Denver’s Union Station just wrapped up an $11 million renovation, but that wasn’t enough to keep its first restaurant tenant in the house.
Stoic & Genuine was the first restaurant to open in the historic building when it reopened with a hotel, shops, restaurants and bars in 2014. But restaurant owners Beth Gruitch and Jennifer Jasinski announced that the seafood spot, at 1701 Wynkoop St., will serve its last spoonful of caviar and buttery lobster roll on Sept. 1. They cited an expiring lease and changing market conditions as the main factors behind the decision.
Crafted Concepts founders Jennifer Jasinski, left, and Beth Gruitch, right, have decided to take a step back from their restaurant group and hand over operations for Ultreia and Bistro Vendôme. (Provided by Bryan Grant for Crafted Concepts)
In addition to closing Stoic & Genuine, Gruitch and Jasinski, a James Beard award-winning chef, have decided to step away from two of their other well-known restaurants, Ultreia, a Spanish tapas restaurant also located in Union Station, and Bistro Vendome, a French food standard that moved from its longtime home in Larimer Square in early 2023 to Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood.
“Conductors pass the baton. It’s time to pass along stewardship of these beautiful places,” Jasinski said in a statement. “Surviving the pandemic and the changes to downtown Denver has left us in a great place to make this move.”
Ultreia partner Adam Branz will return as executive chef and sole owner of the Spanish tapas restaurant, which opened in 2017. Branz took a few years off to start Split Lip, an Eat Place inside Number Thirty Eight (home to one of the best burgers in Denver), which he will continue operating.
Tim Kuklinski, who has been with Gruitch and Jasinski’s restaurant group, Crafted Concepts, for 18 years will take over Bistro Vendôme. Kuklinski began his career with Crafted Concepts in the kitchen at Rioja and worked his way up to culinary director of the restaurant group in 2019.
Branz and Kuklinski plan no major changes to the restaurants.
Speaking of Rioja, at 1431 Larimer St., Gruitch and Jasinski have extended their lease, and plan to continue running the Mediterranean restaurant, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
After two years in business, Bodega has been slapped with a cease-and-desist.
The cult-favorite brunch spot in Denver’s neighborhood Sunnyside has changed its name to Odie B’s, after a Kansas City restaurant called La Bodega sent it a legal notice, according to a message that the restaurant, at 2651 W. 38th Ave., posted on Instagram Monday.
“It’s already hard enough to run restaurants and it’s tragic when other independent operators are out to get ya, too,” the restaurant wrote. “While change can suck and cause heartache, we have finally leaned into it. Even though we have happily been existing in Denver with several other bodegas, we would like to set ourselves apart and end all the confusion as we grow.”
Meanwhile, La Bodega, which has been open since 1998, is a tapas restaurant located hundreds of miles away in Kansas City, something Odie B.’s pointed out online.
“We also found it ludacris (sic) that an independently owned restaurant 600 miles away wanted us to pay to use the word bodega, but hey, that’s life,” the post reads. “Odie B.’s is still a community-driven sandwich shop inspired by bodegas across the world. Odie B.’s is still rowdy. And Odie B.’s is absolutely for the people.”
Odie B’s will be the only change to Bodega’s usual operations.
When Dana Rodriguez invited Governor Jared Polis to the opening of her new restaurant, she said he replied with a text that read, “Loca, now I know why they call you ‘Loca.’ You don’t have enough of Casa Bonita that you want to open another restaurant?”
Rodriguez, the culinary director of the famous Casa Bonita, is opening Carne, a steakhouse at 2601 Larimer St. in Denver’s River North Art District on July 3. Last week, she wore her chef Loca nickname with beaming pride during a preview of the restaurant as she walked around hand-in-hand with her new beau and business partner, Scott Shoemaker, who oversaw the renovations at Casa Bonita and helped her design the sleek, 1970s-style steakhouse.
Carne was inspired by her culinary travels and experiences in kitchens specializing in cuisines from around the world over the last 20 years. Guests can take a trip to France with duck confit or make a stop in Italy with veal osso bucco. The eclectic menu boasts Argentinian steak, Mexican ribs with a charcoal rub, Brazillia picanha steak and Colorado lamb.
“This is one of the only steakhouses in RiNo, let alone women-owned, so I wanted it to be fun, not like a traditional, stuffy setting,” Rodriguez said. “You can come here after work in a t-shirt and shorts, and get a full meal under $200.”
The opening comes just two months after Rodriguez closed Cantina Loca, her first solo project, due to low traffic. “The stress to keep up a restaurant is a lot, but you also need to be smart enough to make the decision when you know it’s not sustainable,” she said. She’s also no longer a part of Doña Loca, the mezcal brand she co-founded in 2021 and which was featured at Cantina Loca. Rodriguez explained that she didn’t have enough time to travel for the tastings and wanted to focus on her other restaurants, Work & Class and Super Mega Bien.
The multi-James Beard-nominated chef didn’t let the closure bring her down, though. “They put you down, but you’re not dead,” she said. “You can have opportunities to come back, do new things and keep providing for your employees.”
That’s why she says that when she spotted an empty corner space just down the block from Work & Class where Il Posto previously operated for 17 years, “I knew everything was supposed to happen for a reason.”
From left clockwise are cauliflower, proveleta, Mexican recado negra costillas, beef tiradito, crab cakes and Colorado lamb, at Carne in Denver on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Carne’s menu is playful with a section for “The Normies,” which includes a traditional 6-oz. filet ($33) or 10-oz. New York strip ($45). Then there’s “The Ballers,” for those looking for a $50 sirloin wagyu or $175 tomahawk steak. Sides, like the creamy au Gratin green chili cheese potatoes or a whole head of spicy roasted cauliflower, all cost $11.
And the cocktail program, created by Run For The Roses founder Steve Waters, plays with classic libations from regions around the world, like a Peruvian pisco sour, or a twist on a French sidecar. There’s also a tableside martini cart for a whole table to enjoy shaken gin or vodka to order, and a wall of wines that guests are encouraged to peruse for their selection of the night.
“There are a lot of places closing and opening, and I wanted to provide something that is easy and affordable enough for guests to come here three or four times a week,” Rodriguez said. “You don’t have to order the tomahawk, you can’t get the chicken one day and the ribs the next, but it’s flavorful enough that you keep coming back for more.”
Staff members work at Carne in Denver on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
The decor resembles an upscale version of Eric Foreman’s basement in “That 70’s Show” with old-school albums, TVs, beaded curtains, murals and funky green and orange tones throughout.
The 60-seat steakhouse is open for happy hour and dinner on Wednesday and Thursday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. And they’re serving brunch on Sunday mornings. There’s also an upstairs loft with a separate bar and small bites menu for late-night options, plus a 55-seat patio with a mobile grill and fireside lounge.
Rodriguez was able to bring some of her servers, managers and hosts from Cantina Loca after the closure, a key factor for why she wanted to open a new spot.
“I want to create a culture and treat my employees like family,” she said. “I have one woman who’s been getting up at 5 a.m. and making the tortillas for Work & Class for the last 11 years, who stuck by me during COVID. I want to leave a legacy and change the hospitality industry for the better. Even if it’s just a little bit, that’s my goal. That’s why I keep creating stuff like this.”
Two Colorado chefs and restaurateurs struck gold at the “Oscars” of the food industry on Monday, taking home top awards from the James Beard Foundation.
Chef Kelly Whitaker and partner, Erika Whitaker, co-founders of Id Est Hospitality Group, earned the award for Outstanding Restaurateur among five finalists from around the country. Id Est boasts award-winning restaurants like Michelin-starred The Wolf’s Tailor and BRUTØ in Denver and Basta in Boulder, as well as the newish Hey Kiddo in Denver.
Matt Vawter, owner of Rootstalk in Breckenridge, won the title for Best Chef in the Mountain Region — which includes Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming — out of five finalists, including Denver’s chef Penelope Wong, co-owner of Yuan Wonton in Park Hill.
Owner Kelly Whitaker is pictured at The Wolf’s Tailor on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)
“What a moment, holy crap…,” Erica Whitaker said in her acceptance speech. “When we founded Id Est, our daughter was a year old, and now we’re just 10 days shy of her 16th birthday, and she’s here tonight…”
“…We own seven restaurants, but we also have engaged in so many different conversations around our food supply systems and been food advocates,” Kelly Whitaker added. “All these things are possible: to have restaurants, to have a family and to get involved.
“This year alone, we’ve contracted and built with farmers over 200 acres of regenerative land, we’re growing grains and milling flour. This isn’t just applicable to our tasting-menu restaurants, it’s applicable to a pizza or a sandwich,” he continued.
Kelly Whitaker was previously nominated as a 2020 James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Mountain Chef for Wolf’s Tailor and was also an Outstanding Restaurateur semifinalist in 2023. “We don’t particularly chase these awards, but we definitely chase the platform this brings, and for that, we know that this is a responsibility,” he said. “I have more sense of fight now more than ever.”
Vawter, in his speech, thanked the James Beard Foundation for “recognizing what we do in our small little mountain community in Breckenridge. I started cooking when I was 14 years old to help my parents pay rent, and I never looked back.”
After working with Denver restaurateur Alex Seidel — another highly decorated James Beard award winner — at Fruition and Mercantile Dining & Provision, Vawter opened Rootstalk in late 2020 in a remodeled home from the 1800s. The restaurant, at 207 N. Main St., focuses on providing “elevated, everyday dining” with seasonal ingredients from local farmers and ranchers, homemade pasta, and a seven-course tasting menu.
“To our producers and our farmers, we get to highlight your products on the plate and in the restaurant, and it makes our lives really easy,” Vawter continued in his speech. “To my partners, Patrick and Cameron who are in the audience, you believed in me when you said let’s open a restaurant in the pandemic, you picked up your lives and moved. You practice what you preach, you work to get better every day and our restaurant wouldn’t exist without you…”
Roasted bone marrow brulee with beef tartare, grilled sourdough and radish salad at Rootstalk on Feb. 28, 2023, in Breckenridge. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)
Last year, Colorado came up empty-handed in all categories at the prestigious awards. Only one finalist, chef Michael Diaz de Leon formerly of Whitaker’s BRUTØ, was in the running for the Best Chef in the Mountain Region.
Chef Caroline Glover, owner of Annette and Traveling Mercies in Stanley Marketplace, was the last local James Beard Award winner when she took home the Best Chef in the Mountain Region title in 2022.
When chef Brian De Souza and Sydney Younggreen first opened The Regular last summer, they bit off more than they could chew.
The couple had big dreams for their 6,500-square-foot space at 1432 Market St., originally dividing it into three concepts: The Regular, an a-la-carte, fine-dining restaurant; The Guest, a 22-seat speakeasy restaurant; and El Mercado, a daytime deli.
The Regular’s menu is inspired by chef and owner Brian De Souza’s Peruvian heritage through locally sourced ingredients. (Provided by Bird Tree Productions)
After a few months, they decided to transform El Mercado into The Cellar, which houses all of the wine for The Regular and serves as a stand-alone bottle shop for guests and neighbors.
And now, they’re getting rid of The Guest, their 25-course dinner series on Fridays and Saturdays.
“Sometimes your plan doesn’t always go your way, and you have to adapt to new circumstances,” De Souza said.
“When we got this huge space, it didn’t make sense to do one big restaurant at first, so we divided it up,” Younggreen said. “After some trial and error, going with our gut and listening to customers, we’ve settled into a more sustainable situation.”
The pair had originated the dinner series, a reservation-only event with a rotating multi-course menu, in Boulder in August 2020. This inspired their weekend services with a secret menu of 25 courses, which De Souza and Younggreen created every night — with only a poem to clue guests into the everchanging ingredients.
“The Guest kind of gave birth to The Regular, but trying to operate both at the same time, we found that our passion lay with The Regular, which brought in more types of people for more types of occasions,” Younggreen said.
Now, the space will be reserved for private events and dinner parties with The Regular’s menu, which has been updated to include “spirit of The Guest,” they said. Chef De Souza incorporates his Peruvian heritage with new dishes, like grilled chocolo (Peruvian corn) with black mint sauce and carrot chips; chupe, a Peruvian seafood stew his grandmother used to make; and papa a la huancaína, a traditional Peruvian potato dish.
“The Regular is the type of restaurant that Syd and I have always dreamed of, and it deserves our whole focus,” De Souza said.
Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we will offer our opinions on the best Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems).
Growing up in my household, summer was synonymous with pasta salad.
At every backyard barbecue, birthday or casual lunch, my grandma’s version is requested. And every friend that gives it a try begs for the recipe.
Tri-color rotini pasta makes a bright base for a bounty of Italian toppings, (everything but the kitchen sink) like black and green olives, mozzarella, artichokes and pepperoni. The best part is seeing what ingredients picky people leave behind on their plates. My brother isn’t a fan of celery, while I usually leave the black olives behind. But each component is crucial to the formula.
A couple of years ago, we made a cookbook featuring all of our grandmother’s recipes, and the most worn-out page is already the coveted pasta salad recipe.
We pretty much eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and if one family member makes it for themselves, the rest come flocking with Tupperware in hand. I don’t remember a life without Anita Schneider’s pasta salad, and I don’t want to. So, if you want to be the MVP of your next summer party, test out the recipe below:
Anita Schneider’s Pasta Salad:
This recipe takes 40 minutes of prep time and 20 minutes to cook. Serves 8.
Ingredients
1 1-lb package of Tri-color Rotini Pasta (Pasta LaBella)
1 can sliced black olives (3.8 oz)
1 jar sliced green olives (10 oz)
1 can quartered artichokes
1 carton of grape tomatoes (halved)
Small packaged sliced Pepperoni (mini if you can find)
8 oz package of mozzarella cheese
Chopped celery (1 or 2 stalks)
Black pepper to taste
1 bottle Creamy Italian salad dressing (Kraft)
Steps
Cook pasta according to directions on package. Drain and briefly rinse with cold water and drain well. Stir to cool.
If full size, cut pepperoni slices in half. Cut cheese in approximately 1/2-inch cubes. Drain olives and artichokes. Larger pieces of artichoke can be cut.
Reserve ingredients (not celery) for topping. Reserve 1/2 package of cheese for the top.
Mix all except salad dressing. Add salad dressing to moisten all ingredients. Can refrigerate at this time.
Before serving, add more dressing, if needed, and place in serving bowl.
Suggestions for “dressing” top of salad with reserved ingredients. Place middle of hard-cooked egg in center or use cherry tomato. Arrange 4 or 5 artichoke quarters around center. Cut approximately 1/4 inch or less slices of mozzarella cheese. Slice diagonally to form triangles. Arrange around artichokes (points toward artichokes). Place pepperoni halves around the edges of the bowl for a scallop effect. Use olives wherever.
In the past couple of months, Denver’s Northside has lost a few good names, both old and new.
Colton Steiner and Allison Declercq met through Funky Flame while Steiner was working at Dry Storage. (Provided by Funky Flame)
Funky Flame
On April 21, Funky Flame held its last day of service. The bakery and pizza shop took over the former N.O.S.H. cafe space near Regis University at 4994 Lowell Blvd. in October. Owner Allison Declercq started Funky Flame as a subscription bakery from her home before adding woodfired pizza to the menu and moving it to a temporary space at the corner of 44th Avenue and Zuni Street, as well as the Highlands Square Farmers Market. It was through Funky Flame that she met her husband and now co-owner Colton Steiner, who worked at Dry Storage at the time and sold her flour.
“…We have hit a fork in our road and are choosing to walk down a different path for a myriad of reasons, both personal and professional,” the couple wrote on Instagram.
It’s unclear whether or not the couple will move forward with FunkMart, a smaller 600-square-foot store at 2557 W. 46th Ave. in Sunnyside. They didn’t respond to multiple requests for comments prior to publication.
4994 Lowell Blvd., Denver
West End Tap House
West End Tap House opened on Tennyson Street in 2013, nearly 10 years ago. The neighborhood watering hole with an elevated bar menu of burgers, Belgian fries and fried snacks closed last month without notice from owners Kurt Von Reiter and Steve Waldo. The 3,900-square-foot building at 3945 Tennyson St. has already been purchased by Nepalese restaurateur Khagendra Gurung for $2.26 million, according to public records. Gurung also owns Himchui, a Highlands Indian restaurant, and Mazevo, a healthy Mediterranean restaurant a couple of doors down from West End.
3945 Tennyson St., Denver
El Chingon was known for staples, like the Chingon Carnitas. (Provided by El Chingon via BusinessDen)
El Chingon
El Chingon closed suddenly this week, as first reported by Westword, due to unpaid taxes, according to a notice from the Colorado Department of Revenue that now hangs on the LoHi restaurant’s door. The business owes a total of $43,934 in unpaid taxes that have accrued since Feb. 2023.
Lorenzo Nunez Jr. reopened El Chingon in its new, larger LoHi space in the fall of 2022 after outgrowing its former bungalow on Tennyson St., where it was stationed for eight years. Nunez originally opened El Chingon with his mother and nephew David Lopez in Arvada in 2010 before moving to the Northside. It was known for its elevated Latin cuisine, inspired by Mexico City.
“Bonanno Concepts will no longer operate El Rancho Colorado as our vision and values differ from the rest of the current investor group,” the company, which owns Luca, Mizuna, Osteria Marco and other restaurants, told The Denver Post. “We wish them the best in their new approach and look forward to refocusing our attention on our Denver-based restaurants.”
In 2022, El Rancho closed amid the ownership battle, and the Colorado Department of Revenue seized the property for failure to pay more than $90,000 in taxes. Commercial real estate developers Jack and Sherry Buchanan of Northstar Ventures and Travis McAfoos of Piedra Peak Properties partnered to purchase the famous destination in 2022 and enlisted Bonanno Concepts to help reopen and operate the restaurant and brewery.
Bonanno served “comfort food and celebratory Western fare” alongside the restaurant’s homemade beer. He also added his controversial but mandatory 22% Creating Happy People fee, which can be found at all of Bonanno’s concepts, to all customer checks.
It’s unclear who will be taking over operations. El Rancho did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication.
“…El Rancho ended its relationship with Denver-based Bonanno Concepts, which includes the termination of their CHP fee (mandatory tipping),” the restaurant posted on Facebook this week. “You’ll continue to see familiar faces – Sam, Cap, Maggie, Jimmy and others – along with our largely local staff who are excited to welcome you back, introduce our new chef, and show off our new menu (coming soon) featuring locally- and regionally-sourced, fresh foods. We’ll offer lighter menu options for the warm days ahead in addition to the Western faves you know and love.”
El Rancho, located at 29260 US-40, originally opened in 1948 as a cafe and trading post, and because of its prominent location on U.S. 40, it became a popular gift shop and post office. In the 1970s, once Interstate 70 was built, the cabin-inspired building functioned as a lodge and conference center. To this day, it maintains its own exit from the highway.
“…El Rancho is excited to honor our heritage and celebrate being part of the community for over 75 YEARS (76, to be exact),” the Facebook post continued. “It’s been a bumpy ride, no doubt – brings to mind the bumpy wagon and stagecoach rides that early pioneers took to get to this neck of the woods in the first place! We live in the mountains. We can handle a few bumps…”
