Aspen and Snowmass Village Restaurants Open Again
Three restaurant spaces located in Aspen and Snowmass Village have received “a new lease on life”, literally. Locals and visitors have enjoyed The Red Onion, Zele and Junk at Base Village for great eats at affordable prices, prior to each restaurant going out of business. Now, all three locations will have new restaurant operators, all with experience in the local restaurant industry.
Zele closed its doors in 2009 citing the economy’s downturn as the reason. The local cafe offered great sandwiches, an array of coffees and live acoustic music during its 17-year tenancy at the corner of Hopkins and Galena in Aspen. March 1st is the proposed opening date for Peach’s Corner Cafe, the new eatery that will take over the highly-visible location. The owners plan to serve breakfast and lunch items, and may venture into dinner service if demand is there.
Junk at Base Village opened its doors last winter season with much anticipation. Owned, in part, by Scott DeGraff, who is also one of the principal owners of N9NE Group. Junk at Base Village and adjacent bar, Liquid Sky,were hip, sexy and had a metropolitan flair very similar to the N9NE Steakhouses in Las Vegas and Chicago. DeGraff also planned on reopening The Red Onion-an Aspen icon for over 120 years, which closed in March 2007-but the economy and business decisions led to DeGraff being released from his leases at both locations.
This past weekend saw the opening of Base Camp Bar and Grill in the former Junk at Base Village location, complete with apres music, libations and a menu of burgers, brats and nachos. Scott Calliham, owner and operator of Base Camp, is no stranger to Snowmass Village. He was the Sales Manager of Related WestPac’s real estate firm in charge of selling Capitol Peak Lodge and Hayden Lodges, Viceroy Snowmass, and The Little Nell Residences at Snowmass. His most recent restaurant venture is the Magic Buzz, a revamped VW bus in Snowmass serving on-the-go items.
Aspen’s famous watering hole and eatery, The Red Onion, will reopen in May for the first time since the landmark restaurant closed March 2007. The former owner and chef of Blue Maize restaurant in Aspen, Thomas Colosi, signed a 15-year lease with his sister Jennifer Colosi. Located on the Cooper Avenue pedestrian mall, the new owners are giving the interior a slight face-lift. Jennifer said, “There is so much history there. We have to incorporate that and also make it hip, casual, fun and cost-effective.” Lunch and dinner will be served until 1am, and breakfast items will be served all day and night. Along with old time favorites being served inside, a food cart outside will be open for quick grab-n-go items and freshly made tortillas will be available for purchase from the retail outlet. Check out the website www.redonionaspen.com to see the progress of this historic restaurant opening again.
