Christopher Edward Jarosz

On the morning of May 24, 2023, Christopher Edward Jarosz passed away in an automobile accident on Highway 50 in Sacramento, California. Chris was 55 years old.

Chris was born on April 27th, 1968 in Springfield, Massachusetts to Lucinda “Mo” Schween and Edward Jarosz. Chris’ brother, Jason Jarosz, was born three years later. Eddie, Chris’ father, tragically passed away when Chris was four years old. Mo remarried Thomas Spohn and moved the family to Butler, Pennsylvania where Chris’ youngest brother, Justin Spohn, was born in 1977.

Chris went to Seneca Valley High School in Harmony, PA. He played soccer and ran track and field. He broke Seneca Valley High School’s record in the 300 meter run. That record still stands. Due to his soccer skills, he became a Pittsburgh-North All Star, and went on to play the Dapper Dan Soccer Classic at the Civic Arena. In highschool, Chris opened his first restaurant, Checkers Pizza, with the help of his parents and friends.

After high school, he went to Robert Morris College on a soccer scholarship for one year. He then joined the US Marine Corps as a Military Police Officer. Chris received an honorable discharge from the USMC and moved to Enfield, Connecticut. He traveled all over the country, working in restaurants, bars, and nightclubs.

He settled in Sacramento and had two beautiful daughters, Nadia and Mila, and a beautiful stepdaughter, Heile. He loved all of his daughters fiercely.

It was Chris’ calling to bring people together through food, art, and music. He had a generous, entrepreneurial spirit that drove him to make an impact by connecting the food and art communities in Sacramento and beyond. As the owner of local restaurants Broderick Roadhouse and Anonimo, and former head of the California Restaurant Association’s Sacramento chapter, Chris was extremely dedicated to the Sacramento culinary community and its workforce. He spent time in high school classrooms working with students in culinary arts programs, and raising money to help restaurant workers through difficult pandemic times. He was a vocal advocate of the farm-to-fork movement, and was always the first one to roll up his sleeves and get to work in the kitchen to feed friends and strangers alike.

But Chris was far more than a restaurateur and businessman. With his partner, artist Lin Fei Fei, he established the art center “A Space in Between” which had an enduring effect on those who encountered his and Fei Fei’s extraordinary vision and energy.

Chris was known and admired for his humble service in the community and his compassionate advocacy, but the depths of his love and care for his family were at the center of his universe.

He is survived by his daughters, Mila and Nadia Jarosz; stepdaughter Heile Larsen; mother Mo Schween; stepfather Thomas Spohn; brothers, Jason Jarosz and Justin Spohn; former spouses Kelli Jarosz and Stephanie Peters; partner, Lin Fei Fei, and their dog, Apollo. Chris was preceded in death by his father, Edward Jarosz, and his beloved aunts, Marcia Jarosz and Joyce Jarosz Roth.

The family held a small, private service in his honor in Sacramento on June 23, and a public celebration of his life was held in Sacramento on June 25. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to this GoFundMe campaign

https://www.gofundme.com/f/chrisjarosz

In support of Chris’ daughters and their effort to keep his legacy and local businesses alive.