There is such a thing as a perfect dining experience. We provide it.
We opened tiny little 40 seat Mizuna in 2001, and Frank said “if we make just 50 people happy a night, we’re doing great work.”
Thousands and thousands of happy diners have crossed these Bonanno thresholds, in search of the composed magic of Mizuna, or the hand cranked beauty of Luca, or the bespoke intimacy of a Salita drink. We’ve toasted your weddings at Osteria Marco and watched you fall over laughing on the Vesper patio, still holding on to that last Baharat French fry, still in possession of the final drop of your Old Fashioned, just. Laughing.
We’ve fed the likes of Robert Plant and Michelle Obama and Anthony Bourdain and U2 and most importantly, we’ve fed you. We’ve delighted you. You’ve worked with us, and your children have worked with us, shaving sheer sheets of prosciutto to layer on sandwiches at Salt & Grinder, or pouring rich buttery, nuanced broths table side at French 75. The talent that’s walked these tiled floors have sharpened their knives, their skills, their craft, to open restaurants of their own, and it has been our honor, our joy, here in the Bonanno restaurants, to not only partake of Denver’s culinary landscape, but to inspire its shape and feel and flavor.
But look. See in that little window that opens onto the Mizuna line? Is that Frank cooking? Is that my lipstick on someone’s cheek? It feels like you left something behind last time, while you were discovering that wine, that unforgettable bite, that taste of something remarkable. You need to come back and rediscover it. Or maybe you haven’t experienced a Bonanno restaurant before? Oh, how fun! Because Frank’s up to something tonight, and. Well. Enough words already. Please, right this way. You’re in for a treat.
Frank and I in front of the flagship (Luca’s in there, too, but in my belly!) at the start of our restaurant journey together
2001
Bonanno Concepts
opens Mizuna
Frank’s restaurants have become the most fertile training grounds for upcoming restaurateurs and chefs in the western United States. Since Mizuna’s inception in 2001, more than 25+ of our restaurant family members have gone directly from an experience working alongside Frank to opening a restaurant of their own.
2003
2003
Frank on Food
…Network
After opening Luca, Frank is invited to participate in two Food Network competitions. The wins spark an invite to cook at Aspen Food & Wine with David Chang and Wiley Dufresne. The seeds for Bones are planted.
2004
2004
Spirited Inspiration
Raising the Bar
Staff of Luca and Mizuna attend the opening of Thomas Keller’s Per Se in NYC. Their signature gin & tonic sparks a shift in cocktail ideation, ultimately inspiring Frank to open Green Russell– the first modern speakeasy in Colorado–which goes on to be twice recognized by Travel & Leisure as among the top cocktail bars in the world.
2008
2008
Ambition in the Aughts
Two Restaurants, One Year
Bones & Osteria Marco open the same year, starting Frank’s pattern of opening two wildly divergent concepts simultaneously.
2010
2010
No Reservations
Bourdain Visits Mizuna
Anthony Bourdain & Frank Bonanno, Easter
We slaughter a baby lamb behind Mizuna to feed Anthony Bourdain and his crew after filming the 15th episode of Season 6 of No Reservations. When he drinks with our team afterwards behind what will later become Vesper Lounge, we are all smitten.
2012
2012
Close to Home
Two Neighborhood Joints
Vesper Lounge and Lou’s Food Bar open forays into more casual fare for Frank–and both are heartily embraced by the community.
2013
2013
Heating Up
Frank Flips the Bird
Frank cooks for the Beard Foundation event in Nashville and after much chicken and blistered lips, he makes a plan to bring Nashville hot chicken to Denver. His version is later available at Denver Milk Market’s Lou’s Hot & Naked and the updated iteration of Lou’s Food Bar on 7th and Grant.
2015
2015
Chef Driven
Frank’s Show Airs on PBS
Frank films a travel/cooking show highlighting the independent food and beverage artisans in Colorado who make restaurants possible. The show has two seasons, still airing on PBS today.
2018
2018
Double Up
Food Hall & French Bistro
French 75 and Denver Milk Market (the only food hall in the country run by a singular chef) open. French 75 gets a visit from the Chartreuse team, where a partnership is forged over yellow-Chartreuse-infused espresso, bouillabaisse and sole.
2022
2022
Leaders, Creators
A National Award
Frank and Jacqueline are awarded the NRN Leadership CREATOR Award celebrating their pioneering work in bringing on the first full-time staff therapist in the restaurant industry and instituting a tipless structure to boost pay equity.
2023
2023
Turn the Page
Reimagining Icons
The pandemic puts an iconic 75-year-old venue at risk and Frank steps in to reopen El Rancho in Evergreen. The Green Russell crew, after being displaced from Larimer Square for historic building renovations, moves to the corner of 7th & Grant to join Mizuna, Luca and Vesper Lounge and opens Salita–a coffee shop and cocktail lounge with a touch of Italian glam.
F&B
Frank Bonanno
is obsessed
with the beauty and the energy and the very politics of food. He is obsessed with flavor combinations and plating styles, with mentoring new chefs and creating new dining experiences, with opening new restaurants and shaping the surrounding neighborhoods.
Frank’s is a life devoted to aroma and flavor and Delicious with a capital D. Frank is ten restaurants, three bars, a brewery and a 16-concept food hall deep into his obsession –literally and figuratively shaping the culinary landscape in Colorado and the western United States.
“I had a great childhood,” says Frank Bonanno. “Most of who I am today was shaped by food experiences—in restaurants, at home, with family and friends.”
