House History, Chrisar's & Martini's Bistro
The house was built in approximately 1890. The actual date is not known, because in 1910 all of the city's records were destroyed in a fire. Instead of trying to recreate factual records all buildings were given the 1910 date. The house is on the Historical Society's Westside walking tour for having the first bay window in Longmont.
In the 40's the house was added onto & converted into five apartments. In 1980, the first floor became an art gallery & cafe. In 1982, the art gallery was moved to one of the apartments upstairs, a commercial kitchen was added onto the rear of the house & a deck was built on the south side of the house, converting the entire first floor into an Austrian restaurant.
Frank & Ann Kaven bought the house in 1990. They converted the three apartments on the second floor into one & created a playroom in the attic for their two children, Christopher & Sarah. Simultaneously, they renovated the restaurant & opened ChriSar's Grill & Gallery on Easter Sunday, April 15, 1990.
ChriSar’s name was unique in that it was derived from combining both of the kids names into one. The gallery aspect of the business was created in order for Frank’s father Jerome Kaven to showcase his sculptures, along with showcasing other local artists, such as Rick Stoner. It was later renamed ChriSar’s Grill & Pasta House to bring more attention to some of Frank’s creative pasta dishes, such as Heartburn.
In 1992, the deck was enclosed & converted into a sun room. In preparation of their 10-year anniversary, the restaurant received a facelift introducing cool colors, textures & furnishings in the spring of 1999. To celebrate the new millennium, al fresco dining was introduced in the spring of 2000.
In the spring of 2004, Frank thought that since the kids had grown up it was time for the restaurant to do so too. It was decided that the decor needed to be relaxed & updated, that the menu should be more creative & fun, that the patio had to be expanded into the award winning patio it is today and that it should be an upscale casual place for adults to relax, refresh & rejuvenate themselves...thus, the creation of martini's bistro!
In 2009 Frank met Christopher Lee Kukich. Since then they have become partners in life & operate the bistro together.
In 2010 the bistro was awarded The Best of Martini by Denver MetroMix, in 2011 with the help of some fabulous friends & family they redesigned the décor to reflect more of their combined style, taste & desire to make you totally comfortable & 2012 became the pinnacle of their efforts for they received the Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Year Award.
So please sit back, relax & Shake it Up!
~ Cheers…Frank & Christopher
