Anthony Lygizos has been building toward 2026 for more than a decade.
The founder of Denver eateries Leven Deli and Leven Supply isn’t just opening one of the most anticipated spots of the new year with Leven Downtown. When the two-floor, 7,000-square-foot space opens at 1520 California St., he will also check off the third prong of the business plan he drafted in 2013.
“We want to create these great career pathways, roles that people can have a career out of, a 20- to 30-year tenure,” Lygizos told BusinessDen. “We knew that we’ve been working toward, because of our founding principles, achieving an economy of scale.”
It started with opening Leven Deli in the Golden Triangle in 2018. The first tenet of his plan was to ensure flexibility for his staff — “every employee should be in bed by 10 p.m. if they want to be,” he said. He achieved that by closing by 7 p.m. at the latest.
The second pillar was quality hourly pay. The initial goal was $20, a number Leven didn’t reach until midway through the pandemic. It started at $15.50 with tips, which was higher than minimum wage at the time.
Lygizos has been working toward that third north star for the past several years. In 2023, Leven opened a production facility, where all its food is made. Then, in January 2025, came Leven Supply, an Italian concept that is more lunch/dinner-oriented.
Between that and the Deli, Lygizos said Leven is only at 40% of production capacity. The 420-seat, full-service Leven Downtown spot will serve more handmade pastas and bigger entree dishes, he said.
“The Deli and Supply and catering are getting us ready for this. It’s the showpiece, the hood ornament,” Lygizos said. “There’s definitely the risk involved, but we think it’s going to be the next reenergizing chapter in Denver.”
It hasn’t been easy. Leven is still at the whims of the macroeconomic climate plaguing restaurants in recent years. After growing at a consistent 20% clip annually during the first six years, business slowed in 2025, he said.
Lygizos said the company wouldn’t have been able to afford to sign a 10-year lease and build out the restaurant at the base of downtown’s Block 162 office tower without help from the building’s owner, Houston-based Patrinely Group.
The biggest challenge is rising costs. Lygizos noted that beef prices have risen significantly this year, in some cases up 30%.
Leven Deli opened in Golden Triangle in 2018. (Courtesy Leven)That affects Leven’s best-selling item — the pastrami Reuben that sells for $20.
“We don’t make any money on Reubens. We lose money or we break even on it,” Lygizos said. “If we wanted to make any, we’d price it as a $30 item.”
Part of that is the raw cost of goods rising, especially on a product that already was expensive with thin profit margins. Another is the 12-day, labor-intensive process of making brisket into pastrami. He said the sole job of two people on staff is to slice and portion the meat for eight hours every day.
“Restaurant people aren’t in it to laugh their way to the bank,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re proud of it and happy to make it. It’s our signature item and it always will be.”
Leven has been more resistant to another common industry headwind — Denver’s rising minimum wage, Lygizos said. Even though it’s increased 90% – from $10.20 to $19.29 since Leven Deli opened – his business plan already involved paying high wages. He said legacy Denver restaurants are more prone to challenges because of the increase.
Still, though, the hike has been more than even he expected when drafting plans for his businesses. It also influenced his desire to scale Leven up more in recent years.
“We thought originally that we would just pump out delis around Denver, but it’s really expensive to staff because it takes so many people,” he said. “It’s not a very efficient layout as far as the kitchen and front of house, so it doesn’t really let us get ahead of the curve.”
Lyzigos grew up working in restaurants in Chicago before attending the University of Denver in the early 2000s.
After graduating, he got a job at the Little Nell in Aspen, where he managed the fancy hotel’s restaurants. He also interned at a ritzy spot in New York, where he said he gained an appreciation for the social connectivity that restaurants bring to an area.
The upcoming Leven Downtown will be a nod to Little Nell with a bigger and more dynamic space than the 75-seat Deli and Supply. The latter gets about half its business from takeout orders, Lygizos said.
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“If there’s a convention in town we’ll be full guns blazing,” Lygizos said. “But on a sleepy Monday or Tuesday, you can pair it back, treat it like private dining a bit.”
Lygizos isn’t specifying when in 2026 the restaurant will open. But when it does, he said, he can start preparing more for the future of Leven. That largely will depend on demand and how the production space is getting used. Fringe areas on the outskirts of Denver proper and the suburbs are enticing for new locations. He’s also explored opening at the airport, though nothing is close there.
“Denver is really just starting to grow up as a culturally aware and developed city with an identity and personality,” Lygizos said. “A huge part of that is arts and public offerings, and I’d put restaurants in that same group.”
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