Our General Manager
E.J. Kelley

E.J. was raised in the town of Buffalo New York and received his first restaurant gig there at Ashley's, where family friends, the Pazzino's hired him at the age of 15. In two years, they moved him up to server at the ripe age of 17, where in New York at that time, you were still allowed to serve alcohol at that age, it was a great start. E.J. soon grew up and got married to his wife, Julie, moving to Colorado in 1980.

Soon after moving, he landed a job at The London Grill of the old Antler's Hotel, training under Joseph Fryer. He later joined the staff at Remington's, a five diamond room at Cheyenne Mountain Resort where he got to bask in the presence of famous baseball player Goose Gassage and actor Walter Matthau. After the room at C.M.R. shut down, he found himself at Craftwood Inn where he spent 7 years working under our previous owner, Chris Pulos. After Chris sold the restaurant to current owners Dave & Kathy Symonds in 2003, E.J. was enticed back to Cheyenne Mountain Resort as a manager where he spent another 7 years of his career with an ambitious team of managers, sharpening his skills even more. E.J. then came back to us in the Spring of 2010 as a server, hoping to slow down a bit and relax, but couldn't resist the opportunity to lead our talented group of professionals. We are so lucky to have him!

Our Executive Chef
Ben Hoffer

Executive Chef Ben Hoffer was born in 1978 in Colorado Springs, CO, and grew up in and around Green Mountain Falls, Cascade, and Manitou Springs, attending high school at Manitou High and working in the pantry at Craftwood. After graduating, he decided that the culinary world was where he wanted to be. To further his cooking knowledge, he then left for culinary school in Pittsburgh, PA.

After returning, and serving a brief internship at Mackenzie’s Chop House he was promoted to Chef de Cuisine and ran the daytime kitchen for about 2 ˝ years. Some changes to kitchen management at the Chop House prompted Ben’s departure, and he returned to the Craftwood kitchen for another 6 ˝ years, soon being promoted to sous chef. In the spring of  '08 Ben made the move to Executive Chef at Café 36 in the Fine Arts Center. Not being able to stay away long, he finally returned to Craftwood as our Executive Chef in November of  '09. He has revamped our menu, including more innovative dishes. We are so pleased to have him back, come marvel at his artwork!

Our Marketing Director
Jessie Estes

Jessie was born in Missouri and moved to Southern California with her family at the age of 12. She attended San Dieguito Arts Academy and continued on to the Art Institute of San Diego, graduating with a degree in Advertising and a minor in Graphic Design. Her first post graduation position was selling advertising space for PhotoWorld Magazine, then she shortly moved on as a graphic designer for Deal Design Group. After 6 months of designing, she moved back into sales, selling Canon and Panasonic copy machines for South Coast Copy Systems. She worked there for 3 years and then decided to follow her family to Colorado in 2003. She then worked as a Sales Coordinator at the Colorado Springs Marriott(s) for 4 years before making her move to Manitou Springs as the Marketing Director for Craftwood Inn & our sister restaurant Stagecoach Inn. She has been with us for over 4 years now.

Jessie is a member of the Manitou Springs Chamber Marketing Board, Colorado Springs Young Professionals, HSMAI (Hospitality Sales & Marketing International), and also works with the local independent restaurant co-op. She loves the outdoors, hiking, camping, and fishing. Jessie is a periodic volunteer for the Humane Society and the Colorado Division of Wildlife and loves working with animals and wildlife. We are definitely happy to have her, since being with us, she has gained the title of 'Red', our online marketing guru!

Our Event Coordinator
Bobbie LaLuna

Bobbie is our Wedding and Group Event Coordinator and has been with us for almost 2 years. She is originally from Wisconsin (a bona fide Cheesehead) and is of course a die-hard Packer fan! Bobbie began her career at the Americana Lake Geneva Resort, one of the original Playboy Resorts in Wisconsin, as a Conference Coordinator. For the next 15 years, she traveled and worked as a catering & conference planner at some of the finest resorts in the country, including The Phoenician and Hyatt Regency in Scottsdale, AZ. The highlight of her career was accepting a 6-month contract to work at the Historic Harbor View Hotel & Resort on the island of Martha's Vineyard, MA as their Conference Director - an experience to last a lifetime!

Bobbie, her husband Barry and their 11 year old son Jake live in Chipita Park along with furry kids Sam, a Shiba Inu and Buddy, a 6-toed descendant of the Hemingway Cats adopted when they lived in the Florida Keys. Bobbie's hobbies include reading, bird watching, gardening, hiking, and camping.