Aspen restaurants close for the off-season one at a time from late September onward. The quietest stretch falls in the second week of November. Then most of town reopens over about ten days before Aspen Mountain's scheduled Nov. 26 opening. A handful of the most formal rooms wait even longer and come back in December, after the lifts are already running.
If you know that order, November gets a lot easier to plan. The dates below come from posted fall 2026 schedules, mainly eatAspen's off-season guide, which updates daily, along with the restaurants' own sites where they've posted dates. Hours can change on short notice this time of year, so call before you drive anywhere.
This week's last calls
In the last days of October, a few places are still open but close within days. Grateful Deli on East Main closes Oct. 30 and reopens after Nov. 16. It has won the Local's Choice award for Best Sandwich Shop in Aspen every year since 2010, so if you want one of its sandwiches before mid-November, go this week. Jing on East Main serves through Oct. 30, closes Oct. 31, and reopens at 4:30 pm on Nov. 20.
Others have already closed. Kenichi closed Oct. 25 and is out through Nov. 3, which makes it one of the earliest to come back. Aosta and The Monarch both closed on 10/25 and are listed as closed through 11/26. Bad Harriet's break started Oct. 28 and runs to Nov. 26. French Alpine Bistro served its last night on Oct. 21.
The trough: Nov. 9 through Nov. 16
The posted schedules overlap the most in the second week of November. Between Nov. 9 and Nov. 16, all of these are closed or running reduced hours at the same time:
- The Little Nell's rooms. Ajax Tavern and Element 47 both list a seasonal closure of October 19 to November 19 on the hotel's own pages, and The Wine Bar is out through 11/20.
- Aspen Brewing Co. on South Galena closes 11/9 through 11/17.
- Grateful Deli is closed through Nov. 16. Ellina on East Hyman is closed through 11/12.
- Mt. Rubirosa at the base of the gondola, The Wild Fig on South Mill and Betula on East Cooper are all dark.
- West End Social at Aspen Meadows drops breakfast and lunch from Nov. 9 to Nov. 23 and opens at 2 pm. Meadows Cafe keeps 8 am to 3 pm in the meantime.
- Yuki on South Galena stays open but closes Tuesdays and Wednesdays through 11/18. Buck on East Cooper closes on Nov. 18 only.
Some breaks have no fixed dates yet. 520 Grill at Rio Grande Place plans a cleaning and repair closure of several days in early November, and Red Mountain Grill at the Aspen Golf Course expects to close for two weeks in early November. Neither has posted exact dates. Paradise Bakery's short break is set, Nov. 2 to Nov. 8, so it's back right as the slowest week starts.
Who carries November
These places stay open through the trough, and between them they cover most meals in a normal week.
Breakfast and lunch. Crepe Therapy Cafe on East Cooper is open daily from 7 am, until 5 pm Sunday through Thursday and 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Explore Books Cafe on East Main serves seven days a week from 9 am to 3 pm, and the bookstore stays open until 5. Café 73 at The Gant opened this summer and is now open Thursday through Monday, 7 am to 2 pm. Mawa's Kitchen at the Aspen Airport Business Center keeps breakfast and lunch on weekdays and brunch on weekends, but serves no dinner from Nov. 1 to Dec. 14. Mawita, next door, is closed until after Dec. 13. Big Wrap on East Durant is open weekdays from 10 to 6.
Quick and casual. CP Burger on East Durant is open all off-season, from 11 am to 6 pm Sunday through Thursday and to 7 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. The Golden Horn, which opened this summer underground on the Mill Street pedestrian mall, is listed as open 11 am to midnight daily. That makes it one of the latest kitchens in town in November. New York Pizza on East Hyman stays open. So do the three spots in Clark's Market Plaza: Bangkok Happy Bowl, Phatt Pho and Taco Piña. Hickory House Ribs on West Main serves 8 am to 2:30 pm and again 5 to 9 pm.
Dinner. Aspen Public House on East Hyman is open all off-season and switches to lunch and dinner six days a week starting the first week of November. Campo de Fiori on South Mill opens at 6 pm Tuesday through Saturday. Steakhouse No. 316, in an 1888 Victorian on East Hopkins, serves dinner nightly. Las Montanas has happy hour from 3 to 5 and dinner every night from 5, but no lunch again until mid-December. Acquolina Trattoria opens at 5:30 Tuesday through Saturday. Casa Tua serves dinner, plus lunch Friday through Sunday. Catch Steak has dinner on shorter hours. Clark's Oyster Bar is open 6 to 8:30 pm Monday through Thursday. Petit Trois on South Garmisch lists breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus weekend brunch. Both Sant Ambroeus locations are open. At the Hotel Jerome, the J Bar, Prospect and the Living Room are all open. Woody Creek Tavern is open downvalley.
Matsuhisa on East Main stays open in a split format. The downstairs is open all off-season. The upstairs room is closed from Oct. 6 to Dec. 11 except on Mondays, when it opens for Monday Night Football specials. The restaurant closes completely on Thanksgiving Day.
Belly Up's calendar keeps going through the slow weeks, if you want a show after dinner. Aspen Film's Rocky Horror Picture Show screening is Oct. 24. After that come Metalachi on Oct. 29, Digable Planets on Oct. 30, COCO & BREEZY on Oct. 31, The Black Angels on Nov. 14 and Bonobo on Nov. 20, with more dates on Belly Up's calendar.
The ten-day refill before the lifts
From Nov. 17 to Nov. 26, most of the closed restaurants come back. Aspen Mountain and Snowmass are scheduled to open Nov. 26, which is Thanksgiving Day. Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk follow on Dec. 12, according to Aspen Snowmass's season announcement. The restaurant dates line up with that opening:
| Back on or after | Restaurant | Posted schedule |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 4 | Kenichi | Closed Oct. 25 to Nov. 3 |
| Nov. 13 | Ellina | Closed 10/10 to 11/12 |
| Nov. 17 | Grateful Deli | Closed Oct. 30 to Nov. 16 |
| Nov. 18 | Aspen Brewing Co. | Closed 11/9 to 11/17 |
| Nov. 20 | Ajax Tavern, Element 47 | Closed Oct. 19 to Nov. 19, per The Little Nell |
| Nov. 20 | Jing | Reopens at 4:30 pm |
| Nov. 24 | Mt. Rubirosa | Closed through Nov. 23 |
| Nov. 24 | West End Social | Back to 7 am to 9 pm |
| Nov. 25 | French Alpine Bistro | Reopening 11/25 |
| Nov. 25 | Betula | Reopening Nov. 25, per Betula |
| Thanksgiving week | Aosta, The Monarch, Bad Harriet, The Wild Fig | Closures listed through Nov. 26 |
The Little Nell's two restaurants are back on Friday, Nov. 20, almost a week before the gondola is scheduled to start. Highlands Alehouse, at the base of Aspen Highlands, is listed as opening on Thanksgiving, even though the mountain behind it doesn't open until Dec. 12. Willow Creek Bistro at The Ritz-Carlton Club is closed until Thanksgiving week.
The December rooms
A short list of restaurants reopens after skiing has started. Most are among the more formal rooms in town.
Duemani on South Monarch closed Sept. 29 and reopens Dec. 4. Bosq on South Mill is closed through 12/10. Cache Cache closed after Saturday, Oct. 3, and reopens Friday, Dec. 11. PARC Aspen on East Hyman lists its off-season closure as October 11 through December 11, with the winter season starting December 12, 2026. Matsuhisa's upstairs room comes back on the same weekend. Meat & Cheese on East Hopkins closes Nov. 2 and is out through Dec. 9. Mawita is the last on the list and stays closed through Sunday, Dec. 13.
For Thanksgiving weekend, that means plenty of casual tables. If you want one of these rooms specifically, though, you'll need to book it for mid-December.
What's opening on the other side
Two new restaurants are listed for the start of winter. Le Cafe is listed as "coming December 2026" at 624 East Cooper Avenue. That's the ZigZag space, and before that it was Mezzaluna. ZigZag is closed for the off-season.
The second is larger. The Aspen Times reported on Oct. 20 that Guest House is aiming for a New Year's Eve grand opening in the former Madame Ushi space at 415 E. Hyman Ave. It's planned as a 220-seat restaurant and lounge serving dinner, cocktails, music and late-night entertainment year-round in its RSVP Lounge. According to the paper, Snowmass resident Cedric Gervais, a Grammy-winning DJ and producer, is partnering on the project with Raj Kumar, founder and CEO of RDM Hospitality. Guest House started in Austin in 2024 and has since opened in Las Vegas and Scottsdale. Aspen will be its first mountain-town location. It is described as a year-round concept, so it may still be open when next fall's closures come around.
If you're spending November weighing a renovation, a sale or your first winter here, I'm glad to meet over coffee at whichever of these places is open that week. Whitney McLaughlin works with buyers and sellers in Aspen and Snowmass all year, including the slow weeks. Let's Connect.
