{"id":2458282,"date":"2020-05-10T23:52:01","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T05:52:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/orders-from-governments-not-customers-rock-aspen-area-restaurants\/"},"modified":"2020-05-10T23:52:01","modified_gmt":"2020-05-11T05:52:01","slug":"orders-from-governments-not-customers-rock-aspen-area-restaurants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/orders-from-governments-not-customers-rock-aspen-area-restaurants\/","title":{"rendered":"Orders from governments, not customers, rock Aspen-area restaurants"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/restaurants-atd-051120-1024x682.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/restaurants-atd-051120-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/restaurants-atd-051120-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/restaurants-atd-051120-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/restaurants-atd-051120-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/restaurants-atd-051120-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/p><figcaption><strong>People order from the porch of the Bear Den Aspen on Tuesday, May 5, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/><em>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">The owners and management at Bear Den Aspen anticipated ample challenges when they opened the downtown cafe in the middle of February, but nothing like the global pandemic that has battered the restaurant industry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Five weeks into the opening of the bakery and cafe at the corner of Hopkins Avenue and Monarch Street, public health orders delivered by the state and Pitkin County \u2014 where Aspen is the county seat \u2014 came raining down as businesses tried to absorb what was happening.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">For restaurants and bars, which were already reeling from the pandemic\u2019s disruption to business, the saga became unprecedented when Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, on March 16, ordered they could not allow dine-in or sit-in customers; takeout or delivery were their sole options to stay open.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI was working 54-hour weeks and I was reduced to 18,\u201d said David Smallwood, one three managers at Bear Den. \u201cAnd my pay was cut in half.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"row at-donation at-donation-mobile p-0\" readability=\"7\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\" onclick=\"handleDonationButtonClickMidArticle()\">Donate<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Bear Den has yet to close down since it opened Feb. 6, and Smallwood said business is ticking upward.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt actually gets a little busier every weekend,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re doing well enough to get most of our staff back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Smallwood said it made sense to keep Bear Den open because it was one of Aspen\u2019s newest businesses \u2014 better to cling to some momentum than surrender it, they reasoned.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe had to at least try, \u2026 we didn\u2019t know if it was going to work,\u201d he said, \u201cbut because of support of the locals we were able to keep on the lights.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">To stay open or reopen, businesses must complete what\u2019s called a <a id=\"N0x2b59ff0N0x292b8c0:N0x2b59ff0N0x2b3aec0\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/e\/2PACX-1vQw2MuQWed6q8amNF2lCdat23Gtu6f3f5w30L6ijDA_01DmqH-al4u-1CVS_qtA10x6FMiOt9HbcYAd\/pub\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">COVID-19 Business Safety Plan Checklist<\/a> and file it with the county. The plan includes written assurances from businesses that its employees will practice good hygiene and social distancing, while they also will wear face coverings and commit to other safe health practices to stop the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Polis said Friday that health data continues to drive what the state will do concerning restaurants and bars reopening, <a id=\"N0x2b59ff0N0x292b920:N0x2b59ff0N0x2b3afe0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/polis-says-hed-like-to-see-colorados-restaurants-reopen-in-may-possibly-before-memorial-day\/\">noting in his update<\/a> that \u201crestaurants need, you know, five to six days to open, a week to open. But we would love to be able to be in a health situation that will allow them to open before Memorial Day weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Pitkin County Board of Health last week also said <a id=\"N0x2b59ff0N0x292b980:N0x2b59ff0N0x2b3b100\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspen-pitkin-county-seek-to-open-restaurants-as-early-as-may-20-lodging-a-week-later\/\">it will seek a variance to the state health order<\/a> by allowing restaurants to open a maximum customer capacity of 30% on May 20, one week ahead of the May 27 date on the state\u2019s schedule.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The health board would need approval from both Pitkin County commissioners and Aspen Valley Hospital\u2019s board of directors to seek an exception from the state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The variance process to accelerate the date is \u201cby no means guaranteed,\u201d said Jordana Sabella, the county\u2019s planning, prevention and partnerships manager, during a Pitkin County health board update Friday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt has to be approved by those different boards (the BOCC and AVH) and it has to be approved by the state,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">INDUSTRY\u2019S MARCH WOES<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Restaurant owners and operators have said something must be done \u2014 even if it happens during one of the sleepiest times of the year \u2014 to spark the service industry, especially in a tourism-dependent town that currently has a relatively low COVID-19 infection rate, according to health officials. (As of Friday, there have been 54 confirmed cases and two deaths in Pitkin County, <a id=\"N0x2b59ff0N0x29f24a0:N0x2b59ff0N0x2b3b4a8\" href=\"https:\/\/covid19.colorado.gov\/data\/case-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according to state data<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Aspen was considered a \u201chot spot\u201d for the virus by the third week of March, a month that has been good to bars and restaurants in recent history. In March 2019, the industry generated $16.7 million in revenue, its second-most lucrative month of the year behind the $17.9 million produced in July, according to city sales tax records.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But March 2020 was a bust in the wake of the pandemic\u2019s health orders. The city has yet to release its sales tax figures for March because businesses have been an extra 30 days to remit tax payments. A financial forecast by the city\u2019s Finance Department, however, predicted an 80% decline for restaurants and bars in March, 50% in April and May, 70% in June, 50% in July and 30% in August.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">A snapshot of Colorado\u2019s restaurant industry for part of April led the National Restaurant Association to conclude that 173,000 of Colorado\u2019s restaurant and bar employees were either laid off or furloughed since the coronavirus outbreak in March.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The surveys, conducted by the Colorado Restaurant Association and National Restaurant Association, also found that:<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText ListBullet\">\u2022 91% of Colorado restaurant operators laid off or furloughed employees since March, and another 21% anticipate laying off or furloughing more employees in the next 30 days;<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText ListBullet\">\u2022 98% of Colorado restaurant operators said their total dollar sales volume during the period from April 1 to 10 was lower than it was during the same period in 2019;<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText ListBullet\">\u2022 53% of Colorado operators said they temporarily closed their restaurant since March;<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText ListBullet\">\u2022 2% said they had permanently closed their restaurant since March.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">For the owners of another corner cafe in downtown Aspen, this one a mainstay for more than three decades, the level of uncertainty was the main reason they shut down before the public orders came down.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe didn\u2019t know what the right thing was to do, let alone about the money,\u201d said Mark Patterson, co-owner of Paradise Bakery at Cooper Street and Galena Avenue. \u201cBut it has been a good time to learn about things and all of the different precautions we need to take.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The bakery, which is normally open year-round, reopened last week. Health care mantras such as regularly washing hands, wearing a mask in public and maintaining a distance of at least 6 feet from someone else are now routine, Patterson said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Paradise didn\u2019t apply for <a id=\"N0x2b59ff0N0x29f2740:N0x2b59ff0N0x2b3bc40\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspens-next-1m-for-rent-relief-being-rolled-out-for-residents\/\">rent relief from the city,<\/a> which set up a $1 million fund to help businesses pay their rent. The arrangement has the city, tenant and landlord paying one-third of the monthly rent for as many as three months during the April-to-July period.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It did, however, get some <a id=\"N0x2b59ff0N0x29f2800:N0x2b59ff0N0x2b3bd60\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/aspens-economy-temporarily-propped-up-by-feds\/\">help through the Paycheck Protection Program<\/a>, which is part of the $349 billion CARES Act relief package.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Patterson, however, said that because Paradise applied immediately for PPP relief, it received the money while it was closed. The PPP program only forgives the loans if the recipient spends 75% of the money on paying employees within the first eight weeks or receiving the funds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">That\u2019s what Paradise did and is doing, Patterson said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThere\u2019s incentive to spend it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">\u2018NORMAL\u2019 APRIL<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">As disastrous as March was \u2014 and there\u2019s really no downplaying its toll on restaurants, if you ask locals in the business \u2014 April seemed to be better, said Tom Engelman, who runs a food-delivery service.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe all lost a lot of money in March, but April was on par with Aprils past,\u201d he said. \u201cWe did pretty well compared to other Aprils.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The \u00e0 la Car delivery service has about 35 participating restaurants, and visitors and second-home owners are its customer base, he said. Aspen has been primarily a locals town, Engelman noted, as Americans more or less have been stationed at home because of sheltering orders. It\u2019s also offseason, and all of Colorado <a id=\"N0x2b59ff0N0x29f29e0:N0x2b59ff0N0x29b7108\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/surreal-sunday-aspen-skiing-co-staff-mountain-visitors-react-to-ski-area-closures\/\">ski areas have been closed<\/a> since March 15 under a governor\u2019s order.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cAt this time of the year there are only locals, but we are having a lot of repeat customers who are long-term customers,\u201d Engelman said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Grateful Deli owner Glenn Wood has kept the Main Street restaurant open since the health orders came down; his business wasn\u2019t as affected because the dine-in seating he had available was just a couple of tables outside.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cSales are down,\u201d he said, \u201cbut we were able to keep people working.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">With construction activity resuming in late March, Grateful Deli enjoyed an increase in business, he said. Wood said there was no need to apply for the city\u2019s loan relief program because his landlord has been accommodating and flexible. The deli also has prepared meals once or twice a week for the local incident management team for the coronavirus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cSales have been down but when you think about it, ski season would have just ended (by mid April) and this is kind of where we are at this point anyway,\u201d he said. \u201cIt has certainly been an interesting process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:rcarroll@aspentimes.com\">rcarroll@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/orders-from-governments-not-customers-rock-aspen-area-restaurants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>People order from the porch of the Bear Den Aspen on Tuesday, May 5, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times The owners and management at Bear Den Aspen anticipated ample challenges when they opened the downtown cafe in the middle of February, but nothing like the global pandemic that has battered the restaurant [&hellip;]<\/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-2458282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-17 17:36:13","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&#039;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\/2458282","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=2458282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458282\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2458282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2458282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2458282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}