A new restaurant featuring Latin American flavors with a heavy Spanish influence is set to open in the Park Hill neighborhood of Denver.
Lucina Eatery & Bar plans to open before the end of the year. “We’re hoping for a Christmas miracle,” said Erasmo “Ras” Casiano, owner and chef of Lucina and Create Cooking School.
Casiano and business partner, Chef Diego Coconati, originally wanted to move forward with more Mediterranean and Continental flavors at Lucina, but they changed their minds. “Let’s lean into what we know, what we grew up with. Let’s have a story to tell,” Casiano told What Now Denver.
Lucina is named after Casiano’s mother, Santa Lucina, and is an homage to her and all mothers that welcome and host guests at large gatherings to socialize and enjoy good food and drinks. “We want Lucina to have that feel where you always feel welcome to just walk in, post up at the bar, grab a seat, even crack open a book with a glass of wine. The space is yours,” Casiano said.
Lucina will offer a variety of dishes including Arroz Congrí. “That is a gorgeous black beans and rice dish. It’s stewed with some sofrito, some herbs like cilantro, and just a little bit of citrus.” It will be served with maduros, which are sweetened plantains that have been fried and seasoned with sea salt. “It sounds very simple but it is a very delicious homage to all Latin American and Hispanic mothers.”
A cocktail menu is under development but will include signature drinks with Latin American influences. Henry Ottrix, Lucina beverage director, has developed one cocktail that features rye whiskey with cherry heering, a little bit of lemon, and is finished off with a smudging of sage. “It gives the glass just a really nice aroma, that nice smoke, and all the good vibes with that one,” Casiano explained. Alexander Moon will be taking the helm as General Manager and is currently curating an eclectic wine list for Lucina.
Lucina will be located not too far from Create Cooking School at Stanley Marketplace, which is where the idea for the new restaurant sparked back in 2019. “We get the urge to get back into the kitchen and on the line and make food for people because that’s what we really enjoy doing.”
Chefs Casiano and Coconati would offer dishes to guests at pop-up cooking events at Create, and requests came pouring in to offer the dishes full-time. Create Cooking School offers classes, but the bar is open for anyone to enjoy a drink, whether enrolled in a class or not.
“We wanted to make sure that whatever we opened up is approachable to anyone who sees it driving by, getting home from work, waking up, whichever it may be. We just want to become a neighborhood spot,” Casiano said, referring to Lucina.
They plan to serve paella on Friday and Saturday nights, along with Saturday brunch, and a tapas happy hour dubbed La Hora Loca, The Crazy Hour.
Casiano hopes Lucina Eatery & Bar will open its doors to the public at 2245 Kearney St., Denver, CO 80207 by the end of December.
Correction: An earlier version misspelled Lucina in one mention. Updated photo and added mention of Alexander Moon.
