Air," a three-course fixed-price menu with wine pairings that changes every night.

You can get a first look at the new, improved Gelman's tonight, when the restaurant hosts a debate-watching party.

Just as the lights go out on Neighborhood Flix, a new flick/foods fusion operation has debuted in the metro area. Cinebarre, which has two locations on the East Coast, chose Thornton as the site of its first Western outpost for two reasons, according to general manager Brooke Bieber: our love of beer and this area's "coolness factor."

Unlike Neighborhood Flix, which had a full bar and food designed by Via chef James Mazzio, this chain's focus is on more casual fare -- burgers, pizzas and apps -- and beer, with more than twenty kinds offered. But the Cinebarre in the Thornton Town Center, just off I-25, also has eight movie screens showing first-run films, a beer and wine bar, a jukebox lounge and plans to host happy hours and karaoke nights. Oh, and one more thing to add to your viewing pleasure: No children under six are allowed, and anyone under eighteen must be accompanied by an adult.

Abode takes a slice out of Larimer Square.

At one point this year, Bill Ward had three joints in Larimer Square: Slim 7, Below and Pie Hole, the late-night pizza spot he originally wanted to call Pi, but had to rename when the new Hilton Garden Inn at 1400 Welton Street named its restaurant Pi.

But now Ward's closed his Pie Hole, selling the basement spot to Andrew Labbe, who’s already turned it into Abode. Labbe plans to revamp the space in the next month or so; in the meantime, he's keeping Abode open after the bar closes at 2 a.m., making it the only after-hours club in LoDo.

Slim 7 is gone, too. Ward hopes to move the concept to Cherry Creek; the sliver of space the club once occupied will become the kitchen and a private party room for Troy Guard’s new restaurant, TAG, slated for a February 2009 opening. Ward still has Below, though, which ccupies a basement spot right next to Abode.

The more things change...

Even Han Solo couldn't make this concept fly.

Turns out there just aren't that many Star Wars geeks out there -- at least, not enough to fill a bar/bowling alley/live-music venue named after Han Solo's spaceship. So the Falcon is going into dry-dock, and the spot at 3295 South Broadway is becoming Moe’s Original BBQ, taking its name -- and barbecue menu -- from a small, popular chain that started in Tuscaloosa and relocated to Vail in 2000.

But the emphasis will still be on live music, with Geeks Who Drink now adding a Tuesday trivia night to the mix.

Steve Schalk, owner of the nearby Gothic Theatre, bought the former Sport Bowl Lanes & Billiards in August 2007, then transformed it into a combo restaurant/250-person live music venue, keeping the bowling alley and winning our Best New Venue award this March. The Falcon concept lasted less than a year, but he assures us that Moe's will knock over everyone's pins. And as a bonus, he'll be able to add lunch to the spot's offerings. Look for the transformation to be complete next week.