Meet Amanda Gaschani | Restaurant owner; entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amanda Gaschani and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda, what do you want people to remember about you?
That people will have memories at Moosehill they will remember forever. Moose hill has been open since 1984 we have connected with so many family’s. We have seen family’s grow, we have seen family’s separate, we have seen many customers through some of their hardest moments and happiness moments. I want to be remembered as a place where you can go to celebrate or even the space you can go to and forget about your struggles. I always want my restaurant to be a safe place for my customers and my staff. I will forever be grateful for my customers. Community is such a huge part of my legacy. During the shutdown of Covid and so much uncertainty was a moment I felt the most support and love with in my business life. I live near the restaurant and there were so many mornings I’d wake up to cookies and letters on my door step to keep going, to push though letters saying the community needs us and they are here to support us. We would get very generous tips and gifts delivered to the restaurant. Our community really helped hold us us while the restaurant industry felt like it was crumbling. I’ll never forget that feeling of community and I hope we will be remembered for that.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I was a young 15 year old girl it was 1996 and I was having a late lunch with my family. My dad suggested that I ask if they are hiring. I asked Bev the current owner at the time if she was hiring she said can you be back here at 5:00 that night I went home got ready and headed in for my first day at Moosehill that changed my life forever. It was a Friday night the line was wrapped around the building I was so scared, shy, and honestly thought I couldn’t do it but then I stayed to loved every little thing about restaurant life. I started as a Busser then became host then serve then general manager. Many of our current customers have truly seen me grow up. At this time sadly my father had become very ill and passed away, my husband had started traveling a lot for work and my life felt like it was crumbling apart. I was missing work often, My bosses had asked if I could meet them for lunch I was terrified I thought the time had come that there were going to have to let me go. The opposite happened they asked if I wanted to buy the establishment they noticed my dedication to the restaurant and my family I was flattered and honored. Moosehill was first job…the only place I’ve worked my whole life it’s such a huge piece of my life I love to share with my community. Covid of course was our hardest obstacle but the love and support of our committed pulled us through. I learned so much about business from Beve she true my believed in me I’m forever grateful for my relationship with her. There isn’t a day that doesn’t go by that a customer doesn’t ask about her. She is retired living in northern Colorado and I will always have a special place in my heart for her. Now I’ve owned the restaurant 12 years and 27 years working at Moosehill its still unbelievable to me. In these 27 years I’ve became a mother to three amazing children all who work at the restaurant. I’m so proud to be a mother of the and an business owner. I’ve made many mistakes I’ve learned from and created so many relationships with my customers and my staff. I truly believe my dad spirt played a roll in the blessings I’ve been given and hope Moosehill has many many more years.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take them to downtown golden, or red rocks and watch the sunset. Colorado truly have some of the most beautiful sunsets. Then off to lunch at one of my favorite local restaurants family owned of course! I never consider local family restaurants competition I patronize them along with spread the word to others to go there. Word of mouth is the best advertisement and us small businesses are all in the same boat not enemy’

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My shout out would be to my husband Ali. It takes certain kind of person to deal with a strong boss lady. With out him Covid would have really been difficult he was very supportive and very helpful during a very stressful time nv

Website: Eatmoosehill@gmail.com

Image Credits
Marco Robinson photo of Denver Colorado