Glenwood Springs Beau Jo’s avoids the fanfare

Pizza restaurant takes some time to get things right and add menu items from Buffalo Valley

Click to Enlarge Browse and Buy Post Independent Photos Four-year-old Gwenie Fay dishes herself a slice of pizza from the all-you-can-eat pizza buffet at Beau Jo’s Pizza on Highway 82. Chad Spangler/Post Independent

By Phillip Yates
Post Independent Staff
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
April 14, 2008

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GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado — The business has been flying under the radar. There’s been no grand opening.

Sure, there’s a small Beau Jo’s Pizza banner hanging outside the old Buffalo Valley sign along Colorado Highway 82 between Carbondale and Glenwood Springs. Other than that small sign, you probably would have a hard time guessing that the restaurant has been serving pizza since March 6.

The under-the-radar approach to opening the new restaurant has been intentional, said Chip Bair, the principal owner of Beau Jo’s Pizza restaurants in Glenwood Springs, Idaho Springs and on the Front Range.

“We have been low-key because we didn’t want to jump out there and invite everybody before we were really ready to take care of everyone,” Bair said.

And yet, business has been good.

“It has been great,” Bair said.

The former Buffalo Valley restaurant become a Beau Jo’s Pizza operation after longtime Roaring Fork Valley restaurateur Kurt Wigger sold the business to Terry Claassen and TCC Properties LLC for around $3 million. Beau Jo’s Pizza, which leases the property, took over the restaurant in early January.

Bair said he chose the Buffalo Valley as another Beau Jo’s location because he “fell in love with the building” when he walked into it.

“We had been looking at Glenwood Springs. We really liked the community up here and felt what we did would work well within this community,” Bair said. “When we found this particular opportunity and the way it came about, it was a real win-win kind of proposition.”

Bair said the business kept a low-profile approach in the wake of its takeover of Buffalo Valley in order to complete the transition from Buffalo Valley’s menu to the Beau Jo’s pizza menu. The restaurant has about 50 specialty pies on its menu, but also has a number of crust, cheese, sauce and topping options that customers can choose from to build their own “mountain pie.”

“We are utilizing what was here and blending our menu with it,” said Bair, adding that the renowned prime ribs that were once available at Buffalo Valley are still on the Glenwood Springs location’s menu, along with other grilled items like hamburgers.

Facts about Beau Jo’s Pizza

• There are nine locations across Colorado in the following cities: Glenwood Springs, Idaho Springs, Denver, Arvada, Boulder, Fort Collins, Evergreen, Durango and Steamboat Springs. • Beau Jo’s Pizza participates in Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s “Smart Meal Seal” program. Restaurants participating in the Smart Meal Seal program showcase entrees that are lower in fat and saturated fat and include components such as beans, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. • Excel Energy says the company is the 16th largest user of wind energy in the state. • The business also has gluten-free crust option available.

The Glenwood Springs Beau Jo’s also used the time after moving in to build a strong staff. That has been a challenge, said Bair, referring to the tight employment market in the area. Because of the difficult employee situation, the business has had to bring in employees from other locations in Idaho Springs and the Front Range to help out on the weekends.

“It has been a challenge to get the restaurant staffed up properly, but we are getting there,” Bair said.

Bair said as the restaurant establishes itself in the area, the company and its workers want to be active members of the community.

“We definitely want to be involved in the community,” said Bair, adding that one of the managers at the Glenwood Springs location grew up in Glenwood Springs. “We try to do as much business locally as much as we can. We feels that helps to build our business and the community that we are in.”

Michelle Smith, 39, of Glenwood Springs, enjoyed the prime rib at the restaurant recently. The dish was one of her favorites when Buffalo Valley was still operating.

“I thought the prime rib was as good or better than before,” Smith said.

Chris Johnson, 36, and his wife, Andi Johnson, 37, were also at the restaurant at the same time Smith was, with their son, Nolen, 7, and daughter, Allie, 4. Chris Johnson said the food was “awesome” and that the food was just as good as it is at the Idaho Springs restaurant.

“It’s better because it is closer,” Johnson said.


Post Independent, Glenwood Springs, Colorado CO