Deli revival
By Cassie Pence / photo by Alex Fenlon
Private chef Matt Santor did not plan on opening a deli. All he wanted was a larger kitchen to expand his thriving Crested Butte Catering Company. But when word got out that he was purchasing the building that once housed the beloved Frank’s Deli, the Crested Butte community gave him no choice but to say ‘yes’ to a new culinary endeavor.
“I got a cold call from this little old lady. I don’t know how she got my number, but she heard I bought the space and she got me on the line and begged me to keep the deli open,” Santor said, who along with his wife and business partner, Hannah Smith, opened the new Crested Butte Deli in December 2025.
Even the building inspector let Santor know exactly how important the deli was to him. After Santor told him he had no intention of running the deli, the inspector turned around and walked right out the door.
“That’s when I knew we had to open the deli. What we learned was that the deli was a staple for the community,” he said. “We learned people depend on off-Elk lunch options, and we learned just how many people come into the deli three to five times a week for sandwiches or to pick up prepared meals for dinner.”
This space has long been a culinary hotspot for Crested Butte. Known for their graciousness, Vic and Candy Shepard opened up the French fine dining restaurant Le Bosquet in the late 1970s, and with a 40-year run, it was THE place to celebrate a special occasion or impress a date. Locals and tourists alike still miss the French onion soup and fondue (and the wine list). After Le Bosquet, The Shepards started the grab-and-go trend and opened Why Cook?!, which like Crested Butte Deli, sold ready-made dinners and deli salads.
“Back in the day Le Bosquet was ‘our big night out.’ We always felt so fancy being young ski bums eating at a fine dining establishment,” Santor said.
Originally from the west suburbs of Chicago, Santor found his way to Crested Butte in 2002 via friends who attended Western Colorado University in Gunnison. He had spent the summer traveling around the country trying to figure out where he wanted to land next. He was instantly smitten and moved to Crested Butte two weeks after arriving.
“The rock climbing, the mountains and the hippie spirit kept me here,” he said. “Snowboarding and mountain biking are both the best in the country!”
From the perfect date night at Le Bosquet to favorite sandwiches at Frank’s Deli, Santor and Smith continue the tradition of creating a community space around food with the Crested Butte Deli. After realizing that his deli was indeed part eatery and part community gathering spot, one of the first things Santor did was open up the dining room, adding more tables and a bar with seating along the windows to make it feel more inviting.
Next he focused on loading the freezer with chef prepared meals, like chicken enchiladas, beef bourguignon, elk stew, lasagna and chicken Alfredo — dinners you can pop in the oven after a big day of playing outside. Tourists come in and fill an entire cooler with these meals, he said, and that’s what they eat for the entire week they’re visiting.
“It’s a full-time job just to keep the freezer full because we make everything from scratch using the exact same ingredients we feed our private chef clients,” Santor said.
Whether it’s for the Crested Butte Deli or Crested Butte Catering Company, Santor and his team source ingredients as locally and as organically as possible, shopping from places like Farm Runners, a regional food distributor out of Hotchkiss specializing in custom-harvested farm products, and Mountain Roots, a local food non-profit based in Gunnison. In the summer, Santor is at the farmers’ markets weekly or on the phone with farmers personally so he can craft a menu around the ingredients that are ready to be harvested.
Crested Butte Deli offers a rotation of two fresh soups daily, flavors like sweet potato and andouille sausage soup or lobster bisque. The deli case is full of prepared salads, both leafy green and grilled veggies, as well as rich, cozy selections, like creamy potato and tortellini salads and cajun chicken salad. There’s also ready-to-eat healthy proteins on the menu, grilled organic chicken, Scottish salmon and Colorado flank steak, and many locals, Santor said, stock up on these items to add to their meal prep routine. The dessert case boasts a variety of scratch sweets, including whole fruit pies, cheesecake bites, carrot cake and baklava. What Santor loves about running a deli, as opposed to a full-service restaurant, is there’s room for creativity. Some deli case items will remain consistent, he said, but if his staff has an idea, “the deli has flexibility to move on it.”
It might not have been Santor’s original plan, but looking ahead, he wants Crested Butte Deli to be known as the best.
“Our goal is to move more toward a sandwich shop, meaning when someone asks where to get the best sandwich in town, everyone says Crested Butte Deli,” Santor said.
He and his staff spent hours taste testing sandwich ingredients from different purveyors and at food shows, especially bread. The sandwich menu is updated and inventive, like The Animal — named after the late hardworking and genuine Frank’s Deli owner Frank Magri — which stacks roast beef with pickle brine pimento cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion and horseradish sauce. But Santor is still pleasing those who love a classic.
“So far the Johnny Salami has gotten the most attention. Even the most Italian sandwich die-hards are raving about it. It has three different types of meat, tons of sauce, it’s messy, and it’s just how Italian sandwich lovers love it,” he said.
Santor is optimistic about the deli’s future, but in order to achieve his goals there and continue his demanding schedule of back-to-back private catered events, he needs more staff. He’s optimistic about that, too. He said many experienced cooks are already asking to work with him. With his friendly, approachable Midwestern demeanor, Santor has a reputation for being a good boss. “Ego-less chefs” is how he describes him and his staff.
Santor didn’t attend formal culinary school, instead he was educated under the accomplished chefs he has worked with from Austin, Texas, to New Zealand. “Guerilla cooking,” he calls it. He describes it as the difference between “book smart and street smart.” He’s certainly earning his street credit with a community deli.
That said, he does have some advice for those looking to dive into a culinary career — watch and learn.
“Put in the time. Really watch what your chef is doing and really grow in the kitchen. Take on that 50-gallon tub of potatoes to peel and learn proper technique. There’s nothing wrong with asking questions, but pay attention without having to ask questions. Watch the cutting board. Watch how to hold a knife. That’s how you learn, by watching.”
