{"id":2455870,"date":"2020-03-16T23:15:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-17T05:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=322753"},"modified":"2020-03-16T23:15:00","modified_gmt":"2020-03-17T05:15:00","slug":"basalt-restaurant-owners-gyms-come-to-grips-with-governors-closure-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/basalt-restaurant-owners-gyms-come-to-grips-with-governors-closure-order\/","title":{"rendered":"Basalt restaurant owners, gyms come to grips with governor\u2019s closure order"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Customers enjoy live music outside at Heather\u2019s Savory Pies and Tapas Bar on Midland Avenue during a summer afternoon in Basalt.<\/strong>
Anna Stonehouse \/ Aspen Times file photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Basalt restaurateurs were trying to process Monday night the governor\u2019s 30-day closure order announced earlier in the day and its effects on their livelihoods in the next month.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole country is in lockdown, so what are you going to do?\u201d asked Greg Jurgensen, owner of the Brick Pony bar and restaurant in downtown Basalt.<\/p>\n

He was caught off-guard by the mandated closure and had recently placed a large order of food.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess I started getting a bad feeling a couple of days ago, watching other places,\u201d he said \u201cI certainly didn\u2019t think it would be for 30 days.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he will sit down with his chefs and determine if they want to revise their menu and concentrate on fewer dishes for take out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s probably something we\u2019ll look into to keep money coming in,\u201d Jurgensen said.<\/p>\n

The problem with that approach, he said, is the Brick Pony provides a social atmosphere where friends meet for a drink. The ordered closure wipes out that appeal.<\/p>\n

March is also a big month for restaurants and bars in Basalt. The mood starts shifting and people start coming out more often as winter melts away.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big month and a huge hit,\u201d Jurgensen said.<\/p>\n

Rene Lujan, owner of Heather\u2019s Savory Pies and Tapas Bar on Midland Avenue in Basalt, said he was trying to be optimistic about the ability to stay open. He had increased the distance between tables and ramped up an already thorough cleaning routine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did cancel all my music,\u201d he said. \u201cThat killed me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The restaurant brings in local musicians several nights per week. That draws people, so Lujan said he voluntarily decided to scale it back so avoid crowds.<\/p>\n

He also expected people to use common sense and take personal responsibility \u2014 not venturing out if they were sick, honoring the social distancing and taking other precautions.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, he said he could understand the order.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe in safety,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want a huge epidemic.\u201d<\/p>\n

The restaurant announced Monday it was expanding its take-out menu but Lujan said he didn\u2019t see the governor\u2019s order coming. Both he and Jurgensen expressed concern for their employees over the next month since both establishments will be down to skeleton staffs. Lujan said it will hurt businesses to cover their expenses while watching revenue shrink.<\/p>\n

\u201cPayroll\u2019s just around the corner. People need to get paid,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Scott Picard of Sure Thing Burger in the Willits neighborhood said the establishment will \u201ccontinue to offer great food every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sure Thing will launch an online mobile ordering program with curbside pick-up soon. Until then, he is urging customers to order by phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will make it work,\u201d Picard said. \u201cIt\u2019s what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amanda Wagner, owner of TAC Fitness, a popular gym in Willits, had made adjustments that she and her staff felt minimized risk while continuing to provide a place for customers to workout. They were starting to limit class sizes and the amount of customers inside at one time as well as reducing hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think my biggest concern is my employees and the community \u2014 especially with the snow coming,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

TAC will adapt by using online tools to offer classes and workouts for customers, she said.<\/p>\n

Wagner is also chair of the Basalt Chamber of Commerce\u2019s board of directors. There is a regularly scheduled board meeting Wednesday. The topic will be exclusively the cornonavirus\u2019 effect on business.<\/p>\n

The chamber is providing resources about the health crisis in one place on its website. Information will be posted as quickly as possible about state and federal financial resources for business owners and employees during the closure, she said.<\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Customers enjoy live music outside at Heather\u2019s Savory Pies and Tapas Bar on Midland Avenue during a summer afternoon in Basalt.Anna Stonehouse \/ Aspen Times file photo Basalt restaurateurs were trying to process Monday night the governor\u2019s 30-day closure order announced earlier in the day and its effects on their livelihoods in the next month. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2455870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 10:17:29","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2455870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455870\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2455870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2455870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2455870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}