The restaurant industry is a surprisingly difficult field for women to break into. According to the National Restaurant Association, four years ago only 33% of restaurants were run by women – but this figure has been steadily increasing. The highly competitive and often male-dominated work space has been challenged across the country. From powerhouses like DO in NYC (edible cookie dough? Female GENIUS) to the ever trendy Momofuku Milk Bar and Christina Tosi’s cereal milk ice cream. Women have been shining bright in some major ways, and Denver is no exception! Here are eight restaurants in Denver that are proudly run by women.
Olive and Finch with Mary Nguyen
Mary Nguyen has done what so many people dream of: she decided to quit her cubicle job in finance and pursue her passion of cooking – first opening P17 for a decade and recently Olive and Finch. She is also featured in the documentary the Empowerment Project, designed to empower and inspire women to pursue their careers.
An upscale cafe and bakery with innovative twists on comforting classics, it’s easy to see how much care and effort Nguyen puts into these dishes. The Ankara sandwich is a must-try: house roast turkey, brie, and walnut aioli on baked-that-morning baguettes. There’s an extensive and popular breakfast menu to boot: how about a house made croissant stuffed with scrambled eggs, brie, and red pepper aioli served with a side of scratch beignets? Put us on the weight list, ASAP.
Potager with Teri Rippeto
Rippeto attended California Culinary Academy after high school and opened a restaurant in Missouri shortly after she graduated before opening Potager in Denver with her dad in the late 90s. Teri’s biggest motivation for cooking is the way it unites people: “…it was the memory invoked within each of us that ties together people and food.”
Potager is a rustic-chic restaurant in a cozy Denver neighborhood. They strive to craft dishes that are locally sourced and seasonally sourced, while maintaining an atmosphere that’s as friendly as if you’d been invited into Rippeto’s own home. The menu is so seasonal, it changes constantly, you’ll never be bored with it! Some of the noteworthy Spring options include twice baked lemon, chive, and chevre souffles or the corner post farms pork belly spaghetti carbonara.
Work and Class with Dana Rodriguez
One of the 8 restaurants in Denver proudly run by women is Work and Class, a restaurant focused on feeding your average joe 9-5-er, and who better to do so than a badass woman at the helm? Rodriguez has a classic success story, moving to Denver from Mexico and starting off as a dishwasher, but moving up rapidly through the ranks of restaurant jobs as her superiors recognized her skill and passion. She’s not afraid to stand up for her career as well, she’s garnered the nickname “Loca” from her previous male coworkers for yelling at them when they’d tease her.
The menu at Work and Class is undoubtedly American, but with iterations you would never think to make at home: blue corn empanadas, mezcal BBQ brisket, and a mixed berry shortcake – just to name a few.
Annette with Caroline Glover
Glover started working at restaurants starting at 15 years old, and continued on to go to the Culinary Institute of America. She is now combining all her experience working at New York City’s Spotted Pig, Denver’s Acorn, and various farms to create her vision for the best restaurant experience. Caroline notes the importance of grit in her industry, and uses the example of her aunt Annette (the namesake for the restaurant) to model her business and personal practices.
Annette is a restaurant focusing on “scratch to table” wood-fired meals that remain as innovative as they are beautiful. The restaurant is located in an incredible renovated warehouse: Stanley Marketplace is a collection of boutiques, restaurants, and even a brewery, creating an atmosphere of fun and creativity as soon as you walk in. This is reflected in Glovers dishes like octopus patatas bravas, sunchoke gratin, or a local farm raised bone-in pork chop served with homemade spatzle dumplings. Annette isn’t just a restaurant, it’s an experience.
Wong Way Veg Food Truck with Lisa Wong
Lisa Wong is a self proclaimed “boss b*tch,” and it’s not hard to see why. She fearlessly opened a concept that wasn’t yet popular in the Denver food scene, and has been determined to change stereotypes about boring plant based food with her own innovative recipes.
Wong Way is our first all-vegan option! And the first of the “8 restaurants in Denver that are run by women” that just so happens to be a food truck. This funky food truck has international inspired street food with an animal-loving component – food you can feel good about eating that tastes indulgent and unique all in one: poutine, tater tots, BBQ jackfruit burrito stuffed with vegan mac and queso cheese, and salted caramel bread pudding just to name a few insane sounding bites.
La Merise French Cuisine with Co-Owners Elena Zasytiene and Baiba Sisco
After moving to Denver and not finding the right fit in other restaurants, these women decided to break from what was available and forge their own path by opening their own restaurant. The Latvian and Lithuanian running a classy French restaurant understand the importance of diversity in the restaurant industry, not just by where your from, but how you identify yourself as well.
This is the quintessential French restaurant – white linens, butter yellow wallpaper, and good wine – you’ll feel instantly transported to a French cafe in Paris. Let these dishes help transport you: escargot (for the brave) beef bourguignon, steak frites, and an entire menu devoted to crepes. Way to go ladies; their menu proves two brilliant female minds are better than one! (They also won Denver’s Choice Award for 2018!)
Maria Empanada with Lorena Cantarovici
Lorena was born in Argentina and raised by her single mother Maria, not only the restaurants namesake, but the role model for Cantarovici’s female-powered success story. She started off helping to support herself and her mother and later becoming accomplished in accounting before friends and catering businesses motivated her to expand her empanada making skills. Her combined cooking skills, accounting and marketing history, and determination have paid off, as she was Colorado’s 2017 Small Business Person of the Year (US Small Business Association).
Other promising reviews: She’s been featured in Food Network Magazine, Diners Drive-ins and Dives, and Denver’s list of Top 10 Best New Restaurants – Cantarovici is proving she’s a female force to be reckoned with. The menu is specific, mainly empanadas of course! But when you do one thing, you do it WELL, with flavors like caprese, Argentina grilled steak, a vegan veggie option, and even banana nutella or pear marsala for dessert. These flaky, wonderful, pie-like pockets are calling you to Denver.
Black Eye Coffee and Cafe with Alexandra Elman
Elman isn’t just the owner, but the designer of this wildly popular Denver coffee shop. All you have to do is visit the website to see what a cool and curated aesthetic this place has. The coffee shop and cafe is adorned with a classy black and white tiles and funky art. The coolest concept? from day to night the coffee is replaced with alcohol and the entire venue turns into a bar – prohibition era style. They also host private events in their beautiful space, and have been mentioned in Bon Appetit, Zagat, and the Denver Post praising their design, coffee, and food. Here are some samples: steak and eggs, homemade breads, pastries, and “hot-pocket” iterations, and craft cocktails at night.
These women are proving that success, creativity, and deliciousness can come from anywhere. Where restauranteurs were once predominantly men, women have been pushing up through the ranks, from dishwasher to eventual owners and head chefs. It hasn’t been an easy journey, there has been sexism in the form of harassment, pay difference, and general discrimination – but the women like those in these Denver landmarks are proving that being a chef, and artist, and a visionary is a career and a social standing worth fighting for. The future is female, and it looks like the future of food is too!