Meet Paul Reilly of beast + bottle in Uptown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Paul Reilly.

Paul, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
When I was 14, my father encouraged me to get a summer job. I did the laziest thing possible and walked down to the only business at the end of our rural country road, an authentic German restaurant called Jennifer’s. I started washing dishes and bussing tables and loved it. One day, the prep cook didn’t show up and the chef called me over to help out. I remember peeling carrots and thinking it was so cool that someone was paying me to do a task that was so fun

I held down short order jobs through high school and college, basically making pocket cash to go to concerts and buy beer. When it came time to graduate, I had the bug in me and wanted to keep cooking instead of following in my degree. My friends were moving to Telluride I decided to follow suit scoring a job at high-end restaurants, 221 South Oak and Allred’s. That was my first glimpse into tasting menus and exclusive ingredients such as morel mushrooms and foie gras.

I moved back to NYC and applied at the French Culinary Institute for culinary school. When attending classes, I worked at seasonally inspired, market-driven restaurants such as Savoy and Danal. A few years later I moved back to Colorado on a whim, with no intention of sticking around. Of course, I subsequently met my wife of 12 years Shannon and we now reside with our three children in Morrison.

In 2007, I became chef de cuisine and partner at Encore. Three years later, my now business partner and forever sister, Aileen, and I bought the restaurant and oversaw its operations until its eventual close in 2012. 

In 2013, we opened beast and bottle to much acclaim serving relentlessly local food in Denver’s Uptown neighborhood. We bought on her husband, JP Taylor, jr as a partner a beverage manager as we opened our love letter to Rome and Southern Italian cuisine, Coperta, in the summer of 2016. We have enjoyed much acclaim and terrific press over the last seven years and I’m very thankful for the gifts of hospitality and cuisine that we have inherited.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not remotely. The highs are high and the lows can be humiliating. Three years in, finding skilled staff became a challenge and has been ever since. I’m very thankful for the passionate teams we run now. There are the classic challenges that come with ownership such as equipment problems, building issues, and trying to find a work/life balance.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Beast + bottle is the premier farm to table experience in Denver. We are relentlessly local. The hallmark of our restaurant is our relationship w local farmers and ranchers and those relationships drive what is on our menu, We are sourcing superstars telling the stories of the people who grow and raise our food and passing that knowledge along to our guests.

Coperta is Denver’s only authentic southern Italian experience. We celebrate the food and wine of Rome and southern Italy. We work with the same farmers and ranchers as b+b and present local, seasonal food in an all Italian format. Pizzeria Coperta honors the tradition of Rome’s thin crust Pizza Romana w crafted, artisan dough and the season’s best pizza toppings.

What were you like growing up?
I was very outgoing. Probably would have been diagnosed as ADHD by today’s standards. But my parents let my imagination rule my childhood by walking in the rural east coast forests and dreaming up my own worlds.

I loved and still love baseball, geography, comedy, music albums, reading, skiing, history and camping. I dream of the forests I grew up in. They’ve played a huge role in who I am today. I’m inspired by travel and culture.

Music has played a huge role in my life. I can remember the day I discovered my folks vinyl collection. I became interested in cooking and entertaining others at a very early age. The first recipe I ever cooked was a frozen grasshopper pie on the back of a Keebler cookie box for Xmas Eve.

Pricing:

• beast + bottle $8-39
• Coperta $4-26

Contact Info:

• Address: 719 East 17TH AVE DENVER CO 80203400 E 20TH AVE DENVER CO 80205950 BROADWAY DENVER CO 80203
• Website: beastandbottle.com, copertadenver.com
• Phone: 3036233223 7207494666
• Email: paul@beastandbottle.com
• Instagram: @beastchefpcr @beastandbottle @copertadenver @pizzeriacoperta

Image Credit:
Paul C Reilly
Emily Grossman

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