As proof of that one need only look at the number of restaurants that have come and gone over the ensuing years. Unless I’m mistaken, there are only two that have survived this entire time. One of those fatalities was Hops Grill Brewery which became Kasai, a hibachi-style Japanese restaurant, that made it about a year. Now the space has reopened as Grazio Italian Grill & Bar.

Except for the dividing walls, there is absolutely nothing left that even hints at its prior lives. And, as much work as it was to install all those hibachi tables, I suspect it took just as much to un-install them. But that, plus the addition of high-backed intimate booths and a pleasant color scheme of pastel earth tones, has created a relaxing atmosphere that’s the perfect backdrop for a nice evening of dining.

We’d barely been seated when a server arrived with a tray of fresh-from-the-oven Italian drop biscuits, flaky, sweet, with overlapping hints of garlic, cheese and herbs. If you thought garlic knots were addictive, wait until you dig into these delights. The good news is that they only bring you one. The bad news is that they keep replacing them as you polish them off.

Appetizers include a variety of favorites from traditional bruschetta to mussels in a sauce of garlic and white wine, or calamari. A good barometer of the worth of any restaurant, Italian or otherwise, is the crabcakes, and these were great, consisting of straight lump crab meat held together with absolutely nothing, and served with a lemon aioli.

The remainder of the menu is a nice assortment of seafood, steaks, chops, chicken and veal, with a slight emphasis on the seafood, and a nice selection of risotto dishes. In short, there’s enough here to support multiple visits for many months to come.

The Shrimp Limone brought a creative mix of shrimp over a bowl of pasta tossed with garlic, mushrooms, spinach, spinach and pine nuts with a lemon-butter sauce. A lot of food, and fairly priced at $18.

Being a garlic fan, I couldn’t say no to the Chicken Garlissimo, two chicken breasts that had been sautéed and served with a garlic cream sauce over a mound of garlic mashed potatoes. If you like garlic, this is a must. If your first question is, “How much garlic is in it?” you probably should pass. The price, just $17. In fact, nothing on this menu is very expensive. Only a handful of the dishes, those involving steak or veal, break the $20 mark.

Parking is plentiful and, if you’re curious, Grazio, is Italian for “saying thanks.”

Grazio Italian Grill & Bar
9271 E. Park Meadows Drive, Lone Tree
303-227-0076