Ross Hamilton
General Manager
Ross joined RARE after 6 years in Vail at Sweet Basil, where he was a member of the leadership team at one of the most iconic restaurants in Colorado. His restaurant career originally began in Ithaca, NY after earning his degree at Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Ross’s positive attitude and exceptional leadership brings a great energy to RARE. From his appreciation for RARE’s simplicity to the expansive (and growing!) wine program, Ross is hungry (pun intended) to elevate RARE’s presence and feels inspired to ultimately travel to Italy. What he loves most about the Italian experience? Wine is such an integral part – including wine for breakfast (we won’t tell). Ross is delighted to be part of the community and the growing restaurant scene in FoCo. He loves that there is always something to do in the area, especially with the mountains being just a hop, skip, and a jump away!
Zack Johnson
Assistant General Manager
Zach moved to Fort Collins in 2014 from Chicago, Illinois, where he started his career as the Food and Beverage Director at Saint Charles Country Club. After visiting Colorado for a snowboarding trip, he fell in love with the mountains and breweries offered as an option to get away from an urban hub like Chicago. Upon arrival, he helped to open up the dining room and bar area Krazy Karl’s Pizza and worked there for two and a half years before starting at RARE as a server, bartender, and shift manager. When asked for a ‘Fun Fact’ about himself, Zach proudly shares that he ran track and cross country Division I in college.
Chris Williams
Bar Manager
Originally from Logan, Utah, Chris started his career in the food and beverage industry at Biaggi’s Italian Restaurant in Salt Lake City. He moved to Fort Collins to live closer to his family who had moved here earlier after falling in love with the town’s charm, genuine people, and small town feel. Moreover, he truly appreciates the family he has found while working at RARE. He loves the dynamite and quality product, the amazing staff, and company’s outstanding ethos. On his down time, he genuinely loves studying philosophy, listening to and experiencing the metal music scene, and being outside skateboarding, biking, or snowboarding.
Steven Anderson
Executive Chef
Steven hails from the Windy City of Chicago where he graduated from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts. Since graduation in 1999, he has traveled around different restaurants, working in corporate atmospheres to locally owned bistros. His best experiences have been in opportunities where he’s been able to try new things and learn from other chefs, like his time at The Vine Wine Bar in Grayslake, Illinois. Like many Colorado residents, Steven visited Colorado on a vacation one year and decided to relocate. He truly enjoys working at RARE and having the experience to work with Italian cuisine. Steven believes understanding Italian food is a foundation to cuisine and it’s nice to focus on a certain style to develop a specific niche incredibly well. What Steven likes most about RARE is the commitment to from-scratch food – truly home-made food that he believes is an ethical rite and important to most chefs.
In his free time, Steven enjoys the outdoors – fly fishing and camping are his joy as it brings him back to the circle of life where he can catch his meal and filet it himself.
Beau Karcher
Sous Chef
Beau hails from Colorado Springs where he originally attended Pastry School at Pikes Peak Community College. Upon graduation, Beau had the pleasure of working as Assistant Pastry Chef at Edelweiss, an authentic German restaurant serving from-scratch desserts. From there, he moved on to join the Rocky Mountain Restaurant Group as the Sous Chef at Sonterra Grill. As the restaurant group expanded to Northern Colorado, Beau was presented with the opportunity to assist with the opening of Urban Egg in Old Town, Fort Collins where he led the Kitchen Team and developed daily special menu offerings. New to Fort Collins, Beau explored restaurants about town and fell in love with RARE Italian Restaurant. Beau appreciates the authenticity in RARE’s traditional processes and learning more about Northern Italian cuisine. Despite spending his days in the kitchen at RARE, Beau still enjoys cooking at home as well as being outdoors with all Colorado’s natural beauty, whether hiking, snowboarding or long boarding around town. FUN FACT: Beau’s great uncle started Carl’s Junior!