Los Dos Potrillos Opens Its Biggest Location Yet in Castle Rock

"It was a long project, to say the least, but the first few days have been awesome," says Daniel Ramirez. His parents founded Los Dos Potrillos in Centennial in 2002, and the family-owned restaurant group has been growing ever since.

Since becoming CEO and COO, respectively, Daniel and his brother, Luis, have been making some big moves to expand the brand. They just made their biggest yet, celebrating the grand opening of a 9,000-square-foot location at 6370 Promenade Parkway in Castle Rock on January 15 — over two years after they broke ground.

This is the fifth Los Dos outpost; in addition to the original, there are locations in Highlands Ranch, Littleton and Parker, which is where brewery operations have been based since the group turned a sports bar/brewery there into a Los Dos in 2018.

Now, brewing will happen in Castle Rock, too. Chris Gilmore, director of brewery operations, plans to move a majority of the Los Dos lager production there, opening up room in Parker to get creative with limited-release beers. "We produced nearly 600 barrels in 2023. The Castle Rock addition should double that," Ramirez says.

Despite a few "hiccups" along the way that pushed back the original fall 2023 opening timeline, the process of getting the doors open at the Castle Rock location has been relatively smooth, according to Ramirez. In just two and a half weeks, Los Dos "hired over eighty hospitality leaders," he says, using the term the company prefers for its staff members. "That was rock-solid."
In the restaurant's first few days, "the community has been super responsive," he adds. The location has ample indoor seating as well as a 1,000-square-foot patio that boasts "one of the best views in Colorado. ... It's pretty immaculate."

Some classic Los Dos Potrillos touches remain, like the bright-red chip baskets and the molcajetes that are used for salsa, but there are plenty of updated details, too, including tables and chairs that were made by a family in Guadalajara. "We wanted to really make this into a modern take on a hacienda — a Mexican home — while keeping our roots of what Los Dos is," Ramirez says.

"This project is definitely something to be celebrated — for us, but also all the people who have supported us over the years, our hospitality community. It's about them," adds Ramirez, noting that one of the Los Dos mottos is "'Family' stands for forget about me, I love you."

Last year, the company introduced a different take on its concept, a fast-casual spinoff in Thornton dubbed Los Dos Potrillos Cocina y Cantina. But ultimately, "we decided to turn it back into full-service," Ramirez says. "We weren't giving the quality that we normally do. ... We weren't giving the best experience to our customers. It was inconvenient for them to have a delicious taco and beer and then have to get back in line."

With that lesson learned, Ramirez says the company is focused on full-service concepts for its future growth. "We have a couple other things in the pipeline," he teases, though fans will have to wait for more details.