Looking Beyond The Marg At The Rio Grande

When Jason Barrett took over as CEO of The Rio Grande this past summer, he made it his mission to change the Colorado chain's reputation, a reputation that Barrett summed up this way: “Killer margs – Food meh." There's no doubt that The Rio has one heck of a margarita, but with six locations spread across Colorado, including the flagship in Ft. Collins and the downtown Denver location, Barrett doesn't want the restaurant to try and survive with "meh" food. With a new food campaign that seeks to retrain current employees, hire new talent, emphasize local purveyors and produce better food in general, The Rio hopes you'll look past it's attractive, boozy margarita and see it for the local Mexican chain it desperately wants to be.

The Rio Grande Downtown [Photo:Foothills]