Restaurant Shelter


Slated to open downtown later this Fall, Restaurant Shelter offers a fascinating glimpse at the stark realities of modern urban dining in a sleek, earth-toned postmodern
setting.

“We know from studies that both poverty insecure residency help to build a healthy appetite” said Shelter’s chef-owner Harlan Krupotke, “Our goal is to immerse diners in the urgency and passion of the homelessness experience.”

Krupotke and menu-architect Kimberly Kay Winneford have combined their respective talents to create a dining experience which evokes a unique vision of the American homeless experience as seen through the perspective of German Neo-realist interior designer Arlo Fiske.

Winneford, who spent two harrowing weeks researching her menu by visiting disadvantaged seaside communities around the globe has artfully crafted a two-tiered menu that seamlessly combines gritty eclectic survival fare with classic American institutional favorites. Her “starters” menu features all the diversity one might find while digging through a public waste receptacle, while her entrees evoke the edible excitement of emergency food assistance.

Krupotke’s cuisine, which he styles as both “Gourmet Survival Fare”, and “Institutional Fusion”, seamlessly blends the culinary traditions of Food Bank, Emergency Shelter , and Soup Kitchen. “No one leaves Shelter hungry!” says Krupotke “We serve our clients real poor peoples food, not just rich food prepared poorly.”

No stranger to poverty-themed dining. Krupotke began his career as the mastermind behind the highly successful Le Clochard Cafe n St. Helena. His deep passion for cooking was first sparked at a young age when his family’s private cook Consuela allowed him to help her bring dishes to the table. “It was a revelation!” says Krupotke. “It was the first time that I realized that there was actual work involved in the preparation of food. I was hooked. Even at that early age I knew that someday I would own a restaurant where, despite low wages and lack of proper healthcare, folks would work with the same feverish intensity of the legal aliens who raised me.”