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1822 Blake St Denver, CO 80202 - View Map

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Leadership

Josh Wolkon

All I ever wanted to do was own a restaurant. At first this dream revolved around a fantasy of having all of my favorite foods at my fingertips to satisfy any craving. Eventually this desire grew into a love of throwing parties and showing people a good time. I worked in restaurants and hotels throughout and after college at the University of Vermont. After graduation I worked as a Food and Beverage Management “Candidate” at The Westin Hotel at Copley Place and later as a manager at John Harvards’ Brewhouse in Harvard Square, Cambridge. These were valuable learning experiences from which the dream of Vesta began to develop.

In the Fall of 1995 I moved from Boston to Boulder, Colorado to continue my education in restaurants. The restaurant business allows you to live in different places, work with different cuisines, and constantly educate yourself as you learn the ins and outs of each restaurant. In Vermont and Boston, I had learned how a corporate restaurant operates, as well as a hotel restaurant, and an independent restaurant. In Boulder I was on the opening team at The Foundry, a popular bar and nightclub and worked as a line cook at The Oasis Brewery. I had never spent any considerable time in the kitchen in this experience proved to be invaluable in my understanding of the difference between the front and back of the house. I also worked at A Spice of Life Catering, where I learned how to create a company culture that focuses on fun, which for many of us is the reason the restaurant business is so attractive. It was also in Boulder that I met my future wife, Jen, also a UVM graduate and a major part of my success and the success of Vesta.

While working these three jobs I began writing a business plan for my vision of Vesta. I transformed my bedroom with the color schemes I had envisioned at Vesta along with wrought iron candle holders and cassette tape mixes playing the music of Vesta. I constantly tried to communicate, in writing, the detailed vision I had for Vesta. To further my education I asked a local real estate agent to show me around Boulder. I had always assumed I would return to Boston to someday open a restaurant, but I still needed to learn how to lease a property. My real estate agent encouraged me to check out the up and coming Lower Downtown (Lodo) area of Denver. Coors Field had recently been completed and the former warehouse district was just beginning a major revitalization that continues today, thirteen years later.

After touring Lodo and viewing only a handful of properties my ambitions and passions started to get the better of me. An empty warehouse space at 1822 Blake Street had brick walls, high ceilings, old wooden floors, and sandblasted wood columns. In the early 1900’s it housed a spice factory. I could smell the grill, hear the hum of the crowd, and feel the reality of my dreams in this space. The lease rates were right. The neighborhood had character and historical relevance. At age 24, I was young, inexperienced, and naïve, which gave me some of the blinded ambition and chutzpah needed to embark on the surreal experience of making my dream a reality.

Thank you to all who have dined over the years at Vesta. Thank you for the engagements, bachellorette parties, reunions, ladie’s nights, date nights, concert nights, Red Sox vs. Rockies World Series nights, anniversaries, and all the other celebratory and memorable events you allowed us to share with you. Thank you to the millions of people from all walks of life that we get the opportunity to meet and party with in our line of work. Thank you to the local writers and critics who for years have had our backs. Thank you to the Greater Denver community for continuing to love and support Vesta.

Matt Selby

At twenty-two years old, most cooks aren’t ready to supervise themselves, never mind a kitchen full of cooks. Now, at age thirty-three, after ten years as Executive Chef, Matt Selby has done his part to put Denver and Vesta Dipping Grill on the culinary map.

Born and raised in Denver, Selby’s kitchen odyssey began by serving up burgers and cheese sticks in Bennigan’s kitchens. After a five year stint at Bennigan’s, Matty got his first big opportunity to work under two of his greatest influences, Tim Anderson and Jimmy Schmidt at The Rattlesnake Grill in Denver. It was here that Matty chose to dedicate his professional life to food. In 1995, with Anderson and Schmidt, Matty participated in City Meals on Wheels in New York City. This was a dream come true, meeting of some of the best chefs in the country, before the term “celebrity chef” ever existed.

After the Rattlesnake, Matty joined the team of one of the nation’s most respected restaurateurs, Mel Master. A stint at Mel’s, Starfish, and Bruno’s eventually led to his first Executive Chef position at Mel’s Top Hat. It was while at Top Hat, through serendipity and word of mouth, that Matty learned of a position at the soon to open Vesta Dipping Grill. He accepted a Sous Chef position, prompted by the exciting opportunity, menu, and design of Vesta. After two months, he was promoted to Executive Chef, and thus began a story of success for Matty and Vesta.

Vesta Dipping Grill offers a unique concept with a special kind of menu freedom that has allowed Matty to be whimsical, creative, and worldly all at the same time. After only a year in business, Vesta was receiving incredible reviews, and Matty’s reputation as one of Denver’s best new chefs was growing. As business continued, the raves kept coming: Best Chef in Denver, Denver’s Top Ten Restaurants, Best Dessert, Best Appetizer, Best Cheese Plate, Best Duck, Best Place for a First Date, Best Place for Groups, Most Romantic, and the list goes on. Vesta has been noted in the New York Times, Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, The Washington Post, Travel and Leisure, National Geographic Traveler, and Maxim. Recently Vesta was featured on The Food Network’s Unwrapped, and Rachel Ray’s Tasty Travels. In her magazine, Rachel Ray claimed Matty is “going to be a rock star”. Perhaps one of the most gratifying highlights in Matty’s career was an invitation to represent Denver at the James Beard House in New York City in 2005.

Matty could be the only chef in Denver that has remained in the same kitchen for ten years. His loyalty to Vesta and his continued desire to make it better has allowed Vesta to remain one of Denver’s best restaurants year after year. Finally, in June of 2006, Matty took on another challenge by opening Steuben’s, with the team and partnership he had built at Vesta Dipping Grill. While Vesta allows Matty to cook with his mind, Steuben’s regional American menu has allowed Matty to get back to his roots and cook with his heart. In its first year Steuben’s has been called “retro fabulous”, “the hottest new joint in town”, recognized by the New York Times as “where to eat now”, and was one of Bon Appetit Magazine’s Top Tables.

Matty regularly contributes his time to a variety of local charities, including; Vesta’s annual “Small Plates For The Spot”, Co-Chairing Culinary Conversations for the Liver Foundation, Too Many Chefs in the Kitchen (Children’s Hospital), ten years with Share Our Strengths Taste of the Nation, Chef’s Out Front Operation Front Line, Dining out for Life, and numerous local art openings. Matty teaches regularly at The Seasoned Chef, and Mise en Place cooking schools. He has broadened his horizons with stages at Chez Panisse, An American Place, Goodfellows, and Gramercy Tavern.

Matty continues to focus on keeping Vesta at the top of Denver’s dining scene and doing his part to bring further positive attention to Denver. He strives to be a positive influence on the never-ending flow of culinary students that come through his kitchens, even as he continues to be inspired by his own local heroes such as, Jamey Fader, Sean Yontz, Goose Sorenson, and Tyler Wiard. Matty wants to continue to teach and use his success to play an active roll in bettering the Denver community from within the walls of Vesta as well as beyond them. Someday, Matty would like to write a cookbook or a book of food related fiction, while running his dream fifteen seat restaurant that, with a little luck, will barely break even.