DENVER (KDVR) — A new barbecue restaurant is set to open near South Broadway, replacing the Michelin award-winning AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q, which shut down a few months ago.
Riot BBQ is opening in the Overland neighborhood, replacing the building that once held AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q, a Texas-style barbecue spot that earned the Bib Gourmand award and was considered one of the highest-rated barbecue restaurants in Denver before it closed in March.
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Pit Bar-B-Q shut down after its staff walked out and the restaurant’s assets were seized by the Colorado Department of Revenue for “nonpayment of taxes,” the Denver Business Journal previously reported.
Now, a different barbecue spot is opening with a new concept and a familiar face. Patrick Klaiber, who was once AJ’s pitmaster, is now partnering with Chef Manny Barella to bring “Monterrey, Mexico tradition and Texas smoke together.”
Klaiber, who Riot BBQ said is a self-taught craftsman who started behind the smoker at 16 years old, led his former team to a Michelin Guide award in 2023. Meanwhile, Barella is bringing in his culture from Monterrey, where they said barbecue is a way of life…