Welcome to the Denver Gazette’s Metro Moves. You’ll get the latest metro Denver openings, closings, hiring and promotion news here. To submit your company’s news, drop an email to [email protected].

King Soopers, the Kroger-owned grocery chain based in Colorado, started building a new store in the Lone Tree Village last week.

The store at 12600 RidgeGate Parkway will be 123,000 square feet and will be a Marketplace format store, which includes departments such as sushi, a Murray’s Cheese Shop, Starbucks and a larger home and lifestyle section. 

It will also include a drive-thru pharmacy and a gas station, the grocer said. 

The store will be a $42 million investment within Lone Tree, King Soopers said in a news release, and it will add 250 jobs. 

“The groundbreaking of Lone Tree Village highlights the strength of our public-private partnerships and the City’s shared commitment to thoughtful growth that meets the needs of our current and future residents,” said Lone Tree Mayor Marissa Harmon in the release.

It’s expected open in spring 2027.

Starbird expands to Castle Rock

A growing fast food chain is bringing its second restaurant in Colorado.

Starbird Chicken announced on Tuesday it will expand to Castle Rock and will open at 6360 Promenade Parkway on April 27.

The chain founded in 2016 opened its first location outside of California in Denver at 965 S. Colorado Blvd. last year. Starbird said it sold 40,000 pounds of chicken since it opened in Denver in September.

The company said it never uses chickens that are frozen or have antibiotics. The chicken is hand-breaded with a gluten-friendly spice blend. Starbird’s menu sells salads, chicken tenders and chicken sandwiches. It was founded by chef and restaurateur Aaron Noveshen. 

Starbird said it would donate 10% of sales in its opening week to school programs at Castle View High School and Douglas County High School. 

“Castle Rock is a town with a strong sense of community, and that’s exactly what we want to celebrate with Starbird,” said Daniel Wagner, who helped bring Starbird to Colorado. “After seeing the excitement and support for Starbird in Denver, we know people here will love our perfectly crispy chicken and flavorful sandwiches and salads

New food court at Denver International Airport

There’s a new food court at Concourse A at the Denver International Airport. 

The airport announced last week it debuted the new food court, which includes options such as Fat Sully’s Pizza, Qdoba, Chick-fil-A and Shake Shack.

“As we prepare to serve 100 million annual passengers in the next few years, the revitalization of our airport is key to enhancing the customer experience. This new food court does just that by transforming the look and feel of the center of Concourse A,” said airport CEO Phil Washington in a news release.

The concession program at the food court will be operated by Skyport Hospitality and Airport Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program partner Concessions of a Gladman.

“This development adds over 250 jobs to the local economy, strengthening our commitment to Denver and allowing new opportunities for career advancement for our team,” said Skyport Hospitality CEO and Founder David Mosteller. 

While three of the concessions are national chains, Fat Sully’s is a local brand that was founded in 2008 on East Colfax in Denver. The pizza place has grown to nine locations across the region and Kansas.