Craftsman Brew Co — Restaurant in Edwards

I have been Craftsman's biggest fan since 2019. With an estimated 100 Hot Chicken Sandwiches in my belly (always with a side of parm fries), along with a handful of salads, a few cubanos, some ramen (the list goes on), I consider myself somewhat of an aficionado. It was always an easy choice to decide where to go, with the low-key atmosphere, the walk-in seating, countertop ordering, and relaxed staff. We never had a bad experience with (the old) Craftsman.

This is why I am so disappointed in the new Craftsman. The low-key, chill atmosphere has been replaced by a disingenuous "fine-dining" feel, the menu now offers lower quality versions of the same items for outrageous prices, and the need for a reservation to get a quick bite has turned it from a walk-in gem to a call-a-month-in-advance-and-hope-for-a-chance.

My beloved hot chicken, which used to be topped with two thick cut slices of bacon, a handful of delicious pickles, and the world's most delectable dill aioli (perfect for dunking the fries), is now topped with... coleslaw. A devastating change from the original. And, even sans bacon, the sandwich is a hefty $5 more than it was a year ago, coming in at $22. The schmidt mac, which has been reveled for many a year as the valley's best burger, will now run you a solid $24. Add on the parmesan fries which are no longer included with the sammy for just +$3 (and are now served in a cone, rather than mounded up on your plate, leaving them a soggy mess by the time you eat through the top layer of cheese and sauteed alliums), and the 3% living wage surcharge (which you can ask to be removed from your check if you want to be the guy who doesn't want employees to make living wages... /s), you are now paying a high price for old memories.

I still enjoy Craftsman every once in a while when we can actually get a short-term reservation or a walk-in table, but it always feels a little bit like leaving the puppy store empty handed because you just weren't ready for another dog. We loved the old Craftsman, but we just weren't ready for a new one.

The original Craftsman created something that the valley deeply needed... A low-key, relaxing, chill restaurant where you can walk in and be treated like a local with a crisp beer, an incredible sandwich, banger tunes, and a staff that loves to shred as much as they love to eat. The culture of Craftsman was for locals (or tourists who wanted to feel like a local). The new Craftsman seems to be about bringing people in, and I know it is successful at that. But the old Craftsman was about bringing them back, again and again, and that's what...

We read about this place in Axios, so figured we had to check it out. We looked over the website to see the current beers and called to see what the happy hour food items would be. There is only a recording, so we went hoping that a staff member could help us. How wrong we were.

We arrived at about 3:10, we were given two glasses of water, told to use the QR code to see the menu and that our server would bring what we ordered. I tried to order a beer. The beers on the app did not match the beers I had see on the website. Clicking for a description was hit and miss. Some had it and some did not. One even had a description of a different beer (a pilsner described as an IPA). I went to ask for help and when I did I saw a chalkboard with beers on it. A third list! This did not match the website or the app. So, if I wanted one of those, there was not way to order it. So... I found a server. I explained the issue and handed me what turned out to be the happy hour menu and complete beer list. I told him that the beer I wanted was not on the app and he begrudgingly agreed to take our order us. My wife wanted a drink with egg white on top and he went to see if this was possible. No, only substitute available, so we gave him my beer order and a different drink for my wife. This was at 3:27. A few minutes later, the app updated and had the happy hour food items, so we ordered the beet salad and it was excellent. I must say the beer and cocktail (old fashioned) were also excellent. It was the attitude of the place and incompetence in management not being able to properly inform the consumer what is available and how to get it. For our actual meal, we left and went to the Drunken Goat which was run by professionals and was excellent.

Bottom Line - your chalk board, app and website need to match. It's not rocket science. Hand me a happy hour menu, then charge me happy hour prices. three minutes should not cost three dollars. Telling me to order and wait for delivery denies me the opportunity to ask any questions about any menu item. Finally, it seemed like before I found a server, your app wants payment as part of the ordering process. Paying before receiving food is what you do at McDonalds. Not at a highly-rated...

Walked in from Vail. A friend highly recommended this place. Looks awesome. One person in our party was asking the salad dressings they had and asked if they had olive oil since he didn’t want the original dressing. The waitress very rudely said “no sir, we don’t just have olive oil lying around in the restaurant, we use canola oil”… I find it hard to believe there is no olive oil but the point is, she was very rude. I think she was offended by all the questions the person had. She came around to me to order and I quietly said “thank you for your patience” trying to make things better for everyone. Then another person in our party ordered the wood roasted chicken. He is highly allergic to nuts, seeds and diary. There was cheese on the side salad. His mistake for not saying he is allergic but the menu did not say cheese. Wood Roasted Chicken - bbq sauce, summer arugula "elote" salad, cumin lime vin 36.—— this Is what the menu said. THe person said “sorry I am allergic I can’t have diary”… she rudely again with an attitude responded, “well that would have been AWESOME to know”.. what??? It is not specified it had cheese. So I asked for the menu to review, she insisted it said it had cheese. Still the attitude was insane, so I said to her calmly “you are being rude, in many places they ask if there are any allergies at the table just to be sure”, to what she responded “servers don’t do that, have you ever been a server before?” What? Again, who are you. I was calm, collected, respectful and this waitress just kept it going. I finally lost it and said “ you are being rude again and there goes your tip”… never saw her again. I went to the manager who was tremendously apologetic, helpful, kind, understanding, she listened, she made sure we were taken care of. She was fabulous. The food in this place is amazing, we had the beets and poke, wow!!!! Everyone loved their food. It’s s unfortunate that someone can ruin a dinner with an attitude like that. There are ways to deal with differences with customers, more so when the customer is staying calm and respectful and wants a win win resolution. Appalling which is a shame, what a great place with...