locally owned family restaurants In Colorado
Celebrating the time honored traditions of cooking with live fire
AJ's Pit Bar-B-Q
Owners Jared & Amanda have been serving classic Texas-Style barbecue since 2009 when they opened their first BBQ restaurant in Chicago. They opened AJ's in 2018 after moving to Colorado.
AJ's Pit Bar-B-Q has been praised for its authentic Texas barbecue and its friendly service. The restaurant has a 4.5 star rating on Yelp, 4.6 on Google, and is consistently ranked as one of the best barbecue restaurants in Denver. The atmosphere at AJ's Pit Bar-B-Q is casual and relaxed. The restaurant is family-friendly and has a large outdoor patio that is perfect for dining al fresco.
Campfire Lakewood
Campfire Lakewood is the second location of our popular wood-fired pizza and barbecue restaurant. We opened our doors in 2023 in response to the overwhelming demand for our delicious food and friendly service.
Like our first location in Evergreen, Campfire Lakewood offers a casual and relaxed atmosphere, perfect for families and friends to gather and enjoy a delicious meal. Our pizzas are made in an oven that was handcrafted in Italy, and our barbecue is wood-fired. This location also has a full bar, with a wide selection of beers, wines, and cocktails.
Grabowski's Pizzeria
Previously located at The Source, Grabowski's has moved to a location in Lakewood that better suits the brand. It's a cozy family friendly spot, serving authentic Chicago-style thin crust with the famous cracker crust, cut into family style squares. We have classic tavern pies, Italian beefs, meatball subs, salads, red sauce Italian, pinball machines, and pitchers of ice cold old style on tap.. and of course the Chicago hand-shake (add a shot of Malort).
Campfire Evergreen
Campfire Evergreen is a wood-fired pizza and barbecue restaurant located in the heart of Evergreen, Colorado. Campfire offers a casual and relaxed atmosphere, perfect for families and friends to gather and enjoy a delicious meal. Our pizzas are made in an oven that was handcrafted in Italy, and the barbecue is wood-fired. Campfire also has a full bar, with a wide selection of beers, wines, and cocktails.
AJ's Pit Bar-B-Q Steakhouse
AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q has been smoking meats in Denver’s overland crossing neighborhood for half a decade, having just celebrated their 5 year anniversary.. the same team is proud to bring their Michelin-award winning love for fire & meat to Wash park, opening AJ’s Pit-Bar-B-Q - steakhouse February 14th 2024. Prime cuts of beef will be smoked, sous vide cooked to tender, & finished on a wood-fired grill to perfection. AJ’s Steakhouse will feature a full bar, scratch made steakhouse sides & salads, all served in an environment that makes you feel at home. Steakhouse quality, comfortable service, neighborhood feeling.
Jared Leonard
Founder of Campfire Concepts, Jared lives locally in Evergreen with his family, and created Campfire Concepts to share his love for story telling, hospitality, and great food. After growing Budlong Hot Chicken from 1 to 7 stores in Chicago, he sold the franchise to Craveworthy Restaurant Group. Jared now has 5 locations between 4 concepts in Colorado.
Amanda Leonard
Life Coach, wife, mother, and business professional - Amanda has a unique ability to make everyone feel welcome. She had a decade-long career of running large-scale corporate events, and created our catering and events program. She guides our catering and events team, and professionally coaches women into their true calling in life.