As a founder of James Beard Foundation Award-winning and Michelin-Starred Frasca Hospitality Group, Bobby Stuckey is one of the most decorated and respected operators and Master Sommeliers in the industry. A life-long hospitalian, Bobby began his distinguished restaurant career in his home state of Arizona. Over the course of almost four decades, Bobby has worked his way from busboy to award-winning Master Sommelier, restaurateur, winemaker, and cookbook author.
Before opening Frasca Food and Wine, the flagship restaurant of Frasca Hospitality Group, Bobby worked in some of the most acclaimed restaurants in the country. During his five-year tenure as a sommelier at The Little Nell in Aspen, the property received numerous awards for wine and hospitality, including Mobile Travel Guide’s Five Star Hotel and Restaurant Rating, Wine Spectator’s Grand Award, and a nomination from the James Beard Foundation for Outstanding Wine Service.
In 2000, Bobby moved west to work with world-renowned chef Thomas Keller at The French Laundry in Yountville, California. Within his first year, he led the acclaimed restaurant’s team to earn the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Wine Service award and San Francisco Magazine recognized him as “Wine Director of the Year.” Under his direction, The French Laundry also received the James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Restaurant Service (later renamed Outstanding Hospitality, thanks to Bobby’s suggestion when he accepted the award on behalf of Frasca Food and Wine in 2019). Bobby also met Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson, his future business partner, while working at The French Laundry.
With the goal of creating “the best neighborhood restaurant in the world” and reminiscent of the Italian frascas they had visited in Italy’s Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, Bobby and Lachlan opened Frasca Food and Wine in August 2004, in Boulder, Colorado. In 2007, the partners launched Scarpetta Wines to help share their love of this region with others. Initially focused on Friulian white wines, Scarpetta’s portfolio has grown to include red, rose and sparkling varietals. Bobby and Lachlan released their first cookbook, Friuli Food and Wine, in 2020, another love letter to this unique region of Italy that bridges the Alps and the Adriatic Sea, featuring 80 recipes and wine pairings.
Since its founding nearly 20 years ago, Frasca Hospitality Group has intentionally and thoughtfully expanded with Italian – and European- inspired restaurants in Boulder and Denver, including: Pizzeria Alberico, a full-service, contemporary pizzeria inspired by the traditional pizzerias of Naples and named after the family of Bobby’s wife, Danette; Sunday Vinyl, a restaurant and wine bar that pays homage to the great wine regions of the world with a vibrant menu and all-vinyl, highest quality analog listening experience; and Tavernetta, a recipient of the Michelin Bib Gourmand in Denver’s Union Station neighborhood, which celebrates Italy’s vast culinary influences and authentic regional dishes.
In spring 2024, the group will open Osteria Alberico, a neighborhood restaurant in Englewood, highlighting a love for Italy’s culinary traditions, including Napoletana-style pizza, rustic pastas, and rotating proteins.
When he’s not on the floor bussing tables or opening a bottle of wine, you can find him at home with his wife Danette, listening to vinyl and drinking a bottle of something great, running a marathon, or advocating for a sustainable future for independent restaurateurs, their employees, and communities they support as a founding member of the Independent Restaurant Coalition.
