Front Range Barbeque, which has been serving up homemade Southern-style barbecue and comfort food in Old Colorado City for 25 years, is getting a makeover.

The restaurant at 2330 W. Colorado Ave. will temporarily close for major renovations owner Brian Fortinberry expects will take about a year to complete, he said Friday.

The restaurant’s last day open is Sunday.

“We’re excited to get into a new space and revamp our menus and expand our catering options. We’ll also have a new home for our music and entertainment,” Fortinberry said. “This will be a new face (for the restaurant) that I’ve been looking forward to for a long time now, and we’re finally getting to do it. It’s an exciting time.”

Major renovations planned for the space, a former home built in 1898, El Paso County land records show, include an expanded, updated kitchen and an extended wrap-around porch with garden and patio areas. Where the current tented patio space is outside, Fortinberry plans to replace it with a new room that can be used year-round.

The kitchen will quadruple in size and will include upgraded equipment such as a wood-fire grill and a new smoker when renovations are complete.

A bigger kitchen space will make the restaurant more efficient, which will eliminate waste and save money, Fortinberry said.

It will also allow him to diversify the menu and expand the restaurant’s catering services. Fortinberry wants to offer more Cajun fare as well as the authentic, from-scratch Southern cooking Front Range Barbeque serves.

To add new porch space, Fortinberry will demolish a house to the east of the restaurant, which he also owns. He will build a wraparound porch from the front of the restaurant and to its east side that will include a garden and patio space for live music and other entertainment in the summer and fall.

Fortinberry will also expand the bar into the patio area, he said.

Renovations are planned to begin early next year. Fortinberry hopes to reopen the revamped restaurant by next winter or the spring of 2027.

In the meantime, he’s searching for a temporary alternate location to open Front Range Barbeque while construction is ongoing.

“We’ll probably be closed for a couple of months entirely, until we find a new spot to relocate to,” Fortinberry said.

The restaurant will begin accepting catering requests after spring 2026, the website states.

Fortinberry, who was born in New Orleans, opened Front Range Barbeque with his brother in 2000. Now its sole owner, Fortinberry oversees a crew of more than 30 people. The restaurant’s 25th anniversary is Nov. 11.

“I don’t want to leave where we’re at. I love Old Colorado City; it’s my home, it’s where I live. I love this part of town, so I’m excited to stay here and just have a better, newer place, but keeping the old building … was very important to me,” he said.

The renovation is also special because it’s a family affair. Fortinberry’s father is the project architect.

“It’s been really cool to work with him on this,” Fortinberry said.

Customers have expressed excitement about the renovations on Front Range Barbeque’s social media.

“I am so grateful for the many years of great food, friends and music and look forward to many more years yet to come!” Lauren Schedell wrote on the restaurant’s Facebook page.

Fortinberry thanked the community for its support over the years.

“We really created a community, I feel like. I feel like I owe it to them to stay and make this place better, something that we can all look forward to,” he said.

Front Range Barbeque is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

People can follow Front Range Barbeque on social media or sign up to receive email updates on renovations and a temporary location online at frbbq.com.