Story By: Dylan Raskay, City Pulse Editor
Photos By: AnnaMarie O’Loughlin
Il Bistro takes unexpected rebrand to Brunella’s Kitchen
After nearly 25 years of business, a beloved staple of Western Colorado dining is closing it’s doors for good.
Il Bistro Italiano, located at 400 Main St, Grand Junctions primary drag, was famous for handcrafted authentic Italian food since first opening in 1998. Bistro was distinct, standing out on Grand Junction’s Main Street. Through windows, passersby awed moody lighting, thin wine glasses, and a handsomely dressed wait staff, busy exchanging empty bread baskets with plates of seasonal lasagna and steaming sea food.
In 1990, dedicated owner and apostle of home style Italian cuisine, Brunella Gualerzi, made the move from her native Emilia Romagna region of Italy to the Western Slope to study at what was then Mesa State University. Gualerzi opened her restaurant just four years after graduating, with her soon to be husband and business partner Ron Hall joining her in business soon after opening, the two married a year later.
According to a note left on the door of the business, the owners “made this difficult and sudden decision due to an unforeseen circumstances” occurring over the eatery’s final days. Internal conflicts arose between the ever-popular restaurant’s owners and staff. In an interview with Rocky Mountain PBS, Gualerzi explained that things “deteriorated quickly and unexpectedly” after entering a partnership with the sous chefs, so that she could manage both the restaurant and her new take-home dining venture, Brunella’s Kitchen. Stating that she had to choose between the two businesses, Gualerzi said that it broke her heart.
Over its storied history, Bistro served as a community gathering place with more cult fans than regular diners. Recently visited by food anthropologist Guy Fieri and featured on his classic Food Network show, Diners Drive-ins and Dives in 2022. Being interviewed for the show, Gualerzi said, “When I came to this country to go to university, I realized that this town didn’t have the Italian food I was used to.” Prompting her to open her own gathering place as an homage to the food she grew up with.
Fulfilling this vision with heart, Gualerzi’s kitchen at 400 Main St. would become synonymous with experimental Italian dishes you simply couldn’t get anywhere else. On Valentine’s Day of 2000, Gualerzi would serve the first plate of her arguably most famous dish, “Rosetta.” Made with a full-blood Italian marinara with perhaps too much basil, the Rosetta combines rolled pasta with creamy provolone cheese and smoked ham. Rosetta became a buzzword within most five-star ratings from customers on Yelp and Google Maps. In a Daily Sentinel article in February of 2022, Gualerzi says she estimates she has made the dish over 180,000 times.
Il Bistro fanatics shan’t wait long for the return of such iconic dishes, however. A new business venture founded by the owners of Il Bistro hopes to deliver the same quality cooking with wholesome local ingredients. Brunella’s Kitchen, Gualerzi’s take-home spin off of Il bistro will be launching in the spring/ summer of 2023, a promise on the home page of their website states “we’ll be right back!” The new venture hopes to bring take-home dishes, including Il Bistro’s famous artichoke Parmesan soup, to local grocery stores.
In their note on the door of 400 Main St., the owners stated, “We are immensely grateful to this community and the many thousands of people that have supported us through good and bad times for so many years.”
This is neither the beginning nor the end of Il Bistro, as it will live on postmortally through Brunella’s Kitchen and almost a quarter century of a community’s sound memories of Rosè, Rosetta and post-pasta espresso.
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