Jen Castle and Blake Spalding opened Hell's Backbone Grill on North Highway 12 in Boulder in 1999 with a premise that seemed improbable: an organic, regionally sourced, ethically governed destination restaurant in one of the most remote towns in America. Twenty-six seasons later it is a James Beard Award finalist (2020) and perennial semifinalist, holds the Utah Governor's Mansion Award for Culinary Artistry, and was named Best Restaurant of the Rockies by Elevation Outdoor Magazine. The grill operates on Buddhist principles — a commitment to sustainability, environmental ethics, and community responsibility — and sources from a six-acre farm on-site alongside Boulder's heirloom orchards and local ranchers. In January 2025, after twenty-five years as renters, Castle, Spalding, and a group of investors purchased the Boulder Mountain Lodge property outright. The kitchen's achievement is not just culinary: it proved that a rigorous, values-driven restaurant can survive and define a remote Utah town, and it has drawn the kind of national food media attention that puts Boulder on itineraries it would otherwise never appear on.
**Verification notes** Website live; 1999 founding confirmed on Our Story page; Jen Castle and Blake Spalding confirmed as founding co-owner-chefs; James Beard semifinalist 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023 and finalist 2020 confirmed; address 20 N Hwy 12, Boulder confirmed; Boulder Mountain Lodge purchase January 2025 confirmed via Axios Salt Lake City; phone 435-335-7464 confirmed.