Beth Gruitch

Crafted Concepts LLC

A Colorado native earned a four-year business degree in Restaurant Hospitality from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She first took a job managing Boogie’s in Las Vegas, and thrn Gruitch officially joined the ranks of Levy Restaurants in Chicago, managing some of the group’s high-end concepts like Bistro 110 and Voila. This was the turning point in her career where she realized she only wanted to work with people who shared her passion for food and wine and took pride in the product and service they offered.

Gruitch found herself back in Colorado and accepted the general manager position at Panzano in the Kimpton Monaco Hotel in February 1999, where she met Jennifer Jasinski. During their tenure at Panzano, the duo led the restaurant to the top of Denver’s culinary mountain – consistently named one of the top 5 Denver restaurants for food and service.

In 2003, Gruitch and Jasinski decided to leave their posts at Panzano to begin their first venture into restaurant ownership. The following year they opened Rioja, a restaurant in Denver’s Larimer Square with a contemporary design and Mediterranean menu influenced by local and seasonal Rocky Mountain ingredients.

Perhaps her business partner, Jasinski says it best. “Beth assures that all the best happens for the guests in all our restaurants. She makes sure we hire the best service staff, give them complete and thorough training and coaches them to perform. She’s the reason people rave about our service.”

Gruitch completed her level-one sommelier certification in 2007, continuing to keep her at the top of her game overseeing the beverage programs
Over the years, Rioja, Bistro Vendôme, Stoic & Genuine and now Ultreia have been listed among the top restaurants in Denver.

Busy with staffing, wine lists, cocktail menus, accounting and logistics for five active restaurants, Beth still finds time to be involved in the myriad charitable events in which her restaurants participate and serves on the executive board of Denver Civic Ventures at the Downtown Denver Partnership and EatDenver. She lives in Sunnyside with her partner David and boss-of-the-house bulldog, Winnie.