In 1994 when Craig Cordts-Pearce arrived in Aspen from South Africa, he
had just $40 in his pockets. Now, 14 years later, Craig and his wife,
Samantha, have plans to open their fourth restaurant in one of
America’s richest towns.
And, as if their story needed more fairytale quality, the latest
restaurant is slated to open on the site of Craig’s first job, The
Aspen Manor Lodge.
When the Dancing Bear — a collection of 20 luxury fractional residences
and two restaurants located near the base of Aspen Mountain and across
from Wagner Park — makes its debut this fall, the Cordts-Pearces will
add to their mini restaurant empire with an upscale as-yet-unnamed
French brasserie. The couple already owns popular Aspen eateries Wild
Fig and Lulu Wilson, and opened and sold D-19 restaurant (and the
associated Popcorn Wagon) two years ago.
“We’ve been pretty busy,” says Craig. “When the Dancing Bear opens, we
will have opened four restaurants and had two kids in five years.”
The couple will co-own the park-side restaurant with silent investing partner Tom DiVenere, founder of Dancing Bear.
“Tom basically came to us and said he wanted something in the space
that was local,” says Craig. “He didn’t want to put some out-of-town
restaurateur in there that no one knew. He wanted someone there with a
reputation, has opened restaurants in town and has a good following.
And, at the same time he was supporting two locals who love to do what
they do.”
But by the time the Dancing Bear project is completed, DiVenere will
have supported more than just the Cordts-Pearces. Mark Fischer, best
known as the chef and owner of Carbondale’s critically acclaimed 689
and Phat Thai restaurants, will co-own Dancing Bear’s mountainside
restaurant to be opened sometime in 2009.
“It took a long time to choose the right operators for these
restaurants,” DiVenere says. “I wanted successful, local operators
known for their presentation, vibrant experience, great food and value.
Vitality in these spaces is important.”
Gaining the skills and experience necessary to be a successful
restaurateur in Aspen hasn’t come easily, Craig says, otherwise,
“everyone would be doing it.” But he credits his and his wife’s current
success to a great start in the industry. Craig began as a busboy at
Campo de Fiori in Aspen, graduated to waiter and eventually became a
manager.
“I owe a lot to (Campo owners) Elizabeth and Luigi (Giordani),” he
says. “They are the people that gave me all my training, and that kind
of training is hard to come by these days. What I realized then and
what I want people to realize now is that the restaurant industry is a
great industry to be in, and people can live in this town and work for
or own a great business, ski every day, and not live in a city.”
The Cordts-Pearce Dancing Bear restaurant is projected to open in
November (barring construction woes), but Craig is already looking into
the future. And with role models like world-renown restaurateurs Danny
Meyer, Keith McNally and Drew Nieporent — who collectively have opened
more that 30 restaurants — it’s easy to see why.
“I love the way they do business and the way they operate and open
restaurants,” he says. “I always use them as building blocks for
everything I do. And so far, it seems to be working.”
Unsurprisingly, owning three restaurants in Aspen comes with no small
amount of challenges, the most prevalent of which is staffing.
“The No. 1 thing we really concentrate on is getting the right people
with the right attitudes,” Craig says. “We don’t have to have the most
experienced manager or the most qualified person right off, but they
have to be someone who wants to be there and will take the time and
effort to do the job right. That’s how we got here.”
damien@aspendailynews.com
