"We are incredibly thankful for (23) years of support, celebrations and memories shared within these walls." Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano posted that line in April. It was the restaurant's goodbye from 1805 Briargate Parkway, a building that had been a regular dinner spot at The Promenade Shops at Briargate for more than two decades.
Six months later the center is busier than it has been in years. Most of the new energy is aimed at lunchtime, at errands and at the hours between school pickup and sunset. In this year's tenant changes, the only new restaurant is a fast-casual sandwich-and-salad shop. The biggest new store sells boots and fleece, and the headline October event runs from 3 to 5 p.m. on a Saturday. None of this fall's announcements mention the Biaggi's address, and that gap is the clearest sign of where the center is headed.
How a 23-Year Restaurant Closed
Biaggi's didn't close because business dried up. According to The Gazette, the closure came after months of work on what restaurant officials called "extensive and compounding" soil erosion and plumbing problems at the site. The timeline ran over most of a season:
- Early November 2025. Biaggi's announces on Facebook that it is temporarily closing for an extended period to make "major repairs" to the building.
- February 2026. A second post explains that the plumbing and soil issues are worse than first believed and the restaurant will stay closed.
- Tuesday, April 14, 2026. The restaurant announces it will not reopen. "The scope of repairs required makes that no longer possible."
This isn't a turnkey restaurant space waiting for the next operator. The building's own problems ended the last lease. The Gazette's April report didn't name a successor tenant.
What Opens on Oct. 27
The Promenade's one new restaurant this fall is Mendocino Farms. It opens Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 1765 Briargate Parkway, Suite 807. This is the Los Angeles County-based chain's first Colorado Springs location and its fourth in Colorado.
The date has already moved once. At one point the company's own location list showed the Colorado Springs store opening on a Sunday. A spokesperson then told The Gazette it would open in October, and the paper corrected its first story to match. Oct. 27 is the confirmed date. Any earlier date you see on social media is probably the old one.
Mendocino Farms was founded in 2005 by Mario Del Pero and Ellen Chen-Del Pero. It now has more than 100 restaurants in California, Colorado, Arizona, Illinois, Texas and Washington. The Colorado rollout has been quick. Cherry Creek opened in May 2025, Highlands in March 2026, and Denver's 16th Street location in May 2026. Briargate is next.
The menu is built for a quick meal. According to The Gazette, the most popular items are the "Not So Fried" chicken sandwich and the Peruvian steak sandwich. The menu also has wraps, salads, seasonal soups and limited-time chef's specials, plus sides like spicy curry couscous and Southern potato salad. There's a kids' menu, along with vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options. The company says it uses antibiotic-free poultry, cage-free eggs and locally sourced fresh bread.
Set it next to the restaurant it effectively replaces as the center's newest dining name. Biaggi's was a sit-down Italian restaurant that hosted 23 years of what it called "celebrations." Mendocino Farms is a counter-service stop you can fit into a lunch hour. Both work at a shopping center. They just fill different parts of the day.
Retail Is Moving the Same Way
The retail changes point in the same direction, toward the kind of trips people make in daylight.
The largest change is at 1925 Briargate Parkway. The Container Store closed there in April, and L.L.Bean is remodeling the 13,000-square-foot space. The Gazette reports a late-October opening. SpringsMag, in its early-September roundup, gave a wider "fourth quarter" window. Until the company names a day, late October is the best estimate.
Here is where every announced change stands as of early October 2026:
| Business | Address or location | Status | Timing as reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mendocino Farms | 1765 Briargate Pkwy, Suite 807 | New, first in Colorado Springs | Opens Oct. 27, 2026 |
| L.L.Bean | 1925 Briargate Pkwy, former Container Store | New, remodeling | Late October; Q4 per SpringsMag |
| Apple | Expanded space next to Ulta | Reopened | Open now |
| American Eagle | The Promenade Shops at Briargate | New | Before the end of 2026 |
| Kendra Scott | The Promenade Shops at Briargate | New | Sometime in 2026 |
| Lululemon | The Promenade Shops at Briargate | Expanding | Fourth quarter 2026 |
| Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano | 1805 Briargate Pkwy | Closed April 14, 2026 | Not mentioned in fall announcements |
The center's owner has described this direction publicly. In SpringsMag's roundup, Lara Silversmith, director of leasing strategy at Asana Partners, said the goal is "introducing highly desired brands and fresh experiences to Colorado Springs." She also said the new openings give guests "even more reasons to shop, dine and gather throughout the year." Everything on the confirmed list so far is apparel, accessories, electronics or a quick meal. SpringsMag's roundup names Mendocino Farms as the only food addition.
October's Calendar Leans Toward Afternoons
The Promenade's own October events follow the same pattern. They're built around families and open air on Pikes Peak Patio, which sits next to Ted's Montana Grill. Add two nearby north-side stops and October looks like this:
- Saturdays, Oct. 10, 17, 24 and 31: Miners Pumpkin Patch at the Western Museum of Mining & Industry, 225 North Gate Blvd. The patch has been running on Saturdays since Oct. 3.
- Sunday, Oct. 18: Barks and Boos Fall Fest at Under the Sun Dog Training and Daycare, 6540 Vincent Drive.
- Thursday, Oct. 22: Movies Under the Mountains with a free screening of Hocus Pocus on Pikes Peak Patio. The event page lists free hot chocolate, cider and apple-cider donuts for a limited number of children.
- Saturday, Oct. 24, 3 to 5 p.m.: Boo at Briargate, the center-wide trick-or-treat. It starts at Pikes Peak Patio and continues through participating shops and restaurants. This year's theme is Toy Story. Woody, Buzz and Jessie costumes are encouraged, but any costume works.
- Tuesday, Oct. 27: Mendocino Farms opens at 1765 Briargate Parkway.
The movie night is the one evening event. Boo at Briargate is a two-hour afternoon window, and if L.L.Bean keeps to its late-October target, it could open within days of the trick-or-treat. A Saturday that starts at the pumpkin patch on North Gate Boulevard and ends on Pikes Peak Patio fits easily into one afternoon.
Families planning for Oct. 24 should know that local businesses can still join. The Promenade lists a vendor and sponsor registration deadline of Friday, Oct. 16, 2026.
The Address Still Waiting for an Answer
Everything above has a date. The building at 1805 Briargate Parkway doesn't. The repair problems that closed Biaggi's are on the public record, and any future tenant will be moving into the site those repairs left behind. Neither the Gazette's September report nor SpringsMag's fall roundup mentions plans for the space.
For now, the center's evening dining rests on its existing restaurants and occasional events like Movies Under the Mountains. Its new energy is landing earlier in the day: a sandwich counter opening Oct. 27, an outdoor outfitter in the former Container Store, and a trick-or-treat that ends before dinner. The next filing or announcement for 1805 Briargate Parkway will show whether The Promenade adds a long dinner back to the mix.
A busy season at the shopping center down the road usually draws questions about the homes around it. If you own in Briargate and want to know how changes at The Promenade may affect your home's value, your rental's appeal or your timing for a move, Theadora Rotbasean can walk through it with you using local, current information. Let's Connect.
