Late last summer, as the Casa Luna dining space in south Kalispell was nearing completion, owner Ruby Valera started searching for a chef to help complete her vision for a modern, Spanish-inspired restaurant and cocktail lounge. She was working at her parents’ neighboring Kalispell eatery, Casa Mexico — a mainstay in the Flathead Valley for more than 20 years — when a member of the kitchen staff approached her with an idea.
“One of Chef Joel’s nephews was like, ‘Hey, I have someone who might be interested in running Casa Luna,’” Valera recalled.
Though they’d never met, Valera and “Chef Joel” discovered, serendipitously, that they hailed from the same small town of Ayutla in Jalisco, Mexico. “We’re basically like two blocks down,” Valera said. “We’re neighbors. It’s crazy.”
After a few phone calls, Chef Joel Lepe was flying from Florida to Montana for a visit; a few months after that, he had moved his life up to Montana.
When he arrived at Casa Luna, Lepe imagined he’d be creating menus and cooking for wedding rehearsals, baby showers, banquets, and other private events. But when the construction of the dining area was completed early mid-winter, and with summer banquet season still months away, he approached Valera.
“He’s like, ‘What if we just open it as a restaurant or do breakfast?’” she recalled.
Valera contemplated a breakfast or brunch service, but aesthetically it just wasn’t right. “It’s kind of too nice for one thing in the morning,” she said. “So, let’s do a restaurant.”
What kind of restaurant was the next question. Mexican seemed the obvious fit — both Valera and Lepe have extensive backgrounds in them — but Casa Luna and Casa Mexico share the same building, and Valera wanted the two dining establishments to complement one another, but not to clash.
A self-described foodie, Valera has lived in San Francisco and London, seeking out novel and exciting gastronomical experiences, and eschewing parties and nightlife. London was especially invigorating, affording her the ability to travel easily to culinary meccas like France, Italy and Spain, and allowing her the freedom to experience the cultures firsthand.
“I always followed food,” she said.
The experiences helped Valera create a catalog of inspiring ideas she could bring back home to Kalispell. The cuisine of Spain and, specifically, its atmosphere and culture of eating — patrons communing together, sharing plates and flavors — were compelling.
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“It’s another way to be united,” she said. “It’s another way to communicate. You slow down and eat. You’re experiencing every bite.”
She envisioned not only what a new style of food would bring to a growing Kalispell, but also how she might show people a different way to enjoy it.
When she brought the idea to Lepe, he immediately recognized its creative and culinary potential.
“I said, yeah, because Spain’s cuisine is very regional,” Lepe said. “You have Andalucia, Basque, Valencia. Andalucia is kind of more Mediterranean. We can do that. A little bit of Spain and a little bit of Mediterranean. It can be possible.”
It would also present the new chef with a new challenge.
“We can’t be 100 percent Spain because we don’t have all the ingredients,” he said.
But as he began sourcing products, a concept began to emerge. A menu featuring traditional Spanish-Mediterranean dishes — croquetas, patatas bravas, steak, grilled seafood, and seasonal tapas — guided by a Montanan framework that incorporates locally sourced ingredients and rustic regional touches.
“Okay. This is something,” Lepe said. “I want something fresh. Seasonal. Our menu can be changing. We can offer something local, but Casa Luna Style.”
Twenty-five years ago, Lepe started, as many people do, in the dish-pit of a Mexican restaurant. Working his way up the ranks from dishwasher to chef, he had an awakening.
“I was finding something inside me. Like, ‘I like this,’” he said. “I was feeling passionate about it. I had a curiosity to learn more.”
After five years in the restaurant, he made his way to Orlando, Florida, enrolling in the famous French culinary school, Le Cordon Bleu. He wanted to find a way to continue to develop his skills and cultivate his passion, and the opportunity to learn under some of the best chefs from around the world delivered.
“Boom. That was what I was looking for,” he said.
While in school, he was asked to work for an executive chef at the Waldorf Astoria in Orlando. For 12 years, he worked in the famous hotel, which is located in a large hotel and convention center complex. That location offered him ample opportunities to learn and grow. During that period, Lepe said he was constantly working special events and cooked in every single kitchen on site. Always eager to push himself, he utilized his free mornings and evenings to refine his skills. He became a chef in the Isleworth Golf and Country Club, and also took advantage of the more than 200 restaurants in nearby Disneyland to stretch his imagination and diversify his palate.
“My personal idea was to look for different concepts and cuisines, getting experience and learning,” he said.
When his nephew reached out about Casa Luna, Lepe felt it was the right time to put that experience to use on something of his own.
“This is a new beginning,” he said. “I don’t know where we’re gonna go. I don’t know the end, but to share my food, my flavors, and my skills — it’s more than food. You learn it’s not just a plate on the table. It’s more than that.”
Lepe employs a tone of reverence when talking about certain dishes and their cultural origins.
“When I make something new I try to respect the line,” he said. “It’s Spanish cuisine and Mediterranean cuisine.”
But the diversity of Spanish food combined with the culinary and creative possibilities provided by his new home in Montana is clearly exciting.
“It’s huge,” he said. “You got a lot of elements to create different dishes in different ways. Respect the story, with a few additions, you know, just a little tweak.”
Casa Luna’s patatas bravas are a great example. One of the most popular tapas in Spain, patatas bravas are boiled potatoes, pan fried and covered with bravas sauce. They are a staple throughout the country. Although each region has its own variant, they are widely recognized as a snack to share while socializing.
“My way? I don’t cook the potatoes in water. I confit my potatoes,” Lepe said. “I use Yukon potatoes, cut in small pieces and cooked in olive oil with some peppercorns, and garlic cloves, rosemary, thyme. And then I bake it in oil. Super juicy and flavorful and tender. If you pan fry, it can be crispy outside, but super tender inside.”
“Bravas sauce can be a little spicy but it’s really flavorful,” he continued. “Smoky paprika, roasted tomatoes, piquillo peppers in olive oil and garlic. You blend it, spoon the sauce on top of the potatoes, then sprinkle garnishing with garlic crema and a smoked paprika aioli. All those flavors together? It’s really good!”
Meanwhile, Casa Luna’s bar complements the menu with a lineup of handcrafted cocktails that showcase its Spanish influence, with signature drinks like the Spanish gin and tonic, Negroni eclipse, the Carahillo, and the Vesper. A curated wine list also features Old World classics alongside sangrias, spritzes and spirit-free options.
Spanish dining is known for gatherings with friends, sharing plates and enjoying each bite, as well as each other; Spanish cuisine is known for its diversity, vibrancy and creativity. For Valera and her staff, Lepe was the missing ingredient in their quest to bring something fresh to Kalispell.
For Lepe, the opening chapter at Casa Luna offers him the prospect to fuse all his cultural and culinary skills and interests. Although much of it came by chance, he couldn’t have scripted it better.
“I had this opportunity with a new concept, and a place where I can express myself and try to share with the community everything I’ve been learning for 20 years?” Lepe said. “This is a perfect place for a new story.”