Andrea Frizzi’s new restaurant in RiNo took awhile.
“The problem is that I started with a budget and it went $300,000 more,” he said, saying he spent in the high six figures.
“I want to do it the right way now for when I open the door,” he added. “I have a reputation.”
Frizzi’s restaurant experience includes Il Posto, the Italian spot he ran in Uptwon and then RiNo. It closed in 2024. The Milan, Italy, native also founded Vero Italian and Tammen’s Fish Market in Denver Central Market, although he is no longer involved.
This summer, he plans to open Risica, a pizzeria and small-bites concept that has been years in the making.
Frizzi signed a 10-year lease at 3463 Walnut St. in the fall of 2024, intending to open the following summer. But inflated costs forced him to pause the project several times.
Now, construction is done and a pistachio-green hue – Frizzi’s favorite color – dons booths, a bar and an open kitchen in 2,200 square feet. He anticipates opening this summer on the ground floor of the Edit at River North apartment complex, which David Zucker’s Zocalo Development delivered in 2021.
Frizzi has been itching to get back into the game. He recently had a devastating Vespa accident that required 17 screws and a metal plate in his shoulder. That kept him out of the kitchen for several months.
He said he feels like “a phoenix rising from the ashes,” especially with a concept like Risica that’s been on his mind for over 20 years. Its namesake is based on the Italian phrase “Chi non risica, non rosica,” which means “no risk, no reward.”
“I’ve put it all on the line,” he said. “I believe that you have to be absolutely delusional when you do something like this.”
Risica’s menu features nothing over $20 across pizzas and small, sharable plates like carpaccio and oven-roasted pizza wallets, called portafogli. Frizzi will also serve a la carte charcuterie, where patrons can choose the types and amounts of meats, cheeses and other snacks they want.
Tuesdays are going to be for $1 oysters, and wine is going to cost $8 to $12 a glass on average, he said. Risica will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Frizzi, who has spent much of his career in fine dining, wanted to get away from that with his new restaurant.
“Fine dining is really stressful because there’s so many moving parts, egos and expectation of receiving some award.
“I don’t need any Michelin stars,” he continued. “I want to have a space that I would like to eat, a space with a Milanese energy.”
In the meantime, Frizzi has been offering catering to pay his bills amid the cost-driven delays.
He said Davis Graham & Stubbs, the law firm across the street, has become a consistent customer. Having office tenants like them and nearby Xcel Energy attracted him to the block. The hundreds of residential units above don’t hurt either.
Frizzi lives a short walk away from Risica and said that RiNo is his favorite neighborhood in Denver. Before coming to the city in the early 2000s, he worked at restaurants in New York, New York; Seattle, Washington; and Washington, D.C.
“RiNo is my village,” Frizzi said. “I feel like I’m in Italy here with my community.”
Frizzi isn’t the only notable name moving into the ground floor of Edit.
MAKfam, the Michelin-recognized spot at 39 W. First Ave., will open a second location in a corner unit to the southwest of Risica, according to permits filed with the city.
While the first location in the Baker neighborhood has counter service, husband-and-wife owners Kenneth Wan and Doris Yuen will have table service and take reservations in RiNo, according to Westword. The spot will also serve alcohol, unlike its predecessor.
Yuen did not respond to requests for comment from BusinessDen.
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Dining and Cooking