The Red Onion
Encyclopedia
The Red Onion is a restaurant located on East Cooper Avenue in Aspen
, Colorado
, United States
. It is the oldest restaurant in the city, housed in a three-story red brick Italianate
building dating to the late 19th century. In 1987 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
as "New Brick–The Brick Saloon", along with other historic properties in the city.
It began as a saloon opened by an early city alderman
; at one point its upper floors were reportedly home to a brothel
. In its early years it was one of three dining establishments in Aspen. It retains much of its original interior, including a bullet hole in the bar. As the city became a popular ski resort, it hosted musical performances by, among others, Billie Holiday
and John Denver
. It continued operating under various owners for 115 years until closing for structural renovations for three years in the late 2000s.
of the street is a pedestrian mall
, with brick walkways on either side and mature trees on either side of a small tributary of the Roaring Fork River
. Tables are often located in front of the restaurant in warmer months.
Around the building, the surrounding neighborhood consists primarily of a mix of historic and modern commercial buildings, most one or two stories high. Rubey Park is to the west, a large open area between South Mill and South Monarch streets. The Wheeler Opera House
, an Aspen landmark also listed on the Register, is around the corner at South Mill and East Hyman. A block to the southeast is the base station and gondola
of the Aspen Mountain
ski area.
The building itself is a three-bay
, two-and-a-half-story brick structure topped with a roof sloping gently to the north. Its south (front) facade
has a three-section glass storefront with wooden dividers. The main entrance is at the east. Above each section is a rectangular transom, eight panes in the larger western section and four in the other two. It is topped with a wooden dentilled and modillioned cornice
.
Three round-arched windows mark the second story. Their lower sections have one-over-one double-hung sash window
s and black wooden sills. Projecting bricks form another modillioned cornice which serves as a springline for the arches, and goes around them.
At the roofline is another modillioned and dentilled cornice with ornate brackets
supporting a broad overhanging eave. In the center is a small pediment
with scroll brackets on the side. "1892" in gold lettering is in the entablature
, surrounded by more decorations, and "T. LATTA", for the original owner, is below. Finial
s with spherical tops are on either end.
The side and rear facades are largely unfenestrated. Along the east side, "RED ONION" is written in golden vertical letters. The interior has its original pressed tin ceiling, bar and backbar, and clay tile floor. The latter is similar to that found at another Register-listed Aspen landmark, the Hotel Jerome
at Main and Mill. It is believed that the two small Hungarian gypsy figurines over the bar, which still has the bullet hole left from an accidental discharge
by a city policeman in 1899, are original as well. In the basement is the entrance to a tunnel that once led to a nearby bank building.
of the 1880s; by 1890, it had reached a population of around 10,000. Two years after that, alderman
Tom Latta built the unnamed brick structure on East Cooper Avenue and opened a saloon (and possibly a brothel
on the upper floors). At that time it was a standalone building, with vacant lots on either side.
It quickly became popular. The early clientele were miners and other local mean interested in then-popular sports such as bicycling, boxing
and wrestling
. It was one of only three places to buy a meal in the city. Known at first as just "the brick saloon" or "the new brick saloon", it was soon referred to as "the red onion", a contemporary colloquialism meaning something rare and unique, similar to what "white elephant
" means today. Patrons were served Monongahela
rye and Crab Orchard whiskey to accompany their billiards
matches.
After the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act
in response to the Panic of 1893
, Aspen's prosperity rapidly faded. Many of its residents left town, and buildings from the boom era fell vacant. Many eventually succumbed to fire and neglect. The Red Onion remained open through a period now referred to as the city's "quiet years". In 1918 it was purchased by Tim Kelleher, who kept it open through Prohibition
by serving sandwiches.
Interest in Aspen as the site of a recreational Alpine skiing
area began in the late 1930s but was put on hold during World War II
. After the conflict, one veteran of the Army's Tenth Mountain Division, which had done some of its early training in the area, returned to Aspen and bought the building from Kelleher in 1946. During those years, Ernest Schwiebert
recalled later, "Aspen was still pretty much a ghost town ... [and] the saloon was clearly the social fulcrum of the town."
The veteran, Tom Litchfield, made the Red Onion the building's formal name and remodeled it. It became a popular place in the growing resort's après-ski
scene, and hosted musical performances as well. Billie Holiday
gave a notable performance at the bar in the years after this.
A new owner, Werner Kuester, built on this during the 1960s. He added a gourmet restaurant and performance space in a building next door. Many more musicians played the Red Onion during this time, as Aspen became a favored getaway of many Hollywood celebrities. John Denver
, who would make Aspen his home and later wrote several songs about the area, was one performer.
In the late 1970s East Cooper Avenue was closed to vehicles and converted into a pedestrian mall
. Several different restaurants occupied the space in the early 1980s, including for a time an outlet of the Red Robin
hamburger chain. (Kuster sold the Onion in 1979 and currently lives in retirement in Tucson, AZ.) In the 1990s, its front space was converted to retail use, and an awning stood in front of its entrance.
After several extensions, the building's owners terminated the restaurant's lease in 2006, and it closed early in the following year. At that time the Red Onion had been serving food and drink for 115 years continuously, making it the oldest such establishment in Aspen. Efforts to reopen it began soon afterwards.
Scott DeGraff, another local restauranteur, assumed the lease and began renovating the interior of the closed building. That work stopped in late 2008, and the following year the lease was terminated as financial difficulties, including lien
s and lawsuits against DeGraff over unpaid debts, and the slow economy. Other operators were interested, and eventually Jennifer Colosi and her brother Thomas, formerly chef/owner of the Blue Maize, another Aspen restaurant, signed a 15-year lease and finished the renovations, which Jennifer Colosi called "The Red Onion on steroids." It reopened in 2010.
Jennifer Colosi said they had no plans to change the name or use of the building. "Why would we take 100 years of branding and change it?" The menu is a largely Southwestern
fare of meat dishes and sandwiches for lunch and dinner, with closing scheduled for 1 a.m. nightly. Breakfast, including dishes the Red Onion had traditionally served such as steak and eggs and chicken and waffles
, is available at any time. Thomas Colosi added some of his more successful dishes from the Blue Maize, such as jalapeño popper
s, steak diablo and ribeye
and lobster rellenos
. Late that year the Colosis resumed the Red Onion's musical traditions with a weekly open mike
night built around scheduled performances by local musicians.
Aspen, Colorado
The City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is the oldest restaurant in the city, housed in a three-story red brick Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
building dating to the late 19th century. In 1987 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as "New Brick–The Brick Saloon", along with other historic properties in the city.
It began as a saloon opened by an early city alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
; at one point its upper floors were reportedly home to a brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
. In its early years it was one of three dining establishments in Aspen. It retains much of its original interior, including a bullet hole in the bar. As the city became a popular ski resort, it hosted musical performances by, among others, Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
and John Denver
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...
. It continued operating under various owners for 115 years until closing for structural renovations for three years in the late 2000s.
Building
The Red Onion is located on the north side of East Cooper, midway between South Galena and South Mill streets. That blockCity block
A city block, urban block or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. A city block is the smallest area that is surrounded by streets. City blocks are the space for buildings within the street pattern of a city, they form the basic unit of a city's urban fabric...
of the street is a pedestrian mall
Pedestrian mall
Pedestrian malls in the United States are also known as pedestrian streets and are the most common form of pedestrian zone in large cities in the United States. It is a street lined with storefronts and closed off to most automobile traffic...
, with brick walkways on either side and mature trees on either side of a small tributary of the Roaring Fork River
Roaring Fork River
Roaring Fork River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in west central Colorado in the United States. The river drains a populated and economically vital area of the Colorado Western Slope called the Roaring Fork Valley or Roaring Fork Watershed, which includes the resort...
. Tables are often located in front of the restaurant in warmer months.
Around the building, the surrounding neighborhood consists primarily of a mix of historic and modern commercial buildings, most one or two stories high. Rubey Park is to the west, a large open area between South Mill and South Monarch streets. The Wheeler Opera House
Wheeler Opera House
The Wheeler Opera House is located at the corner of East Hyman Avenue and South Mill Street in Aspen, Colorado, United States. It is a stone building erected during the 1890s, from a design by Willoughby J. Edbrooke...
, an Aspen landmark also listed on the Register, is around the corner at South Mill and East Hyman. A block to the southeast is the base station and gondola
Gondola lift
A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, normally called a cable car, which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal,...
of the Aspen Mountain
Aspen Mountain (ski area)
Aspen Mountain is a ski area located in Pitkin County, Colorado, just outside and above the city of Aspen. It is situated on the north flank of Aspen Mountain and the higher Bell Mountain at an elevation of 11,212 ft just to the south of Aspen Mountain...
ski area.
The building itself is a three-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
, two-and-a-half-story brick structure topped with a roof sloping gently to the north. Its south (front) facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
has a three-section glass storefront with wooden dividers. The main entrance is at the east. Above each section is a rectangular transom, eight panes in the larger western section and four in the other two. It is topped with a wooden dentilled and modillioned cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
.
Three round-arched windows mark the second story. Their lower sections have one-over-one double-hung sash window
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
s and black wooden sills. Projecting bricks form another modillioned cornice which serves as a springline for the arches, and goes around them.
At the roofline is another modillioned and dentilled cornice with ornate brackets
Bracket (architecture)
A bracket is an architectural member made of wood, stone, or metal that overhangs a wall to support or carry weight. It may also support a statue, the spring of an arch, a beam, or a shelf. Brackets are often in the form of scrolls, and can be carved, cast, or molded. They can be entirely...
supporting a broad overhanging eave. In the center is a small pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
with scroll brackets on the side. "1892" in gold lettering is in the entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
, surrounded by more decorations, and "T. LATTA", for the original owner, is below. Finial
Finial
The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...
s with spherical tops are on either end.
The side and rear facades are largely unfenestrated. Along the east side, "RED ONION" is written in golden vertical letters. The interior has its original pressed tin ceiling, bar and backbar, and clay tile floor. The latter is similar to that found at another Register-listed Aspen landmark, the Hotel Jerome
Hotel Jerome
The Hotel Jerome is located on East Main Street in Aspen, Colorado, United States. It is a brick structure built in the 1880s that is often described as one of the city's major landmarks, its "crown jewel". In 1986 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places...
at Main and Mill. It is believed that the two small Hungarian gypsy figurines over the bar, which still has the bullet hole left from an accidental discharge
Accidental discharge
Accidental discharge is the event of a firearm discharging at a time not intended by the user. Perhaps most commonly, accidental discharges occur when the trigger of the firearm is deliberately pulled for a purpose other than shooting—dry-fire practice, demonstration,...
by a city policeman in 1899, are original as well. In the basement is the entrance to a tunnel that once led to a nearby bank building.
History
First settled in 1879, Aspen grew rapidly during the Colorado Silver BoomColorado Silver Boom
The Colorado Silver Boom was a dramatic expansionist period of silver mining activity in the U.S. state of Colorado in the late 19th century. The boom started in 1879 with the discovery of silver at Leadville...
of the 1880s; by 1890, it had reached a population of around 10,000. Two years after that, alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
Tom Latta built the unnamed brick structure on East Cooper Avenue and opened a saloon (and possibly a brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
on the upper floors). At that time it was a standalone building, with vacant lots on either side.
It quickly became popular. The early clientele were miners and other local mean interested in then-popular sports such as bicycling, boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
. It was one of only three places to buy a meal in the city. Known at first as just "the brick saloon" or "the new brick saloon", it was soon referred to as "the red onion", a contemporary colloquialism meaning something rare and unique, similar to what "white elephant
White elephant
A white elephant is an idiom for a valuable but burdensome possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost is out of proportion to its usefulness or worth...
" means today. Patrons were served Monongahela
Monongahela
Monongahela may refer to:*Monongahela, Pennsylvania*Monongahela National Forest*Monongahela , a 1988 album by The Oak Ridge Boys*Monongahela , a genus of fish*Monongahela River, a waterway*Monongahela tribe, a Native American group...
rye and Crab Orchard whiskey to accompany their billiards
Billiards
Cue sports , also known as billiard sports, are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber .Historically, the umbrella term was billiards...
matches.
After the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act
Sherman Silver Purchase Act
The Sherman Silver Purchase Act was enacted on July 14, 1890 as a United States federal law. It was named after its author, Senator John Sherman, an Ohio Republican, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee...
in response to the Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
, Aspen's prosperity rapidly faded. Many of its residents left town, and buildings from the boom era fell vacant. Many eventually succumbed to fire and neglect. The Red Onion remained open through a period now referred to as the city's "quiet years". In 1918 it was purchased by Tim Kelleher, who kept it open through Prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
by serving sandwiches.
Interest in Aspen as the site of a recreational Alpine skiing
Alpine skiing
Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...
area began in the late 1930s but was put on hold during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After the conflict, one veteran of the Army's Tenth Mountain Division, which had done some of its early training in the area, returned to Aspen and bought the building from Kelleher in 1946. During those years, Ernest Schwiebert
Ernest Schwiebert
Ernest George Schwiebert, Ph.D. was born in Chicago on June 5, 1931. An architect by profession, Ernest "Ernie" Schwiebert was a renowned angler and angling author...
recalled later, "Aspen was still pretty much a ghost town ... [and] the saloon was clearly the social fulcrum of the town."
The veteran, Tom Litchfield, made the Red Onion the building's formal name and remodeled it. It became a popular place in the growing resort's après-ski
Après-ski
Après-ski refers to going out, having drinks, dancing, and generally socializing after skiing. It is popular in the Alps, where skiers often stop at bars on their last run of the day while still wearing all their ski gear. The concept is similar to the nineteenth hole in golf. This can also...
scene, and hosted musical performances as well. Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
gave a notable performance at the bar in the years after this.
A new owner, Werner Kuester, built on this during the 1960s. He added a gourmet restaurant and performance space in a building next door. Many more musicians played the Red Onion during this time, as Aspen became a favored getaway of many Hollywood celebrities. John Denver
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...
, who would make Aspen his home and later wrote several songs about the area, was one performer.
In the late 1970s East Cooper Avenue was closed to vehicles and converted into a pedestrian mall
Pedestrian mall
Pedestrian malls in the United States are also known as pedestrian streets and are the most common form of pedestrian zone in large cities in the United States. It is a street lined with storefronts and closed off to most automobile traffic...
. Several different restaurants occupied the space in the early 1980s, including for a time an outlet of the Red Robin
Red Robin
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers is a chain of casual dining restaurants founded in 1969 in Seattle, Washington, and now headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.-History:...
hamburger chain. (Kuster sold the Onion in 1979 and currently lives in retirement in Tucson, AZ.) In the 1990s, its front space was converted to retail use, and an awning stood in front of its entrance.
After several extensions, the building's owners terminated the restaurant's lease in 2006, and it closed early in the following year. At that time the Red Onion had been serving food and drink for 115 years continuously, making it the oldest such establishment in Aspen. Efforts to reopen it began soon afterwards.
Scott DeGraff, another local restauranteur, assumed the lease and began renovating the interior of the closed building. That work stopped in late 2008, and the following year the lease was terminated as financial difficulties, including lien
Lien
In law, a lien is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation...
s and lawsuits against DeGraff over unpaid debts, and the slow economy. Other operators were interested, and eventually Jennifer Colosi and her brother Thomas, formerly chef/owner of the Blue Maize, another Aspen restaurant, signed a 15-year lease and finished the renovations, which Jennifer Colosi called "The Red Onion on steroids." It reopened in 2010.
Jennifer Colosi said they had no plans to change the name or use of the building. "Why would we take 100 years of branding and change it?" The menu is a largely Southwestern
Cuisine of the Southwestern United States
The Cuisine of the Southwestern United States is food styled after the rustic cooking of the Southwestern United States. It is also known to be very popular in the west coast state of California...
fare of meat dishes and sandwiches for lunch and dinner, with closing scheduled for 1 a.m. nightly. Breakfast, including dishes the Red Onion had traditionally served such as steak and eggs and chicken and waffles
Chicken and waffles
Chicken and waffles is a dish combining waffles, a breakfast food, with fried chicken. It is served in certain specialty restaurants in the United States....
, is available at any time. Thomas Colosi added some of his more successful dishes from the Blue Maize, such as jalapeño popper
Jalapeño popper
Jalapeño poppers are jalapeño peppers that have been hollowed out, stuffed with a mixture of cheese, spices, and sometimes ground meat. They are either then breaded and deep fried or prepared unbreaded, wrapped in bacon, and baked or grilled...
s, steak diablo and ribeye
Rib eye steak
The rib eye or ribeye, also known as the Scotch fillet , is a beef steak from the rib section.The rib section of beef spans from ribs six through twelve. Ribeye steaks are mostly composed of the Longissimus dorsi muscle but also contain the Complexus and Spinalis muscles.- External links :* * * * *...
and lobster rellenos
Chile relleno
The chile relleno, literally "stuffed chile," is a dish of Mexican cuisine that originated in the city of Puebla. It consists of a roasted fresh poblano pepper , sometimes substituted with non-traditional Hatch green chile, Anaheim, pasilla or even jalapeño chili pepper...
. Late that year the Colosis resumed the Red Onion's musical traditions with a weekly open mike
Open mike
An open mike or open mic is a live show where audience members may perform at the microphone. Usually, the performers sign up in advance for a time slot with the host or master of ceremonies. These events can be focused on poetry and the spoken word, music, comedy, and the open format of open...
night built around scheduled performances by local musicians.