When Blue Maize shut its doors on April 27, few knew that the
Latin-infused eatery, which has stayed perched at its 308 S. Hunter
location for more than a decade, wouldn’t reopen come high season.
Owner Richard Chelec decided to call it quits after 11 years in the
Aspen restaurant business, partly to try something new but also because
the economics of running a restaurant in the upper valley without
owning his building was becoming a bit of strain.
“I was just ready for a change of pace,” said Chelec. “I’ve been
thinking about doing this for about six months now. Some people just
thought we were closing for the off-season, mostly because I wasn’t
sure if the deal was going to close.”
But the deal did close, and on Friday, May 2, Chelec officially sold
the remainder of his lease — of which there was still one year left in
addition to a five-year option to renew — to Denver-based Buenos Aires
Grill. Francisco Carerra, who also owns Buenos Aires Pizzeria in
downtown Denver, owns the Argentinean restaurant. The Aspen Buenos
Aires Grill location will mark the third restaurant for the Carerra
family.
“There are no Argentinean restaurants in Aspen, and we really wanted to
bring our family and our family’s culture to the mountains,” said
Buenos Aires Grill manager Miguel Bruietti. “Right now we don’t have a
projected opening date, but we definitely would like to be open before
the fall.”
Bruietti cited Aspen’s international reputation, former Blue Maize’s
location and the winter influx of South Americans as a few of the
reasons why expanding their brand into Aspen was a good move for the BA
Grill.
“The owner just fell in love with the space,” Bruietti added. “It’s one
block from Main Street and one block from the gondola, and a location
in Aspen will give us a lot of ground coverage. And anyone who’s skied
in Aspen knows the lifts are operated by lots of Peruvians, Chileans
and Argentineans. So we think this space has a lot of potential,
especially considering how successful our other restaurants have been.”
Construction has already begun on the interior décor of the old Blue
Maize site, with Bruietti noting that, “There’s a lot of work to be
done to get the taste of Mexico out and the feel of Argentina in.”
The cuisine will consist of classic Argentinean food, which is to say
it will be a mix of Spanish, Italian, French and German food, with meat
dishes, empanadas and a variety of seafood.
“Argentina is a huge melting pot of culture, and the food definitely reflects that,” Bruietti said.
Chelec said that he does have a twinge of regret in closing Blue
Maize’s doors, especially considering the local following the
restaurant enjoyed over the years.
“It’s really bittersweet,” he said. “I’m happy to do something else,
but it’s been a huge part of our lives, my wife and I. I would
definitely like to do another restaurant in Aspen in the future, but I
would definitely own my own space.”
damien@aspendailynews.com
