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Steak Pit in new, capable hands

Janet Urquhart
Aspen Times Staff Writer

Aspen’s place for steak is in good hands, according to Peter Guy, who sold the Steak Pit this week after running the restaurant for 42 years.

Bob and Cindy Glowacki of Carbondale signed on the dotted line Wednesday, taking over the venerable restaurant that is among the longest-running dining spots in town, as well as its lease.

“I’m as pleased as can be with what’s transpiring,” said Guy, who put the business up for sale last fall. Guy and his wife, Barbara, have since purchased a home outside Silt, though Guy has continued to come up to Aspen several times a week to run the restaurant. Now, the Guys can retire, and the Glowackis will step up to the challenge of Aspen’s fiercely competitive restaurant scene.



They feel up to the task.

“We’ve thought it out pretty thoroughly,” Cindy explained, admitting the prospect of restaurant ownership is both “very exciting” and “a little scary.”




“It’s like being new parents,” Bob said.

“Only a far bigger baby,” Cindy chimed in.

“It seems like a logical progression, where we’re actually owning the restaurant instead of just working in it,” Bob said.

The new owners are familiar faces on Aspen’s restaurant scene. Cindy is the wine steward and a performer at The Crystal Palace, where she has worked since 1985. She’ll continue to work there part time through September. She’s also a real estate broker.

Bob is the head waiter and floor manager at Kenichi. He’s anticipating the traditional pie-in-the-face send-off when he finishes his final shift there tomorrow night. It won’t be his first pie, as this is his second stint at Kenichi.

His food and beverage career also includes work at Bumps, Bisons Restaurant in Crested Butte, the Mother Lode, the Hotel Jerome and the now-defunct Wild West Chili.

At the Steak Pit, the Glowackis don’t plan to mess with a good thing, but only improve upon it.

“I guess what we want people to know is, we’re not going to make any drastic changes,” Bob said.

“And we have no plans to change anything with the hot-fudge sundae. People need to know that,” he stressed. “There were people who worried Barb wouldn’t give us the recipe.”

Barbara Guy has, however, given the new owners her secret recipe for homemade hot fudge. The Glowackis will keep it a secret, Cindy vowed.

The Steak Pit staff will be retained, as will its core menu and salad bar, according to Bob.

Some minor changes to the interior are likely, and they’d like to expand the menu to offer additional appetizers and side dishes, Cindy said. An expanded wine list and a children’s menu are also in the plans.

“We want to stay local-friendly, family-friendly,” Cindy said.

A floor show, à la The Crystal Palace, is not part of the vision, added Cindy, who has had a long career entertaining Palace dinner crowds.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some music, sometime,” she hinted.

“You’re going to burst into spontaneous song?” Bob asked.

Peter Guy opened the Steak Pit in 1960. It operated in the lower level of what is now the City Market building and then at what is now the Lucci’s space below the Cooper St. Pier before moving to its present location at 305 E. Hopkins Ave. in January 1993.

[Janet Urquhart’s e-mail address is janet@aspentimes.com]