Revolutionizing · Modernizing · Simplifying
Revolutionizing · Modernizing · Simplifying
Chicago has been doing a version of pizza that half of Denver has never actually tried. Not the deep dish you are picturing. The thin, crispy, cut-into-little-squares tavern style that people in Lincoln Park argue about like it is a religion.
And now it is showing up on Larimer.
Starting Thursday, October 29, 2026, Ranalli's is opening a walk-up slice window inside Federales at 2903 Larimer St., right at 29th and Larimer in RiNo. Nightly service starting at 4 p.m. You walk up, you get a slice, you go about your night. That is the whole concept, and honestly it is kind of perfect for that corner.
Here is the part people miss about Ranalli's. This is not some brand-new pop-up chasing a trend. The name has been one of Chicago's go-to pizza bars for nearly 50 years. Thin crust, crispy edges, the kind of pie that does not need to apologize for being thin because it was built that way on purpose. That is tavern style, and it is the thing Chicago does that gets overshadowed by the giant casserole slices every tourist orders.
Keep it simple. The window does tavern-style pizza with cheese, sausage, or pepperoni. That is the lineup. They also run jumbo chicken tenders and Caesar salads, so if you are the one person in the group who does not want pizza (I do not understand you, but you exist), you are covered.
Nightly from 4 p.m. on. Walk up, order, done.
So here is the reason to actually mark your calendar. To celebrate the opening, Ranalli's is handing out free slices on Saturday, October 31, from 4 to 6 p.m. One per person, no purchase needed, while supplies last.
Free pizza on Halloween in RiNo. Two-hour window. One per person. Read that again, because "while supplies last" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. If you are the type who shows up at 5:58, that is a gamble, and I have lost that gamble before. Hayley will tell you I once drove across town for a free taco thing and got there as they were flipping the sign. Learn from me. Get there early.
Both Ranalli's and Federales are owned by Four Corners, a Chicago-based hospitality group. And the story on Four Corners is better than you would guess. They started back in 2001 with a single neighborhood bar. One spot. Then in 2013 they took over the longstanding Ranalli's, which is how a decades-old pizza name ended up under their roof.
From there it grew. Ranalli's now has locations in Chicago's Lincoln Park and the West Loop, which they added in 2021, plus a walk-up window in Logan Square. That Logan Square window is basically the blueprint for what is coming to Larimer. They have pushed into new markets too, Denver and Nashville among them.
So this is not a random one-off. This is a group that already runs Federales here and decided to tuck a proven pizza concept into a bar they already own. Smart, if you ask me. Low risk, high reward, and it gives that patio crowd something to eat that is not the Mexican menu.
If you do not know the building, Federales is a Mexican restaurant on the corner of 29th and Larimer. Big outdoor patio. A fully retractable rooftop, which in Colorado is exactly the right move because you get maybe 300 usable sky days and you want to cash in on all of them. It is already one of the more social spots on that stretch, and now you can grab a slice at the window without committing to a full sit-down meal.
That corner, by the way, keeps getting denser. RiNo has turned into one of the more watched pockets of the Denver market over the last several years, and the restaurant churn tells you everything about where the foot traffic is going. When a Chicago group plants a second concept inside a spot they already run on Larimer, that is a vote on the neighborhood's trajectory. People do not stack food concepts in places they think are cooling off.
Denver already has a standalone Ranalli's. The window at Federales is the walk-up, grab-a-slice version, but the local operation also does whole tavern-style pizzas and ready-to-drink cocktails for pickup and delivery through ranallisdenver.com. So if you try the slice and decide you need a full pie for a Sunday on the couch, that door is already open.
The news hit the local dining world on October 20 and 21, 2026, through DiningOut and Axios Denver, so this is fresh. The window opens the 29th. The free slices are the 31st.
My honest take. Tavern-style is the Chicago pizza Denver has been quietly missing, and a walk-up window is the least pretentious way to serve it. No reservation, no table, no production. Just thin, crispy, cut-in-squares pie on a RiNo corner.
Show up early on Halloween. That is my only real advice.