 Restaurateur Steve Whited, owner of Black Pearl and Encore restaurants, is a long time Colorado resident. Steve’s love of food had humble beginnings when, at the age of 13, he worked at his parent’s ice cream parlor in Littleton, Colorado. Steve remained in Colorado, graduating from the University of Denver, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Shortly thereafter, Steve continued his education at Tulane University where he earned his MBA. After working in the restaurant and golf club industry for a dozen years, Steve landed in the charming east coast town of Nantucket as the operator of the Summer House, a seasonal restaurant known for its fine dining, extensive wine list and piano bar.
In 2004, Steve returned to Denver to fulfill his dream of opening his own restaurant. He and his business partner Sean Huggard, a young and ambitious chef who also worked at the Summer House, envisioned a restaurant with a unique menu and original wine list, and thus Black Pearl was born. Black Pearl opened in 2005 and has since become a neighborhood favorite in the South Pearl and Washington Park areas.
In 2007 Steve embarked on a new project, opening a second restaurant in the Lowenstein Theater complex on East Colfax adjacent to the Tattered Cover bookstore. Appropriately titled Encore, Whited’s vision for his restaurant was an elegant and timeless American grill that would inhabit the space that was formerly the box office and backstage areas of the historic theater.
Steve is passionate about the environment and incorporates that respect into the development and operation of his restaurants. Steve is also an advanced sommelier who enjoys traveling and spending time with his wife, Amy, and their son, Dillon.
Paul C. Reilly is the Executive Chef and a Partner at Encore
Restaurant. Ever since Paul saw “Grover” waiting tables on Sesame Street, he wanted
to work in restaurants. Realizing his passion for kitchen life at an early age, Paul began working as a dishwasher at a German Restaurant up the street from his
house when he was just 14 years old.
After spending his formative years in New York’s Hudson Valley, Paul moved to Colorado
in 1995 and started his culinary path at restaurants in both Morrison and Boulder.
Upon receiving a BA in Literature from the University of Colorado-Boulder, Paul
decided that becoming a chef was his life’s calling, and packed up for Telluride
in the summer of 2001. There he worked under acclaimed chef Bob Scherner at Allred’s
and also at 221 South Oak, a New American bistro.
Wanting to hone his craft, Paul moved back to New York and enrolled at the esteemed
French Culinary Institute in Manhattan’s SOHO district. While in school, Paul worked
in and around NYC at such noted establishments as Michael’s, under the direction
of famed restaurateur, Michael McCarty; and at Pazo for Food & Wine Best New
Chef 2006, Pino Maffeo. His hard work paid off, Paul received his first Sous Chef
position at Danal, a French-Mediterranean restaurant that won 2 stars from the New
York Times.
In 2004, Paul moved to Denver to help open Mirepoix, in Cherry Creek North with
Executive Chef, Bryan Moscatello, a Food & Wine Best New Chef 2003.
Next, he
served as Executive Chef at Mona’s, executing their gourmet breakfast and lunch
menu, while creating a seasonal dinner menu, which won accolades from both the Rocky
Mountain News and 5280 Magazine. In the summer of 2007, Paul hooked up with Steve
Whited and Sean Huggard to create Encore, where he is thrilled to present American
and regional classics to the Colfax neighborhood. He lives in the Baker neighborhood
of Denver with his wife Shannon.
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