"Castle Pines, the wait is over!" That is how Castello Italiano announced its opening at 361 Village Square Lane, Suite 130, according to DougCo Social's opening coverage. The restaurant held a soft opening on Monday, Aug. 31, and started regular service on Tuesday, Sept. 1.
The wait was about two years. Pino's Italian Kitchen & Bar closed at the end of September 2024, and the storefront across from the Castle Pines library sat empty after that. The timing matters because the City of Castle Pines plans to hold both of its late-October fall events at the Village Square Shopping Area. The City's own offices are in the same center, at 7437 Village Square Drive, Suite 200. So for the first time since 2024, the shopping center the City uses as its fall event site has its Italian dining room open again.
Twenty-Three Years at 361 Village Square Lane
The space has turned over several times, and it has served Italian food the whole way through.
| Year | What happened at 361 Village Square Lane |
|---|---|
| 2003 | Opens as La Dolce Vita |
| 2017 | Local resident Joe Sabia takes over, renovates and renames it Pino's Italian Kitchen & Bar |
| 2023 | Pino's changes hands again |
| Sept. 2024 | Pino's closes at the end of the month |
| Aug. 31 – Sept. 1, 2026 | Castello Italiano soft-opens, then opens for regular service |
The Castle Pines Connection covered the 2017 change, when Pino's began serving both lunch and dinner. BusinessDen reported in October 2024 that the owners at the time closed the restaurant at the end of that September. The report gave no reason for the closure.
While the space sat empty, its neighbors in the center kept running. DougCo Social names Duke's Steakhouse, Pho 5 and Alta Empanada among them.
What Petrit and Erion Built in a Year
Castello is the first expansion for the family behind Farro Italian Restaurant in Centennial. DougCo Social met co-owners Petrit and Erion. Petrit plans to be at the restaurant every day and wants it to grow gradually. Castello is Italian for "castle," and Petrit says that's the whole story behind the name.
According to Petrit, the renovation took about a year. The dining room seats 157, and there are TVs over the bar.
The opening menu has the usual Italian staples, chicken piccata, spaghetti and meatballs and lasagna, plus some less common dishes:
- Pasta, $19 to $34: white bolognese with pappardelle, bison short rib ravioli in vodka cream, and wild boar ragu over pappardelle, each $27. Fresh pasta, including gluten-free fresh pasta, is $5 extra.
- Small plates: P.E.I. mussels for $18, sizzling garlic shrimp for $16, and baked brie with prosciutto and fig compote for $18.
- Entrées, $24 to $55: lamb shank for $39, cioppino for $33, truffle risotto for $29, and a 16-ounce Black Angus ribeye for $55.
These are opening prices, and they may change. Castello serves dinner only. Hours are 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 4 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, and the restaurant is closed Mondays. When DougCo Social visited on Sept. 3, there were no plans for lunch or happy hour. Walk-ins are welcome, reservations are recommended, and online ordering is for scheduled pickup only. The same review noted that parking out front can get tight on an ordinary evening.
The City's "Rumor Has It" page confirmed the opening as of Sept. 4, but spells the name "Castilla Italiano." The restaurant's own site uses Castello, so search for Castello when you book.
The Weekend the City Brings to the Same Center
Seven weeks after Castello's opening, the City holds two events back to back at the Village Square Shopping Area.
Bonfire, BBQ, and Brews runs Friday, Oct. 23, from 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets cost $42 for adults 21 and over and $30 for anyone under 21. They include a barbecue meal, s'mores supplies, access to the firepits and live music from the band Darling Revival. Adult tickets also include drinks. Since dinner is part of the ticket, Friday night is already planned for anyone who goes.
The Fall Festival, Trick-or-Treat Street, and Pumpkin Race follows on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is free and includes a farmers market and a petting zoo. The annual Castle Pines Pumpkin Race starts at 1 p.m., and entrants bring a pumpkin built as a race car.
The new event this year is Castle Pines' first chili cookoff. Entry is $20 per person. Each competitor brings about two gallons of red, green or white chili, gives it a creative name for the tasting station, and has it hot and ready to serve by 10 a.m.
The weekend depends on a few deadlines earlier in the week, and the City offices in the same center are where race kits are picked up:
- Thursday, Oct. 22, 5 p.m. Last chance to register for the chili cookoff and to buy a $25 pumpkin race kit through the City's parks programs portal. Racers who don't buy a kit register through a separate City form.
- Friday, Oct. 23, noon. Purchased race kits must be picked up by this time at 7437 Village Square Drive, Suite 200. The office closes for lunch from noon to 1 p.m.
- Friday, Oct. 23, 6 p.m. Bonfire, BBQ, and Brews begins.
- Saturday, Oct. 24, 10 a.m. The festival opens, and cookoff chili must be ready to serve.
- Saturday, Oct. 24, 1 p.m. The pumpkin race starts.
- Saturday, Oct. 24, 4 p.m. Castello opens for dinner, two hours after the festival ends.
The full rules for both the pumpkin race and the chili cookoff are posted on the City's site.
The Canyons Holds Its Festival a Week Earlier
The Canyons runs its own fall calendar from The Green. Its annual Fall Festival is Saturday, Oct. 17, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The lineup includes a pumpkin patch, face painters, character artists, a balloon twister, bounce houses, a petting zoo, axe throwing for ages 18 and up, and performing pigs. Chain Saw Mama will carve wood on site and raffle three pieces.
With The Canyons on Oct. 17 and the City on Oct. 24, the two festivals fall on back-to-back Saturdays and don't conflict. A family with young children could go to both. The Canyons calendar also lists Plant Bingo on Oct. 8, Spooky Cookie Decorating with The Classy Cookie on Oct. 12 and Bunco Night on Oct. 22. That page carries no publish date, so check the listings before you go.
The Exchange Coffee House hosts The Chocolate Therapist at The Exchange on Monday, Oct. 5, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. It is a $45 chocolate tasting paired with wine.
Between the Festivals, and What Opens After
The rest of the fall calendar is spread around town, at places with their own addresses.
| Date | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Mon., Oct. 5 | 7 Brew Coffee's listed opening | 570 Castle Pines Parkway |
| Thu., Oct. 8, 7:30–8:30 a.m. | Coffee Klatch with Mayor Tracy Engerman | The Exchange Coffee House, 1415 Westbridge Drive |
| Wed., Oct. 28, 5–7 p.m. | New Resident Welcome Reception | The Ridge Golf Course, 1414 Castle Pines Parkway |
| Thu., Nov. 5, 7:30–8:30 a.m. | Coffee Klatch with Tracy | Ziggi's Coffee, 7298 Lagae Road |
| Sat., Nov. 7, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. | Leaf and Pumpkin Composting, free for residents | Elk Ridge Park, 7005 Mira Vista Lane |
| Fri., Dec. 4, 5–7 p.m. | Tree Lighting | The Ridge Golf Course, 1414 Castle Pines Parkway |
The composting day on Nov. 7 comes two weeks after the pumpkin race, so it's a convenient place to drop off this year's pumpkins. On the City's event page for the Dec. 4 tree lighting, more details are still listed as coming soon.
Two openings on the list are still company targets, not confirmed dates. 7 Brew's location page lists the stand next to Wendy's on Castle Pines Parkway as coming soon, with Oct. 5 as the date. Life Time says its Castle Pines club at 7373 Canyon Forge Drive is "Arriving November 2026." The club will be more than 102,000 square feet and include a LifeCafe, but no opening day has been given. A Castle Pines Connection story from October 2025 expected the club to open in early 2027, which shows that date has already moved once.
Castello Italiano is open at 361 Village Square Lane from 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, and the City's fall weekend takes over the same center on Oct. 23 and 24.
A buyer can't see a restaurant reopening across from the library or a pumpkin race at Village Square in listing photos. If you're considering a move this season and want those details to come through in how your home is marketed, Stacie Chadwick would be glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.
