Jacob Bickelhaupt Loses Michelin Star, Could Lose Freedom

Jacob Bickelhaupt hasn't been in town lately. That's because the chef who opened his second restaurant in Denver at the start of the year is now locked up in Palm Beach County jail, where he's being held on charges upgraded from domestic violence to attempted second-degree murder and false imprisonment.

Bicklehaupt's not only lost his freedom, at least temporarily — but Konro, the restaurant he opened almost two years ago in Palm Beach, has lost its Michelin star.

Bickelhaupt was arrested at his Florida home on June 2 after an alleged assault there; his reported victim, who's been identified as Nadia Bickelhaupt, a partner at the restaurant and its sommelier, had managed to escape but collapsed at Palm Beach International Airport, where she was trying to get a flight to Denver.

Bickelhaupt has been charged with domestic violence before. In June 2017, Jacob assaulted Alexa Welsh, his then-wife and business partner, in the parking lot of their two-Michelin-star fine-dining restaurant in Chicago, 42 Grams. The restaurant closed that night; he later pleaded guilty to battery.

In early 2021, Bickelhaupt came to Denver for a fresh start and opened Konro, a chef's counter supper club. In part, he chose the city because his new wife, Nadia Bickelhaupt, had grown up in Colorado Springs, and in part to find a new audience for his style of hospitality, which relied heavily on his interactions with guests. "It's just Nadia and I; we do just one private group, whether it's a household or a group of friends," he told Westword at the time. "With trust in general, even if they don't know my whole story, they're spending good money to go somewhere they don't know, and that's a lot of trust. I don't take that lightly."

The couple soon moved on to West Palm Beach, Florida, where they opened a more formal version of Konro in October 2023; the restaurant earned a Michelin star this spring.

By then, the Bickelhaupts had opened another restaurant: Thirteen20 by Jacob & Nadia, an eight-seat chef’s counter at 3455 Ringsby Court. Its website promised a "one-of-a-kind experience akin to attending a dinner party at a Michelin-starred chef's home," and noted that it was "created by the husband and wife team that brought you Konro restaurant in West Palm Beach." The cost of the dinner was $295 per person with a beverage pairing available for an additional $195, an N/A pairing for $175, and an A5 wagyu add-on for $125, making it the most expensive tasting menu in town.

But now Open Table reports that Thirteen20 is permanently closed, as is Konro — the reason Michelin gave for taking away its star.

While Bickelhaupt awaits trial, his wife has opened up on social media about a "medical journey" that has includes several surgeries — but not the incident itself. 

Bickelhaupt is due back in court on September 8.