New Restaurant Coming to Take Over Pinocchio’s in Loveland

It's intriguing to see a building in Colorado hat has held a couple of restaurants taking on a new life. This one in Loveland had been two Italian places; what's next?

Former Pinocchio's Incredible Italian in Loveland Taking On New Life

Pinocchio's Incredible Italian's Loveland location shut down in March of 2024. Many had said the landlord wouldn't fix issues, many said the restaurant owner was "shady." In the end, Pinocchio's was evicted from the Loveland space, that for a span of time was Johnny Carino's.

Being a Lovelander, I feel bad that I never did have a meal at the Loveland Pinocchio's, just to give them a try. I really like Italian food; maybe I was afraid I'd be disappointed. A great manicotti can turn a bad day into a fantastic day, in my opinion.

Mexican Restaurant Coming to Take Over Loveland Pinocchio's Space?

I began seeing demo going on at Pinocchio's in late July of 2025: big "roll off" dumpsters outside, getting filled up. Then, you couldn't miss the fact that they started tearing apart the exterior of the "Tuscany-Inspired" building. I kept looking for signs saying "Coming Soon," but by the first week of August, still nothing.

READ MORE: 'Ultimate Journey' Italian Restaurant in Denver Closes After 20+ Years

I called over to Loveland's Buffalo Wild Wings, very close to the former Pinocchio's, hoping that they might have heard who was taking over the space. They told me that they'd been told by the McWhinney team (they stop in regularly) that a Mexican restaurant would be going into the spot. McWhinney is the developer of the Marketplace at Centerra.

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A Mexican restaurant would track, with all that exterior demo going on, as a Mexican restaurant does not want to look like at Italian restaurant on the outside.

I did reach out to McWhinney to inquire as to the name of the Mexican restaurant, but wasn't surprised to not get a reply. The "Coming Soon" sign has to be going up soon; I'll keep you posted.