Two Empty Restaurants Near Powers and Barnes Are Getting Second Acts, and One Is Already Open

"Donde come uno, comen cien." Daniel Ramirez, CEO of Ramirez Hospitality Group and co-owner of Los Dos Potrillos, told The Gazette that his grandmother used to say it. It translates to "Where one eats, a hundred eat." He brought it up to explain a decision about a building on Barnes Road. Between January 2024 and May 2026, two large restaurant buildings near Powers Boulevard and Barnes Road went dark. The companies filling them now are Denver-area brands. Both reached Colorado Springs by way of Castle Rock, and Ramirez says Springs diners had already been making that drive.

The Building on Carefree Circle Sat Empty for Nearly Three Years

The building at 5710 S. Carefree Circle has changed hands before. Palapa's and Andy McCarthy's operated there first. In 2010, Colorado Springs-based Concept Restaurants bought the foreclosed 6,028-square-foot property for $1.15 million, according to The Gazette's report at the time, and opened the second Jose Muldoon's there.

That location closed in January 2024 after 13 years. The Gazette reported that the owners cited financial challenges. The original Jose Muldoon's at 222 N. Tejon St. downtown is still open daily for dine-in and takeout.

By January 2026, dumpsters and construction containers sat out front. Plans filed with the city showed some parking spaces on the south side would be removed to make room for a bigger patio. In April, FOX21 put the remodel at $1.2 million. The new operator later said the work included gutting the original building, greatly expanding the patio and adding exterior structures. Architecture and art for the project were developed with the firm HSU Office.

What Opened on Oct. 27

Homegrown Tap & Dough opened Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. It is the first Colorado Springs location for Denver-based Gastamo Group and the brand's seventh restaurant. In January, the company had told The Gazette to expect a late-summer opening. Director of operations Chapin Rebbe said construction delays made it hard to set a firm date. It took a few extra months, but the doors are open now.

The basics, as reported at opening and listed on the restaurant's location page:

• Address: 5710 S. Carefree Circle, Colorado Springs, CO 80917
• Hours: Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Phone: (719) 785-9007
• Size: 6,000 square feet, with 215 seats inside and 106 on the patio
• Menu: hand-tossed pizzas, pasta and shareable starters, with gluten-free and vegetarian options, Colorado craft beer and cocktails
• Leadership: managing partner Kelley Compton, a first managing-partner role for Compton

The 106 patio seats explain those parking spaces on the south side. The old footprint was turned into outdoor seating, and it is a large share of the room. Nearly a third of the restaurant's seats are outside.

The Flag on the Wall Is Made From Letters Home

The dining room's centerpiece is a large American flag installation by Colorado-based artist Dolan Geiman. It is made from military memorabilia donated by families in Colorado Springs and around the country. Pizza Marketplace reported that the piece includes handwritten letters between service members overseas and their families during World War II and the Korean War. It also includes a U.S. Navy garrison cap, Marine Corps insignia, Naval Reserve patches, wartime songbooks and vintage Colorado keepsakes. A decommissioned Steamboat ski patrol gondola and vintage 10th Mountain Division skis hang nearby. They honor the World War II Army division that trained in Colorado's high country.

"The whole idea behind this restaurant is how do we make it about service? Because that's what the military community is."

Gastamo Group president Jason Gleaton said that to The Gazette in the week before opening.

The theme carries over to the restaurant's first full month. Through the end of November, Homegrown is donating $1 for every 14-inch pizza sold to Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center. Mt. Carmel offers transition and employment help, behavioral health and wellness programs, and connections to community resources for veterans, active-duty service members and their families across Southern Colorado. Gastamo CEO Peter Newlin said in the company's release that the team had been working on the Colorado Springs restaurant for three years. He said they wanted "to show up as a real neighbor, not just another new restaurant."

On Barnes Road, the Second Building Is Already Under Renovation

The closing that freed up the second building came more quietly. On a Monday morning in May 2026, a sign on the door of On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina at 5832 Barnes Road thanked customers and said the location had closed for good. The Gazette reported that it was the brand's last Colorado Springs restaurant. Its locations on North Academy Boulevard near Briargate and at Broadmoor Towne Center on Southgate Road had closed earlier.

Four months later, Ramirez Hospitality Group announced its plans for the building. KRDO reported on Sept. 23 that Los Dos Potrillos would open there in early 2027 after a complete renovation of the space, which is just over 5,000 square feet. Two days later, The Gazette reported that an advance team had started infrastructure work and that the company expected to open by March 2027. The Barnes Road building went from closed to under renovation in about four months. The Carefree Circle building sat for about two years before remodeling began.

Los Dos Potrillos started in Centennial in 2002 and grew to six locations in metro Denver, including Castle Rock and Littleton. The Barnes Road restaurant will be its seventh. A Loveland location at The Promenade Shops at Centerra is planned for spring 2027. The company expects the two openings to create about 100 jobs between them.

Both Brands Came South Through Castle Rock

Both openings followed the same route to the east side.

Ramirez explained the Barnes Road decision directly. "Our closest location to Colorado Springs is in Castle Rock, and we have a lot of guests who travel from the Springs to that location," he told The Gazette. "They have been asking if we can extend our grandmother's table to the Springs, and I think we can."

Homegrown took the same path. Gastamo Group opened its first Homegrown in Denver in 2011. It opened in Castle Rock in late 2025 and then kept moving south to Carefree Circle.

In order, the corner's last three years look like this:

1. January 2024: Jose Muldoon's closes its Carefree Circle location after 13 years.
2. Late 2025: Homegrown Tap & Dough opens in Castle Rock.
3. January 2026: Remodeling begins at 5710 S. Carefree Circle.
4. Mid-May 2026: On The Border closes at 5832 Barnes Road.
5. September 2026: Los Dos Potrillos announces Barnes Road, and infrastructure work begins.
6. Oct. 27, 2026: Homegrown Tap & Dough opens on Carefree Circle.
7. Early 2027: Los Dos Potrillos' target opening, which The Gazette reported as by March.

Each company already had a restaurant in Castle Rock before choosing an existing full-service building near Powers and Barnes. Neither is building from the ground up. Homegrown's 6,000-square-foot space and the Barnes Road building's 5,000-plus square feet were both restaurants before.

For east-side residents, it means two sit-down restaurants near Powers and Barnes after more than two years of losing them. The one on Carefree Circle is serving now. Its November pizza donation to Mt. Carmel runs for the rest of the month. The one on Barnes Road is under renovation, with a March 2027 target.

If you're thinking about how the changes at Powers and Barnes might affect a home on the east side, Strategic Property Advisors watches these corners closely and can walk you through what's changing near your street. Request a Market Consultation, and we'll start with the businesses and projects closest to your home.