Japanese-Mexican Señor Tanuki Restaurant Planned Along Brighton Boulevard
DENVER, CO — Plans are moving forward for a new Japanese-Mexican restaurant concept along Brighton Boulevard, with Señor Tanuki planned for an existing restaurant space at 3033 Brighton Boulevard.
Interior Rendering of Señor Tanuki | Sourced from Concept Application
The project would renovate approximately 3,496 square feet for the new fast-casual concept. Plans call for a substantial interior buildout across the dining, service, bar and kitchen areas, including new non-structural walls, ceilings, fixtures, finishes and other improvements throughout the space.
Rather than starting with an empty shell, Señor Tanuki would reuse much of the infrastructure already in place from the previous restaurant. Existing equipment expected to remain includes the kitchen hood, walk-in cooler, hot water heater and other kitchen equipment. The existing storage mezzanine would also remain, while the restrooms would receive updated finishes.
The proposed layout includes 66 seats within the indoor dining area and another 40 seats on the existing outdoor patio, bringing the planned seating shown in the architectural plans to 106 seats. The patio would remain part of the restaurant and additional exterior lighting is also included in the project plans.
Interior Rendering of Señor Tanuki | Sourced from Concept Application
Permit valuation documents list approximately $385,000 in planned work for the restaurant. The valuation includes construction, demolition and preparation work, electrical improvements, plumbing and gas piping, ventilation and heating work, and fire protection.
Beyond the construction plans, preliminary concept materials provide an early look at what Señor Tanuki could bring to Brighton Boulevard. The restaurant is being developed as a fast-casual concept combining Japanese and Mexican influences, with customers able to build meals around several different formats.
Those options include bento bowls, composed salads, hand rolls and tortillas with rice and miso beans. Preliminary protein options include ginger pork shogaki prepared pastor-style, chile Colorado chicken, beef barbacoa with sansho, clove and ancho, and baked yuzu kosho salmon.
Customers would then be able to customize meals with sides and toppings including cabbage slaw, kewpie corn salad, potato salad, pickled jalapeños, sweet pickled onions, cucumber salad, seaweed salad and edamame. Sauces shown in the concept materials include ginger tamari, tomatillo ponzu salsa, Fuji apple and cilantro lime vinaigrette, white sesame miso vinaigrette and jalapeño aioli.
Additional menu ideas include roasted kabocha, soba noodle salad, wasabi potatoes and a soft-boiled onsen egg. The materials are preliminary, meaning individual dishes and ingredients could change as the restaurant moves closer to opening.
Interior Rendering of Señor Tanuki | Sourced from Concept Application
Señor Tanuki is also being planned with a bar component intended to offer a different experience from the primary fast-casual service. Concept materials show rotating specials such as Taco Tuesdays, Wing Wednesdays and weekend dumpling specials, with potential dishes including rib eye tacos, ginger pastor tacos, gyoza, teriyaki chile wings, pork belly skewers and yakitori.
The restaurant plans have been moving through Denver's development review process, with several city departments requesting revisions during their initial reviews in August. The project is a tenant improvement of the existing restaurant space rather than a ground-up development, and no structural modifications to the building are currently proposed.
An opening date for Señor Tanuki has not yet been identified in the project documents.
Development Team
Owner: Fabrica RINO LLC
Tenant: Señor Tanuki
Architect: Bray Architecture, Inc.
MEP Engineer: Boulder Engineering Company
Contractor: TBD
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All project information was sourced from publicly available site plans, renderings, and permitting documents.
5 minute read • Plans are moving forward for Señor Tanuki, a new Japanese-Mexican fast-casual restaurant planned for an existing 3,496-square-foot restaurant space at 3033 Brighton Boulevard.