Junz

Jun Makino drew on a long, multifaceted restaurant background to open Junz in Parker in 2003.

To the delight of many diners, the 29-year-old chef combined his Japanese cultural background and French-chef training to invent a restaurant that serves sushi and mi soup appetizers before an entree of broiled Chilean sea bass with risotto and lobster bouillabaisse sauce.

"It was hard at first, because people didn't understand what French and Japanese meant, but now people are starting to open their eyes," says Makino, who was born in Tokyo and moved to the United States at age 4.

"Most French food is very heavy, creamy. I try to take that away to make it a combination of Japanese and French."

Makino's cooking background begins with his parents' restaurants in California. He made his first dish for customers (a Cobb salad) at age 18; by age 21, he was "almost running" a few of the properties.

By working with an uncle at upscale restaurants such at Napa in Las Vegas, Makino graduated to dues-paying work, such as grilling hamburgers poolside. He wound up studying with the late Jean-Louis Palladin, the French chef who owned the famous restaurant Jean-Louis at the Watergate in Washington, D.C.

Makino moved to Denver because his father ran a local restaurant called Todai (now closed) and the young chef liked the area. But the rent was too high in Denver and Highlands Ranch, and he saw potential in Parker. In Makino's case, the real estate mantra of location, location, location has been mostly a blessing -- but sometimes it's a curse.

"I heard a rumor that I'm successful in Parker because there's no good restaurants in Parker," he says. "I think if I opened in Cherry Creek, I could be a top-notch restaurant, still."

"I had a lot of negative advice and negative comments (at first). But the people who know me, they really got me going."