Building It, Growing It, and Letting It Go with Jen Jasinski

Jen Jasinski trained under Wolfgang Puck, opened Rioja in Denver's Larimer Square in 2004, and spent the next 20 years building a five-concept restaurant group with business partner Beth Gruitch. This led to them earning a James Beard Award and a Top Chef Masters title along the way. Then, right as Rioja established itself as a staple the same year it turned 20, she and Beth did something founders rarely do: they stepped back. Stacie Staub and Madie Linder sit down with Jen to talk about building a 26-year business partnership, the real economics of running a restaurant right now, and why she never wanted a luxurious expansion plan when having to walk away from two of her own restaurants. In this episode (00:00) — Show intro & hosts introduce the podcast (01:00) — Group chat catch-up: a year of construction at their coffee-shop-turned-restaurant (03:30) — Guest intro: Jen's path from the CIA to Wolfgang Puck to Rioja (08:00) — From Wolfgang Puck to Founding Rioja (13:30) — Meeting husband Max, and why they've never opened a restaurant together (20:30) — Founder to founder: what she'd do the same, what she'd do differently (26:00) — Founder therapy: the pandemic, laying off 500 employees, and deciding to scale back (31:00) — Mantra of the week: "I can't pay you to give a shit" Show Notes: Jen Jasinski Follow Jen Jasinski on Instagram Follow Rioja on Instagram Your Best Friends in Business is produced by West + Main Homes in partnership with Pod People Stay Connected: Follow ⁠Your Best Friends In Business⁠ on Instagram Follow ⁠Stacie and Madie⁠ on Instagram ⁠⁠Your Best Friends In Business⁠⁠⁠ Don't miss an episode! Subscribe NOW @Your Best Friends in Business