New Restaurant Partners Starting July 15, 2026

Ace Eat Serve

Denver, CO

Half restaurant, half ping pong hall. Owner Josh Wolkon (who also runs Steuben’s and Vesta in Denver) turned a corner space on 17th Avenue into three concepts under one roof: an open-kitchen dining room, a bar with a big patio, and a room full of Cornilleau ping pong tables you can reserve by the hour. The food is modern Asian. Peking duck comes as a half ($45) or whole ($85) with moo shu crepes and chili apricot jam, and the xiao long bao are filled with shrimp and ginger miso. Wednesdays are $6 wings and $6 whiskey all day. Brunch runs Saturday and Sunday until 3 p.m.

Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ

7 locations in CT/NC

Kansas City–style, wood-smoked, seven locations between Connecticut and Asheville. The NY Times rated them “Excellent,” Southern Living put them on its BBQ Bucket List, and Connecticut Magazine gave them Best BBQ in both the expert and reader polls. One location is inside the UConn Student Union. Another shares space with Sweeten Creek Brewing in Asheville. They sell their own line of sauces and rubs, run food trucks, and the Hartford spot has a private room called the Bear Den that seats 14.

bellagreen

9 locations in TX

Every bellagreen location is Green Certified, which they’ll tell you about, and then they’ll feed you Hi-Protein Hempenadas—gluten-free empanadas made with hemp flour, stuffed with Angus beef and cheddar ($9.99). Open since 2008 with nine locations across Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio. The menu has a lot of range: Wagyu meatball pasta ($19.99), brick chicken with chipotle mashed sweet potatoes, organic quinoa bowls, thin-crust pizza on imported Italian flour dough. Happy hour is Monday through Friday, 3 to 5 p.m., with half off starters and $3 beers. Weekend brunch starts at 8:30 a.m. at most locations.

Einstein Bros. Bagels

5 locations in AZ/MI/TX

Fresh-baked bagels in 20-plus varieties, signature egg sandwiches like the Farmhouse and the Texas Brisket, and an $8 Breakfast & Brew combo. Baker’s Dozen boxes and catering platters handle office mornings.

El Mercado Mexican Kitchen

Newport Beach, CA

Sits on Marine Avenue on Balboa Island, which is a pretty specific place to put a Mexican restaurant. The menu skews higher-end: branzino at $38, carne asada plate with an 8 oz. arrachera steak for $38, and pulpo asado tacos (pan-seared octopus) at $23 for two. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. with individual tacos starting at $8 and margaritas at $14. They press their own corn tortillas in-house. Brunch on Saturdays and Sundays includes masa pancakes with piloncillo syrup.

Ellie’s Downtown Deli & Catering

Stuart, FL

The building started its life as an Army radio station at Jonathan Dickinson Park during WWII. It got relocated to downtown Stuart, and now Chef Mark—who won the Chopped competition at ArtsFest and has been cooking for 25-plus years—runs a deli and catering operation out of it. The Classic Reuben is $12.50, the smoked pulled pork melt with Thai chili BBQ and pepper jack is $13.95, and the Italian Combo on an 8-inch hoagie is $13.95. They’ve won Best Soup in Martin County three years straight. A second location, Ellie’s Dockside Deli, opens at 6 a.m. daily.

Firehouse Subs

2 locations in IL/MO

Founded by former firefighters Chris and Robin Sorensen in Jacksonville in 1994. The subs are steamed hot on private-recipe rolls. A portion of every purchase goes to the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation, which has donated over $80 million in equipment to first responders since 2005.

Ikara

Atlanta, GA

Chef Yugal Sharma runs an Indian fine dining room inside the Twelve Midtown building at Atlantic Station. Every dish on the menu is tagged to its home region: the Paaya Shorba (lamb trotters broth, $16) is from Lucknow, the Pomfret Rawa Fry ($24) is Goan, the Champaaran Meat ($28) is a Bihar specialty cooked in a dough-sealed pot. The Raan-E-Ikara is a whole baby lamb leg from Hyderabad for $52. The cocktail menu is built around Indian themes too—one list is organized by seasons, another by Indian rail journeys, with drinks like the Chennai Central (vodka and rasam, $16). Lunch is 11:30 to 2:30, dinner runs until 11 p.m.

Panorama Wine Bar

Philadelphia, PA

Panorama holds a Guinness World Record for the largest wine-by-the-glass program in the world. Over 150 wines available by the glass, 30-plus sommelier-selected flights (five pours each), and a 400-bottle reserve list. It’s inside the Penn’s View Hotel in Old City Philadelphia, and the food is Italian: house-made burrata, hand-rolled pastas, branzino. Friday Night Flights are walk-around tastings on the first Friday of every month for $15. The Wine Club meets the last Sunday of the month. Happy hour runs Tuesday through Friday, 4:30 to 6 p.m., bar seating only.

Piada Italian Street Food

3 locations in IN/TX

Started in 2010 after a trip to Rimini, Italy, where the founders kept eating at roadside piada stands. The core item is a rolled flatbread wrap (the piada), grilled on a hot stone, filled with things like the Avocado Piada (pancetta, arugula, mozzarella, fresh avocado, basil aioli). Also does tossed pastas, chopped salads, and a seasonal burrata marinara. Every location is run by a chef, not a manager. Catering available.

Pizza City

New Brunswick, NJ

A single plain slice is $3.50, and then it gets interesting. The specialty pie list at this New Brunswick spot includes an Oaxaca pizza (black beans, red onion, Mexican chorizo, jalapeño), a Pizza Champechana (chorizo, carne enchilada, carne asada, chicken with both salsa verde and salsa roja), and an Al Pastor pie topped with pineapple, cilantro, and salsa rojo. There’s also a full Mexican menu alongside the Italian side—nachos trays ($30/$60 for half/full), taco platters, fajitas. Open late. Delivers.

Pizza Hut

2 locations in MO

Dan and Frank Carney opened the first one in Wichita, Kansas, in 1958. It’s now one of the largest pizza chains in the world. Multiple crust styles, bone-in and boneless wings, melts, pasta, and desserts.

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen

1 location in IL

Al Copeland opened the original in New Orleans in 1972 under the name “Chicken on the Run” before renaming it after Popeye Doyle from The French Connection. The bone-in chicken comes mild or spicy, the buttermilk biscuits are a thing, and the chicken sandwich that broke the internet in 2019 is still on the menu. Cajun fries, red beans and rice, family meals.

Sababa

San Francisco, CA

“Sababa” is Hebrew slang for “cool” or “awesome,” and this is a weekday-only falafel and shawarma counter on Kearny Street in the Financial District. Open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. Hot pita bar, hummus, sabich, salads. Catering runs $15.50 per person for a spread of hummus, pita, falafel, chicken, cauliflower, quinoa, and Israeli salads. Orders go through Square or DoorDash.

Senor Frog’s

3 locations in FL

Part of Grupo Anderson’s, the Mexican hospitality company behind Carlos’n Charlie’s and about a dozen other brands. Senor Frog’s has been a fixture in Cancún and resort towns for decades, and the Florida locations (Orlando, Pensacola Beach, Fort Lauderdale) bring the same energy: oversized yard drinks, all-you-can-eat Taco Tuesdays, live music, DJs, and a menu of tacos, enchiladas, burritos, and a surf & turf burger. It’s loud. On purpose.

Steuben’s

Denver, CO

Josh Wolkon named it after his great-uncles Max and Joe’s restaurant on Boylston Street in Boston, which ran from the 1940s through the 1960s and hosted The Rat Pack. The Denver version opened in 2006 on 17th Avenue in Uptown, and it’s American comfort food done right: buttermilk-brined fried chicken ($25), a green chile cheeseburger with Hatch chiles ($16), a Reuben on pastrami ($19), and a lobster roll that goes for $36. Executive Chef Sarah Goldstone runs the kitchen. They churn their own ice cream, cut their own fries, and the food truck has been rolling since 2009. Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Happy hour daily 2 to 6 p.m., plus a late-night window starting at 9. Wednesday is prime rib night with $10 martinis.