Beau Jo’s pizza parlor to open in former Johnny Carino’s

LONGMONT — The building that housed a Johnny Carino’s Italian Restaurant in Longmont has been acquired by Beau Jo’s, a chain of pizza restaurants based in Lakewood.

Owner Chip Bair expects the restaurant will be open by this summer.

Beau Jo’s Longmont LLC paid $2.6 million to real estate developer David Chaknova of Niwot for the 6,938-square-foot restaurant and the 1.5 acres it sits on in the Village at Burlington at 2033 Ken Pratt Blvd., according to public records.

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Johnny Carino’s constructed the restaurant in 1999, and it has been empty since the restaurant closed in April 2014. After the restaurant closed, Chaknova acquired the property from a group of investors in 2015 for $1.23 million, according to public records. That group had acquired the property from Carino’s in 2003 for $2.5 million.

Beau Jo’s first restaurant opened in 1973 in Idaho Springs. It has since opened restaurants in Boulder, Fort Collins, Steamboat Springs, Denver, Arvada and Evergreen and has plans for a restaurant in downtown Denver opening later this year.

In addition to its Colorado Style Mountain Pizza Pies, Beau Jo’s also offers pasta, calzones, sourdough sandwiches, a salad bar with 20 healthy choices, plus gluten-free pizza and other low-carb alternatives. Beau Jo’s is working on plans to recreate the bar area for an indoor/outdoor patio bar experience.

Chaknova said he has stopped at Beau Jo’s in Idaho Springs for many years and thought the food and atmosphere was great.

“When I met Chip Bair in 2016, and understanding how focused he is with the environment and helping the community, I realized this would be a perfect fit for Longmont,” Chaknova said.

Beau Jo’s uses wind power provided by Excel Energy’s Windsource program. It is the 16th-largest user in Colorado, New Mexico and Minnesota, along with using solar power in Idaho Springs and Boulder.

The company also uses bio-degradable to-go containers, recycles and strives to buy locally, reducing the environmental costs of transportation along with helping the Colorado economy.  It also offers AAA members a 15 percent discount on food and beverages.