San Diego Women's Week

Ingrid Croce

Owner, Croce's Restaurant and Jazz Bar/ Entrepreneur and Author

Ingrid Croce Restaurateur/Owner of Croce's Restaurant & Jazz Bar, Visionary and Community Leader, Pioneer of the Gaslamp Quarter and downtown San Diego, Co- Administer of Jim Croce's Publishing, President/Owner of Avalanche Records and Books and Time in a Bottle Publishing Inspirational and Motivational Speaker.

Artist, Singer, Songwriter, Storyteller, Restaurateur and widow of the late singer- songwriter Jim Croce, Ingrid Croce tells her stories with candor, warmth and enthusiasm. She talks about her intense romance with Jim Croce, the repercussions of her husband's death, her battles with the music industry, rearing their young son on her own and using her assets to build a successful and rewarding life.

Ingrid shares her challenges of loss, of opening restaurants and bars and succeeding in a notoriously competitive business.

Inspired from memories of exceptional food and music that she and Jim Croce created in their Pennsylvania Farmhouse in the early 70's, Ingrid developed her business and her "Croce" brand by re-creating the warmth and hospitality she shared with friends and fellow musicians Arlo Guthrie, James Taylor, Bonnie Rait, Jimmy Buffet and The Manhattan Transfer, in her Restaurants and Bars in San Diego, California.

When she opened Croce's in 1985 in the once dilapidated downtown, San Diego, Ingrid grew "Croce's" to half a city block and almost single handedly lit the spark that ignited the Gaslamp Quarter into one of the hottest dining and entertainment districts in the country.

Croce's Restaurant & Jazz Bar, her tribute to her late husband Jim Croce, is the cornerstone of her community. She is committed to giving back. Ingrid's story is a message of hope, possibility, resilience, hard-work, and optimism.

Click below to listen to an exclusive interview with Ingrid. (Interview starts after 1 minute introduction)