Beau Jo’s pizza to move into Buffalo Valley spot

GLENWOOD SPRINGS — Beau Jo’s signature mountain pies and honey-covered pizza crust are coming to Glenwood Springs at the Buffalo Valley.

The large buffalo above the fireplace and other stuffed animal heads might

come down and Beau Jo’s may keep some of Buffalo Valley’s items on the menu. But that’s all yet to be decided.

Beau Jo’s principal owner, Chip Bair, said Beau Jo’s will begin operating

Buffalo Valley on Jan. 3, but it will keep everything the same until

probably April.

“We’re planning on maintaining (Kurt Wigger’s) menu through the first of

April,” he said. “Our plan, currently anyways, is to bring our menu in at

that point in time.”

But he added, “We’re going to be analyzing what Kurt’s been doing in his

menu and looking at probably some other things and how we want to meld those menus together.”

Wigger said he doesn’t know what might stay on the menu, but added, “My guess is the prime rib — it’s the number one seller here.”

Bair wants to use the three months to gather input and feedback from the

customers and the community. The full-scale kitchen provides opportunities that aren’t available at other Beau Jo’s, Bair said. Besides looking at keeping some of Wigger’s dishes on the menu in addition to Beau Jo’s core menu, Bair is kicking around ideas like serving a lemon chicken dish his wife cooks.

“We’re not sure what we’ll keep and what we won’t,” he said.

But he added that Beau Jo’s has many healthier options like gluten-free pizza.

“We really kind of pride ourselves in healthy options for people,” he said. “We offer gluten-free pizza for those that are wheat intolerant, and we also offer the smart-meal program.”

That program provides healthier options by tweaking ingredients, for example, to increase the amount of fiber compared to fat, he said.

The décor and the exterior of the building likely won’t change a lot, since it already fits well with Beau Jo’s mountain style, Bair said.

Bair has been interested in Glenwood Springs for a quite some time.

“We really want to become a local-oriented kind of place,” he said.

A management team including Jeff Carlson could help achieve that goal. Carlson is in touch with the area because he spent much of his youth in Glenwood and graduated from Glenwood Springs High School, Bair said.

Wigger, who operated the Buffalo Valley for about 21 years and restaurants in the Roaring Fork Valley for around 46 years, is under contract to sell the property to Terry Claasen and TCC Properties LLC for around $3 million. Bair said he plans to lease it.

“We’re all going to be sad to see Kurt leave,” said Lila Fuller, who’s worked with Wigger for 19 years. “We’re happy for him that he’s retiring, and that he and Elsbeth are going to get to travel.”