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The first thing you’ll notice when you walk into Rye Society in RiNo are the doily-decorated portraits of Natalie Portman, Larry David, and Mila Kunis on the brick wall to your left. This veritable hall of fame of influential, present-day Jewish folks is offset by the visual to your right: a massive, wall-sized photograph of owner Jerrod Rosen’s Aunt Selma, overlaid by a diagram detailing the Rosen family’s long history in Denver. This face-off of new and old neatly captures the spirit of Rye Society, a new Larimer Street deli which opens Monday, July 23.
While Rosen’s career includes highlights such as attending the French Culinary Institute in New York City and working with luminary chefs such as Thomas Keller and Danny Meyer at Per Se and Tabla, respectively, the modern deli that is Rye Society marks a return to Rosen’s roots. His great grandfather once ran a grocery store blocks away from Rye Society’s 30th and Larimer streets location; his great grandmother opened Rosen’s Kosher Café on Curtis Street in 1925; his parents ran several Denver-area Rosen’s Grocery Stores; and his maternal grandmother owned the Oasis Restaurant on Colfax Avenue.
It makes sense, then, that Rye Society has a warm, familial feel. His mother created the 15-seat deli’s interior design; his cousin is the marketing director. More importantly (for diners, anyway), Rosen’s family’s treasured matzo ball soup recipe, as well as flaky rugelach and babka baked by his Aunt Cindy, both make cameos on the menu.
Not all of Rye Society’s offerings are old school, however. Rosen tapped Ryan Leinonen (of the now-shuttered Trillium) as consulting chef. The resulting menu features scratch-made soups such as a tangy chilled beet borscht, as well as house-made pickles, stacked sandwiches built with NYC’s iconic Carnegie Deli pastrami, Acme Smoked Fish lox, bagels from Rosbenberg’s Bagels & Delicatessen, and City Bakery rye bread, which is baked off in-house daily. And in modern style, there are also breakfast bowls and salads to cater to the gluten-free set.
If you go: Rye Society is open from Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
3090 Larimer St., 303-593-2713
