Most of the biggest changes along McCaslin Boulevard and West Dillon Road in Louisville this year happened on sites that other businesses left. A new grocery store opened where a Lowe's used to be. A pickleball club and food hall spent its first full year in a former Sam's Club. A Boulder bar with more than five decades of history plans to reopen in a former Outback Steakhouse. A bank has proposed a drive-through in a closed Carrabba's.
So the area near US-36 is putting vacated big-box and restaurant sites back to work, one address at a time. Groceries, gas, the vet, a weeknight beer and Saturday pickleball are all getting rearranged. Here's where things stand as of mid-October 2026.
The addresses and what's there now
| Address | Previous occupant | New or planned use | Status, October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1171 W. Dillon Rd. | Lowe's | King Soopers Marketplace | Open since June 24, 2026 |
| 550 S. McCaslin Blvd. | Sam's Club | Relish Food Hall & Pickleball | Open since June 2025 |
| 988 W. Dillon Rd. | Outback Steakhouse | The World Famous Dark Horse | Planned, no opening date |
| 575 McCaslin Blvd. | Carrabba's | Bank of America with drive-through ATM | Proposed |
The four rows are at different stages. Two are open, one depends on a lease that public reporting hasn't confirmed, and one is still a line on the city's development list. The sections below take them in that order, from firmest to least certain.
A Lowe's site becomes the grocery anchor
The King Soopers Marketplace opened on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, at 1171 W. Dillon Road. It's a new 135,000-square-foot store, built as a redevelopment of the former Lowe's site. The Denver Gazette's opening coverage described sushi, a Murray's Cheese counter, a Starbucks, a larger home-and-lifestyle section, a drive-through pharmacy and a 10-pump fuel center.
The "Marketplace" label shows up in the store directory, which goes well past groceries. Alongside the bakery, deli, meat and seafood, and floral departments, King Soopers lists apparel, shoes, home goods, home décor, kitchen goods, books and magazines, and beer. So some of the home shopping that used to happen at a hardware-and-home store is back on the same site, in a different form.
Hours, per the store's own page:
- Store: 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily
- Fuel center: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
- Pharmacy: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, closed daily from 1 to 1:30 p.m.
This store adds to Louisville's King Soopers count. It doesn't replace the old one. A 2025 Daily Camera report said King Soopers had no plans to close its South Boulder Road store. The company's locator still lists the store at 1375 E. South Boulder Road as open until 11 p.m. Households on the east side keep their nearby store, and the McCaslin side now has a large one of its own.
The new store also reshaped the strip around it. In April, Chewy Vet Care opened its first Boulder County clinic at 459 McCaslin Blvd. BizWest described the location as next to the Starbucks and the new King Soopers. The Louisville Chamber lists Organic Sandwich Co. at the same 459 McCaslin address. Groceries, gas, a pharmacy pickup and a vet visit can now happen in a single stop at that corner.
A Sam's Club, one year into its second life
The grocery store is a new building on an old site. The former Sam's Club at 550 S. McCaslin is a building conversion, and it shows what one looks like after a year. Relish Food Hall & Pickleball held its grand opening on June 20, 2025, and the Daily Camera reported 19 indoor courts and two outdoor courts at opening.
The food side has already turned over some. At opening, Boulder Reporting Lab described eight food concepts, including Lenin's Wood Fired Pizza. Relish's current lineup lists seven: ArepasCO, Salt and Vinegar, Magic Food Bus, Sabor y Salsa, Soupsmith, Shari Bowls and Aces. Drop Shot Coffee and The Bar round it out. Some outside directories still show the pizza counter, so Relish's own site is the most reliable list before you go. The Bar serves craft cocktails, local beer and wine. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 4 to 6 p.m., all day Sunday, and during Broncos and Buffs games.
Court time is priced a few ways on Relish's pickleball page:
- Private court rental: $48 per hour through CourtReserve. A free profile can book up to four days ahead, with up to three reservations per day.
- Leveled open play: $10 per person per hour, bookable up to seven days ahead, in skill bands from Novice to Expert. The all-level ladder format uses up to six courts, or eight on Sundays.
- Relish Social membership: $40 a month, which includes a $30 monthly food-and-beverage credit and $2 off reservations and open play.
New policies took effect April 1, 2026, including a paddle-rental policy, so returning players may find different rules than they remember.
The building now hosts more than games. Relish's October calendar includes Geeks Who Drink trivia on Monday, Oct. 12, Puzzles & Pints on Wednesday, Oct. 14, plus live music, a 55+ meetup and a Trunk or Treat. A warehouse built for bulk shopping now runs a weekly social calendar.
An Outback waits for the Dark Horse
The next building on the list doesn't have its new tenant yet. The World Famous Dark Horse closed its Boulder location near the CU campus in March after more than five decades. 9News reported that crews began demolishing that building in early October to make way for a mixed-use development.
In April, CBS Colorado reported that the planned Louisville home was the former Outback Steakhouse at 988 W. Dillon Road. Management had a lease in hand but hadn't signed it. The 9News demolition story repeats the plan for a building near Highway 36 and McCaslin. It adds that the timing isn't clear and quotes the bar's Facebook post promising "the same name, the same charm and hopefully a lot of the same staff."
According to the same 9News report, many of the Boulder bar's knickknacks were auctioned, but the team kept some pieces to bring to Louisville. The post said:
"And yes, the bathroom doors are coming with us."
No public report so far confirms a signed lease, construction or an opening date. For now, 988 W. Dillon is a plan. If it happens, it would share that stretch of Dillon with 994 W. Dillon, where the Chamber lists Mad Greens, MOD Pizza, Smashburger and Jimmy John's. The Bistro inside the Courtyard hotel is listed at 948 W. Dillon.
A Carrabba's on the city's list
The least settled change is at 575 McCaslin Blvd. Louisville's current developments page lists a proposal to turn the closed Carrabba's into a Bank of America with a drive-through ATM. The listing shows no approval date, construction start or opening schedule, so it says only that someone has asked. The Chamber directory lists Murphy's Tap House nearby at 585 S. McCaslin.
What hasn't changed
The table above leaves out the restaurants that kept the corridor going while the big shells sat empty or changed hands. The Chamber's October 2026 directory lists, among others:
- King Dumpling, 316 S. McCaslin, for Chinese food and dim sum
- Rasoi House by Spice Room, 390 McCaslin, for Indian food
- Parma Trattoria & Mozzarella Bar, 1132 W. Dillon
- Mile High Pho, 1100 W. Dillon
- Hana Japanese Bistro and Phuket Thai, in the 1148 to 1156 W. Dillon block
- Busaba Thai and Lamar's Donuts, at 133 McCaslin
- Home Cookin' Cafe, 328 McCaslin
- Bao Asian Fusion & Sushi, 594 S. McCaslin, near Relish
These existing tenants help explain why vacated sites here keep finding new uses. The surrounding blocks already bring people in for dinner, coffee and errands.
The roadway itself is changing more slowly. The city's median landscape project is in a monitoring and maintenance phase while native grasses take hold. A third phase is planned for 2027, subject to funding, on the remaining bluegrass-heavy stretches of McCaslin from W. Century Drive to Via Appia and from Washington Street to South Boulder Road.
Chewy Vet Care has opened, a Starbucks sits next to it, the grocery store is up and running, and the food hall is planning Trunk or Treat. The Outback and Carrabba's buildings are the two to watch next.
The team at Boulder Dream Collective follows changes like these along McCaslin and Dillon as they happen. If you own nearby or are thinking about a move within Louisville, we're glad to talk through how the corridor fits your plans. Contact Us whenever you'd like a calm, local conversation.
