Meet Clare Sucre | Co-Founder, Catira

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

Hi Clare, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
We believe one of the reasons we’ve found success is that we have leaned into authenticity and approachability from the very beginning. We have worked very hard to honor the core of Venezuelan cuisine and the spirit of the country through our design, music and service. We focused on how we could position a cuisine and a culture that Americans are unfamiliar with in a way that would make it feel very accessible and something they could come to love quickly. Each decision – from the brand, to the furniture, to the names of the items on the menu – has been deeply intentional. Our kitchen manager and the majority of our kitchen team are Venezuelan, which helps to ensure the food is as true to what you would find in Venezuela as it can be here in Denver. We have also hired an amazing front-of-the-house team who lean into the spirit of Caribbean hospitality and whose focus every day is to provide interactions with guests that are genuine, warm and energizing. The combination of all of these factors brings a sense of comfort and familiarity to what is otherwise a completely new and unique experience for most people who walk in the front door.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Manuel (my husband and co-founder) and I both come from backgrounds in corporate sales and marketing. We’ve brought our experience in both of these fields to the restaurant and that was why we prioritized having such a strong and consistent brand from the beginning. This also informed us leaning so hard into the social media and PR opportunities and telling our story as a foundational part of this project. We’ve been able to bring our expertise from this non-traditional background to our approach to running this restaurant and have generated many additional growth opportunities by leveraging our corporate creative and operational skillsets.

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.
While I grew up in Denver, I only recently moved back after living elsewhere for 10 years. Since coming back, we try to spend as much time as we can outside. We especially love all of the parks here in the city. We try to go walk around Cheesman and Wash Park as often as we can. Whenever we have people in town visiting for the first time, we make stops at Red Rocks, Union Station and Cherry Creek. We also always make sure to go up to Reunion Bread bakery at The Source Hotel in RiNo, which is owned by one of our closest Venezuelan friends. His “golfeados” – Venezuelan sticky buns – are life changing. You can also find us regularly at Ball Arena cheering on the Avalanche. And, of course, we have had our fair share of late nights at Don’s Club Tavern on 6th.

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?
Yes! We have been so lucky to have as much support as we’ve had. We’d love to recognize the contributions of our team first and foremost – both our kitchen team and our serving team. They bring the heart and soul to this project every day and are constantly helping us to improve. We also would be lost without the amazing support we’ve had from our families who have been along for this ride since day 1. All of the knowledge, suggestions and encouragement they’ve brought has helped us to get where we are today.

Website: https://holacatira.com

Instagram: @holacatira

Image Credits
Kalen Jesse