La Cantina in Aspen was packed Wednesday afternoon and owner Darren Chapple was getting ready for a $125-a-person New Year’s Eve party for 200 guests.
Then the police called and suggested he evacuate the restaurant because of a bomb threat. Few of the staff or customers wanted to leave, so Chapple stayed open.
But police called again about 5:30 p.m. and insisted that he evacuate. Chapple had no choice but to excuse customers’ bills and cancel the party.
“From a business standpoint, it hurts to lose the money,” he said. “But it’s more discomforting to know people were displaced. A lot of people were inconvenienced, with no place to go.”
Chapple estimates his losses at more than $25,000 on what surely would have been his busiest night of the year. Aspen officials said businesses lost millions of dollars after a 16-block section of downtown was evacuated on New Year’s Eve.
The city of Aspen said it would launch its New Year’s fireworks a day late, and many out-of-town guests were expected to celebrate the New Year on Thursday night, said Debbie Braun, president and chief executive of the Aspen Chamber Resort Association.
New Year’s Eve isn’t just one of the two busiest nights of the year in Aspen, rivaled only by Halloween, bar owners said. It’s also among the most profitable because more money is spent on alcohol.
Some Aspen restaurants outside the evacuation zone, such as Ruth’s Chris Steak House, did brisk business as customers shifted their plans.
Braun says visitors won’t make too much of the episode.
“Aspen over the years has had so many stories and flavors and characters,” she said. “It’s just one more for the record books.”
Greg Griffin: 303-954-1241 or ggriffin@denverpost.com
