River and Woods has been serving Colorado Comfort Cuisine from a historic cabin on Pearl Street since September 2016.
The little wood-framed cottage at 2328 Pearl Street has a long Boulder lineage. For nearly forty years, it was John's Restaurant — opened by John Bizzarro in 1975 and beloved as one of Boulder's first fine-dining institutions until the doors closed in 2013.
After John's closed, the cabin sat quiet for a few years. Beloved, watched over by neighbors who walked past at golden hour, but waiting for its next chapter.
Our magic word is whimsy.
River and Woods opened its doors on September 6, 2016. We came with an idea — to elevate comfort food into a comfort cuisine all its own, distinctly Colorado, a love letter to the town we live in. Our name is borrowed from Lydia Maria Child's classic poem "Thanksgiving Day" — the one that begins "Over the river and through the wood, to grandfather's house we go." It's a poem about going home for a family meal. That's what we hope the cabin still feels like.
Per Boulder County records, the little wood-framed cottage at 2328 Pearl Street goes up — well before the neighborhood around it filled in.
John Bizzarro opens what will become one of Boulder's first fine-dining institutions, serving the cabin's first generation of regulars.
John's continues for nearly another decade under new ownership.
John's closes. The cabin sits empty for a few years, waiting for its next chapter.
On September 6, 2016, owners Kate & Josh Dinar open the cabin's next chapter with co-founder Chef Daniel Asher: Colorado Comfort Cuisine, locally sourced, family-run.
Same cabin, same welcome, new menu every season — under Chef Daniel and the team he leads.
Josh is the original visionary behind the River and Woods concept. His restaurant career began when he co-founded DiningOut Magazine in 1998. Since then, he's opened a number of restaurants in Boulder, Golden, Denver, and Sun Valley, ID. He also produces major food festivals — Top Taco, Rare, Chicken Fight. Josh sits on several boards including the Colorado Restaurant Association and Downtown Boulder Community Initiatives. He's a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and enjoys all things Colorado, including skiing and mountain biking. Originally from NJ, Josh moved to Colorado in 1997 and lives in Boulder with his wife Kate and their two sons.
Kate helped launch River and Woods in 2016, bringing 16 years of experience in Boulder's tech sector and a deep love for her adopted hometown to the table. Originally from Maryland and a Villanova graduate, she's been a Boulder resident since 1997 and wanted to create a space that reflects the community she and husband Josh chose to call home and raise their family in. She leads the restaurant's operations, interior design, events, and team culture — and counts raising two proud Boulderites among her greatest achievements.
Daniel is the culinary heart of River and Woods. A certified Raw Foods Chef and Albert Bartlett US Chef Ambassador, he's served on the boards of the Chefs Collaborative Colorado Chapter and EatDenver, and received the Colorado Restaurant Association's 2015 Philanthropist Award. He shaped the cabin's seasonal Colorado Comfort menu and continues to lead the kitchen today.
We work with farms and producers across Colorado — Callicrate Ranch in Colorado Springs for our short ribs, Hazel Dell Mushrooms outside Fort Collins for the pasta, and a rotating list of Front Range growers and small-batch makers for the rest. Most of what's on your plate tonight came from someone our team knows personally.
We reimagine old-school comfort food into a comfort cuisine of our own — the kind of cooking that knows where it came from and trusts you to enjoy it.
Pull up a chair for dinner, stop in for brunch, or bring your whole crew for a celebration. The cabin's open, and the welcome is yours.
— The River and Woods Family