Big Changes at Crafted Concepts: Stoic & Genuine Closing, New Operating Partners at Ultreia, Bistro Vendôme

The Crafted Concepts family is growing up. Since chef Jen Jasinski and Beth Gruitch joined forces to open Rioja two decades ago, their company has always been like a family. They've cheered the wins and lamented the losses of staff and former employees. Their restaurants have felt like family, too, and they've celebrated and mourned with their regulars.

But on August 2, Jasinski and Gruitch announced some changes in that family: They're stepping back a bit, and the next generation is stepping forward.

Tim Kuklinski, an eighteen-year veteran of Crafted Concepts and a partner in Bistro Vendôme, will assume control of the restaurant as operating partner; he was a key player in the restaurant's move from Larimer Square to Park Hill early last year.

Ultreia partner Adam Branz is stepping back into the executive-chef role at that Union Station restaurant, where he'll be the sole operating partner.

And Stoic & Genuine, the restaurant that Jasinski and Gruitch opened just as Union Station celebrated its grand reopening in 2014, will be closing on September 1. "We had a kick-ass ten years, and the timing was good," Jasinski says. "Our lease was up, and Beth and I wanted to downsize. Beth and I have other things to do.”

"I miss seeing all the regulars because our heads are in the books," says Gruitch.

“Beth loves hospitality, I love being a chef," adds Jasinski, a James Beard Award winner for Best Chef Southwest.
They'll be able to focus on both of their loves at Rioja, their "baby" that turns twenty on November 22 and is most definitely staying in the family. Oh, and maybe they'll do more consulting through Crafted Concepts, which already has a deal with the Ponti at the Denver Art Museum. And they'll continue all their volunteer work with the restaurant and business communities — and still have a little time off.

"Beth and I have been thinking for a little bit about the next part of our life and the next phase in our world," says Jasinski from a conference room overlooking Larimer Square, where that baby was born. "We've been thinking about a lot of things."

They've been thinking about how tough it is to run a single restaurant these days, much less four. And they've been thinking about the impressive work so many of their former co-workers are doing despite the odds: The family tree has branched out all over town.

"Dana Rodriguez was our first partner; I always thought about that," says Jasinski, who worked with Rodriguez back when she was the chef at Panzano, then brought Rodriguez with her to Rioja. Rodriguez moved on to Bistro Vendôme after Crafted Concepts took over that restaurant two years later, when it was still tucked behind Larimer Square, then went on to start her own place, Work & Class, and ultimately sign on as executive chef at Casa Bonita.

“It’s a great business. We can go anywhere. More people should think of this as a career," Jasinski says.

Branz was an early partner, too, and helped open Ultreia. Although he left to grow his successful side gig — Split Lip, an Eat Place — he's happily coming back to Union Station, "and nothing's changed ownership-wise," Jasinski says. (Branz will keep his hand in Split Lip, too.)

"In downsizing, we had the right fit for Ultreia and Bistro," Jasinski notes.

"That allowed us to have Adam and Tim step into those roles," Gruitch adds. "They’ve had their driver’s permits with us, and now we’re watching them drive off in their own car, but we have the utmost faith.”

They don't anticipate big changes at those restaurants beyond some minor tweaks to the concepts, menus, beverage programs and staffing. "Our plan from the start was to turn those restaurants over to the next generation of restaurateurs," Gruitch says, "and that's our plan today."

They'll be watching the action from Rioja. "It's our baby," reiterates Gruitch. "That's where we start our day, every day."
They'll be watching the slow changes to Larimer Square, too, where construction projects required Bistro to move on, and where the scaffolding on other buildings just came down over the past few months, revealing largely empty storefronts. "I'm hopeful," Jasinski says. "Asana didn't buy Larimer Square to leave it empty." While they wait, they're making some little changes as they anticipate Rioja's big anniversary.

"I planted a little chef's culinary garden on the patio, all these little planters," Jasinski notes. "Bartenders go out and pick what they need every day. I know it sounds silly. I just love being there every day."

They do not love all the challenges of being a restaurateur, particularly a restaurateur in downtown Denver.
Businesspeople haven't come back to their offices since the pandemic, making lunch a very tough sell. The continuing work on the 16th Street Mall has made people think twice about coming downtown for dinner, too. "They'll come down for a concert or sporting event and have no problem with that, but they think it's so unsafe," says Gruitch, noting that reality is quite the opposite.

Then there are the challenges of running a restaurant anywhere in Denver, including the rising minimum wage. "The City of Denver has made it too arduous to be a small-business owner," Jasinski says.

And there are the difficulties of running a restaurant anywhere, for that matter, with prices increasing quickly and pushing at what's already a slim margin.

For anyone who wants to take on the challenge, though, the Stoic space will be available; Crafted Concepts would gladly sell the assets, including a liquor license, though any lease would have to go through the Union Station Alliance. In the meantime, fish fans can still get in the swim before it closes the day before Labor Day.

In the beginning, Stoic was the only restaurant at the revamped Union Station. Remembers Gruitch: "We were so busy from start to close. There was no sitting down. We would stand and eat, shrimp tails flying, in the cloffice." (That would be the closet that served as an office.)
Over twenty years, they've acquired a lot of anecdotes. The time when Alice Waters ate at Bistro Vendôme, and another when Robert Redford was dining on the patio. The closing on New Year's 2023, a party for regulars and employees alike.

They miss that spot in Larimer Square — miss it enough that they'd thought about opening another restaurant there. They still miss Euclid Hall, which they closed for good the day the pandemic shut down indoor dining across Colorado.

But for now, Rioja is more than enough. The restaurant was gutted and remodeled in 2015, and "I still think it looks beautiful," Jasinski says. A few of the original menu items are still looking good, too, especially the house salad, the beignets, the tortelloni and the pork belly.

"The wine list style has changed," notes Gruitch. "It's much more Spanish than in the beginning. By the glass is more global." But there could be room for more sherry, she muses.

"There are so many memories made at Rioja, and so many more to make," she concludes.