EatAspen.com remarks upon the sad fate of Noodles by Kenichi, an innovative attempt to diversify Aspen's food scene: "Is this lower level space cursed? It is a common occurrence. For awhile now, no restaurant located in this space has ever done well."
Does an Aspen eatery enjoy special privelege among local pols by dint of simple longevity? "A new pathway for the Farmer’s Market in Aspen is supported by the merchants and has been approved," blogs TV Aspen Channel 19 News Director Jim Laurence. "City Council has agreed to try for one year a new way of funneling pedestrians toward the downtown merchants as they make their way through the market, which will see booths down Hyman Avenue from Hunter Street and toward the mall. But Mayor Mick Ireland, responding to complaints by Little Annie’s, says if business declines because of the market then something will have to be done right away to keep the operators of the long time eatery happy."
AspenSpin takes a look-see at Pinions Restaurant in Aspen, considered far-and-wide one of the best places in town.
Posts filed under 'Restaurants'
Noodles by Kenichi has closed it's doors. What was welcomed as a good addition to the Aspen cheap eats dining scene this past October never got off the ground. Reports of the closing where confirmed by a visit to the empty noodle shop last night when we found a closed sign posted on the door. Truly unfortunate that they couldn't squeak out till the end of the season but articles in both the local papers mention that they where bleeding money which left them behind in rent.
Is this lower level space cursed? It is a common occurrence. For awhile now, no restaurant located in this space has ever done well. From Chequers restaurant, which after what seemed like years of renovations and never opened for business, to Texas Reds BBQ, which operated for a little more than a year then transformed into the comedy club and then evaporated. You would think however that the new medicinal marijuana dispensary next door to Noodles by Kenichi would have generated a steady stream of hungry patients but to no avail. With the rent at $5,500 a month for the small corner space we may see another Aspen restauranteur try another eatery here but can they break the curse?
Is this the wrong time to open any new Aspen restaurant? The cocky assumption that Aspen is recession proof has proved to bite us in the ass. Lower numbers of visitors and lower spending among those visitors has left many Aspen restaurants hungry and it's no surprise that what has traditionally been a tough market to prove yourself in has become even tougher for any new restaurant in Aspen.
The rumor mill is also flush with tales of restaurants that aren't so new not being able to make the cut, perhaps up to 4 more casualties this spring. The rumors also state that some Aspen landlords may be more prone to let their space sit empty for "years" than re-negotiate leases with restauranteurs for fear of lowering that monopoly like rent ceiling that a bulk of their properties still generate.
It's always been a changing landscape in the Aspen restaurant scene and we just hope that ultimately it is for the best. Good luck to whomever attempts to break that curse.
View Aspen Restaurants that are still alive.
March 9th, 2010
Valentine's Day in Aspen
Plato’s Restaurant Valentines Pre-Fixe Dinner with a glass of Sparkling Wine. $60 per person
Montagna presents an exquisite 5-course Valentine’s dinner prepared by Chef Hardy. $150 per person View Menu
Wienerstube hosts a special 6 course Austrian Valentine's Evening. $55 per person. View Menu.
Takah Sushi will feature special rolls & other specials for Valentine's day.
39 degrees hosts a party on Saturday Feb.13. $20 includes buffet & glass of bubbly. Aphrodisiac drink $6, DJ and dancing. Wake up Sunday with Bubbly & Breakfast $25 & $5 Mimosas.
The Restaurant at the St. Regis presents 5-course dinner paired w/ champagne. Begin with canapés 7pm in the Astor library with dinner in The Restaurant at 8pm. $275 per person. View Menu.
Valentine's Day in Snowmass
Eight K, Viceroy Snowmass’ much lauded restaurant, announces an exclusive Valentine’s Day dinner. $125 per couple. View Menu.
Brother's Grille Valentine's Day Lovers' Dinner Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010, 5–9 p.m. 4 course meal $100 per couple. View Menu.
View All Aspen Restaurants
View All Snowmass Restaurants
View Eat Aspen Blog Home Page
February 9th, 2010
EatAspen.com
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December 31st, 2009
The new Aspen restaurant Ute City is in the final stretch. Looking to open by late November or early December 2009, it's all hands on deck. During a peak this past week it was evident that under the construction drop cloths the intrerior design has a nice flow from bar to dining room with windows and glass doors that open onto the street.
The restaurant is created by Walt Harris owner of Szygy restaurant for 22 years where great food & great jazz made it one of Aspen's best restaurants. The lease of the old Syzygy ended this previous spring and summer has been devoted to readying the new building. The Ute City restaurant will occupy the ground floor and is meant to be an American style bistro serving lunch, apre's ski, dinner, and a late night menu till 11pm. Sample menu items to include an appetizer Jamon Serrano with pears, olives, almonds, arugula, and spanish cheese for $16, a Roasted Beet Arugula Salad with spiced walnuts, sheep feta, and champagne vinaigrette for $9, a House Made Dill Linguini with bay scallops, black trumpets, asparagus, and vermouth cream for $17, a Spicy Shrimp Bowl in brown butter with tobasco sauce, tomatoes and green onion spoon cake for $18, and Pork Medallions with local plum, goat cheese, wilted greens, and sage spaetzle for $19.
The new Syzygy restaurant will open underneath Ute City possibly this January with Chef Martin Oswald at the helm again. With the same intention of creating that syzygy, the unity and alignment between food, music, and space that creates the full experience for the diner. The lower level space will have high ceilings, a fire place, and we might even look forward to some late night music events if the dance floor in the corner is any indication.
The new building rose up from the ground where La Cocina once stood and kept us entertained with flaming #%&!@*#! and Nick's pattern welcome at the entrance "Hey how are ya? Good to see ya!" making you feel as if he knew you, no matter if you'd met before or not. From past experience there is definitely some good energy on this piece of land. This block of town on Hopkins Ave. between Mill St. & Monarch St. has been coined Aspen's Restaurant Row because of the high concentration of eateries. The Ute City restaurant is bordered on either side by Social / Elevation and Lulu Wilson with Jimmy's, Bruno's, Cache Cache, and Campo across the street.
Termed simply Ute City restaurant it may be considered the "New" Ute City because of the former Ute City Bank bar & restaurant that held court in the Cowenhoven building on Galena Street. The Ute City name comes from Aspen's original name. This upper valley was first known as the mining camp of Ute. When the pioneers of 1879 came over the continental divide they were pretty much in Ute Indian Country and they camped at the ole' Ute springs and named the town after those who were here before them. We would love to see a nod given to the Utes or to the original '79ers somewhere within the restaurant other than name alone.
View the Ute City Restaurant Listing
November 10th, 2009
This Saturday started off like most others; my husband and I lying in bed sharing a pot of coffee and conversing about a variety of topics. We call this cherished morning ritual “Coffee Talk,” and it can last anywhere from a half hour to two hours. This morning I had to cut it short because I had a breakfast date.
At 8:45 I walked into town, past dozens of spiffed up cars lining Carbondale’s Main Street for the 11th annual Valley Cruisers Classic Car Show where visitors and locals were enjoying the crisp sunny Rocky Mountain morning as much as I was.
Continue Reading June 7th, 2009
Reports have mentioned that DishAspen is up for sale. Owner Mitchell Sher says that they will open for the summer if they don't sell before then. Is Chef Matt Zubrod included in the sale price? Zubrod's cooking style is what made Dish unique. Most casual reviews said great food was coming out of the kitchen, unfortunately the service never rose to the occasion. The lower level space is great, in the recent past it was home to Barclay's and Mogador. So DishAspen may or may not be around Summer 2009.
The fate of The Crystal Palace Grill may also be up for grabs. Rebranded as the Crystal Palace Grill after the iconic Crystal Palace Dinner Theater closed in the Spring of 2008 it seems to have never gotten a lot of traction. The dining room seemed to be eerily empty many nights, which in turn allowed them to start hosting some great events, comedy night, open mic nights, and karaoke. For sure busy on these nights, it was more of a later bar crowd than dinner crowd.
Continue Reading April 11th, 2009
Are you opening your very first restaurant but you lack any real restaurant experience? Would you welcome the advice of a professional restaurant consultant? If this is you, we want you to star in an episode of a exciting new TV series for a major food network. In every episode of this captivating and very real one-hour series, restaurant coach David Adjey provides first-time restaurant owners with the tools to open and run a successful business.
We are looking for compelling characters with good personal stories
and high stakes.
Continue Reading February 20th, 2009
I've got both anecdotal evidence and some relatively hard data that show the economy is hitting Aspen much harder than the powers that be might have you think.
The anecdote first.
I went into a terrific Aspen restaurant for the first time about ten days ago and the owner said: "We haven't served a dinner in three days." The owner was performing all the chores in the restaurant--no bus boys, no waiters or waitresses were to be seen. And it was a good restaurant, a VERY good restaurant. We were a party of four and we got his full attention.
Now the data....
Continue Reading February 9th, 2009
Thanksgiving has always been one of the more interesting holidays in my book. It all started with a "stray dog" thanksgiving one year at college. A few of us stayed at school for the holiday break and were invited to a faculty member's home for the holiday. There we found 20 unrelated people enjoying each others company with a feast of food and cocktails.
That is what sets this holiday apart. Its key ingredients are good food, good drink, and good people. Family is nice, but not necessary. A large part of Aspen is made of transplants that left friends and family "Back East" or elsewhere, and because of this, Aspen has a great tradition of welcoming randoms together to form that "family". So I hope you find yourself at someone's table or find someone at your table. If not there are a few Aspen Restaurants and others that invite you to dine.
Continue Reading November 25th, 2008
The thing I love most about the Food and Wine festival here in Aspen is the famous people I’ve never heard of and would not know from Adam. It’s like going to the Super Bowl with no clue about frozen tundra—you should have stood in bed instead of taking up space in the stands.
A couple years back I was saving a chair at the Hotel Jerome for my fiancée when a woman took the chair for her husband without asking. She said something that indicated her husband was some kind of a big deal in the world of food, but I could not have cared less if he were Wolfgang Puck. It was our chair. I had saved the seat under the universal law found in the Constitution that decrees all men are created equal no matter how nifty you might be with pulled pork and coleslaw.
Continue Reading June 15th, 2008
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