Welcome to #TBT, or Throwback Thursdays, where we revisit some of the Denver metro area’s tried and true restaurants that have become institutions such as Rioja, the award-winning restaurant by chef Jennifer Jasinski. Over time, these places have weathered the shifts in our city’s restaurant landscape. As flashy newcomers enter and exit, these restaurants, bars, and cafes remain, though sometimes get overlooked by the fickle short-term attention span of a social media-driven obsession with the new and the now.
For Rioja, not only did the restaurant pioneer the Denver dining scene downtown over 20 years ago, but owners Beth Gruitch and chef Jennifer Jasinski have led the charge the whole time. The pair first launched the ingredient-centered fine dining favorite in 2004, one of the first on the square.
The veteran general manager and award-winning chef have worked tirelessly together ever since to cater to loyal customers, foodies, and tourists alike. Even as times change, Rioja continues to rack up accolades while staying humble to its roots and position in LoDo.
Good Timing and the Right Place To Be
When Rioja opened its doors to a bustling Larimer Square, the area had just launched as Denver’s premier dining street. Though it wasn’t yet closed to vehicle traffic, the bustling area was already pulling in hungry theater goers, tourists, and local business people alike.
“It was already there,” Gruitch said of Larimer’s popularity, which she credits as an invaluable factor in the venture’s success. But buzz around the restaurant’s opening was ‘already there,’ too, given Gruitch and chef Jasinski were rising stars of the Denver dining scene for their work at nearby Panzano. Locals were eager to see what the team’s first solo venture would bring.
A 16-page spread in the Rocky Mountain News, published just weeks after opening, launched that buzz into the stratosphere.
“We opened, and it was crazy,” Gruitch said. “We were busy from the start, and it was amazing.”
While Larimer Square has had ups and downs over the years, Rioja has enjoyed almost 21 years as a mainstay with great atmosphere, exceptional food, myriad awards and an enduring reputation. The restaurant held a bash to celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2024, inviting Jasinski’s mentor, Wolfgang Puck, under whom she worked for more than a decade.
“What an amazing, charming man,” Gruitch said, sitting just feet from staff prepping for the day on a recent Thursday morning. “I can’t even begin to tell you: He worked this room like I’ve never seen somebody work a room.”
Gruitch too can captivate guests, and often keeps an eye over the front-of-house operations. For Jasinski, she still loves a peek in the kitchen and walking through the doors of the restaurant each time.
“This was definitely a culmination of my dream restaurant, and it still is,” said the chef. “I just love it and to this day I’m very proud of it. It’s a great place to be.”
Rioja is Born
Gruitch and Jasinski scouted other locations before ultimately settling on Rioja’s long-term home.
“We looked everywhere, down by Vesta [a now closed eatery in Downtown]. We looked in Cherry Creek,” Gruitch said. “It was kind of a joke of a sighting where we were looking at a restaurant, because we weren’t really supposed to be looking for a restaurant.”
Eventually, Rioja moved into the space vacated by Josephina’s, a 30-year institution known for its Italian fare and live music where Colorado native Gruitch remembers visiting as a kid, and possibly having a drink or two while underage.
“It was a little nostalgic for me, and this dream of Larimer Square and the popularity of it was very cool,” Gruitch said. “I wanted [my restaurant] to be warm and welcoming, and I didn’t know what that looked like.”
At the time her favorite color was orange, so hues of marigold, tangerine, and pumpkin made it into the restaurant. The team also chose green uniforms, something, added Gruitch, that definitely didn’t translate as chic down the road.
“When I look back at those pictures,” she laughed, “I’m like, oh my goodness.”
The original, then-contemporary furnishings, lasted around a decade. In 2015, the pair gave Rioja an aesthetic makeover.
“It was becoming dated,” Gruitch said. ‘We did basically everything except for the kitchen since the kitchen was brand new from the very beginning. We have a huge prep area, so that didn’t need to be touched.”
For Gruitch the most nerve-wracking aspect of creating the space came in painting the brick. That, she said, wasn’t something you did. Yet, today you can see the white-grey brick inside Rioja and it looks natural.
The revamp included some fun and quirky additions too. For example, a picture of toddlers in the bathroom that the owners joked were them as children, along with random decorative ducks. Unfortunately, the whimsical items proved too tempting for thieves, and the picture was replaced after it kept disappearing.
Defining Rioja and the Menu
While the restaurant went through a few cosmetic updates, the cuisine has always been at the heart of it. Funny enough, both owners famously struggle to label it.
“If I describe the food, I would say it’s very ingredient-driven and very, very chef-driven,’ Gruitch said.
Some dishes change, and others have remained favorites on the menu from day one. These classics include the Rioja house salad, now featuring arugula, dates, gorgonzola, almond vinaigrette; Fresh Bacon made with pork belly, cardamom, and curried garbanzo bean purée; warm fig beignets with sweet goat cheese and black mission fig; and Jasinski’s famous artichoke tortelloni.
“We used to turn every single artichoke by hand in this restaurant from day one,” Gruitch said, until they found a California supplier whose high quality they deemed acceptable.
Even though Jasinski launched the menu and has a say in what goes on it, the chef’s influence doesn’t always come from her. Over the years Rioja welcomed various chefs, asking each to incorporate their own dishes and spins. Korean chef Peter Yong Ho changed the menu with Asian and European influences before moving on; and Gabe Wyman added dumplings that Gruitch still gushes over.
“I wanted to let somebody else have a fresh look at it,” said Jasinski while chatting about the menu. “I want someone’s new ideas to come in.”
However, the chef considered what her kitchen model might do when it comes to the newly minted Michelin Guide awards coming in, now in its third year.
“I think one of the reasons why we didn’t get a Michelin nod is because one of the big things that Michelin asks for is that they see the chef in the menu,” Jasinski said. “What you see in our menus is three or four different chefs.”
Just as the food menu has changed and grown, so too has Gruitch’s wine selections. As the owner shifts focus, the wine list has gone from all Spanish and Portuguese to a hybrid of worldwide wines. Something, she added, that’s also affected by the new import tariffs coming.
Rather than making decisions based on the way things have always been, both women know they have to stay progressive to survive the Denver dining scene.
The Future of Rioja
While Jasinski envisions a menu hearkening back to Rioja’s roots, both she and Gruitch also hope for a return to Larimer Square’s energetic prime. Not only did the street and downtown take a hit during COVID, but the sale of the square to new owners, and the subsequent departure of many stalwart businesses, has dampened vibrancy.
“Jen and I spent the last two years on the square looking forward to this summer when we would have shops back, when we would have something other than Osteria Marco, Cap Grille,” Gruitch said, who felt heartbroken when her neighbors departed. “I feel like we were just the ones still waving the flags.”
Through Larimer’s highs and lows, menu changes, and fluctuating dining trends, one constant has been the co-owners’ partnership. Both women say they’d do it all over again, including the same location, same concept, and same everything.
“We have worked together and been in business together for over 25 years,” Gruitch said. “We have more bank accounts with each other than with our significant others.”
Staff sticks around too. Up until last year, Rioja had one employee who’d been working there since opening day. Pastry chef Eric Dale just celebrated his 20-year anniversary at Rioja. Wyman has been with the pair for 17 years, as has chef Tim Kuklinski, who currently runs Bistro Vendome in Park Hill, which used to be located on Larimer Square as well.
“We’re family,’ Jasinski said. “We’re going to make mistakes [but] somebody else will help us out, catch a mistake, [but] we’ve got each other’s backs and I love it.”
Stop in to see what makes Rioja stand out as a Denver stalwart for the decades, and if you style long enough, you might become part of the family.
Visit Rioja Monday through Friday for Flavor Dojo (lunch) 11 a.m. to 2.30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday for brunch 10 a.m. to 2.30 p.m., and Sunday through Thursday for dinner 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Hours are extended to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. 1431 Larimer St., Denver, riojadenver.com
