7908 Aspen supper club closes to ‘rebrand and remodel’
A downtown restaurant/nightclub/bar hailed as the first supper club to open in Aspen became its first one to close when it shut down earlier this month.
Called 7908 Aspen, the upscale, underground establishment debuted in July 2018 on the Hyman Avenue pedestrian mall. It took up about 6,000 square feet, with a lounge for dancing and DJ music and a fine-dining restaurant under the same roof.
“Each night, 7908 celebrates its mantra of Eat, Drink and Dance by mixing ‘elevated comfort food’ with a renowned Spirits and Wine program and the very best in live DJ performances and high-end ‘bottle list’ service,” is how 7908’s website described the establishment.
The 7908 company announced April 6 on Instagram that after April 16, the restaurant, which named after Aspen’s elevation, “will take the summer to rebrand and renovate.”
Responding to an email regarding the closure, a publicist for 7908 issued the following statement Wednesday: “After four outstanding years as Aspen’s first supper club and serving thousands of guests globally inspired food by Executive Chef Byron Gomez, inventive, theatrical cocktails by Spirits Director Matt Corbin, world-class wine by Master Sommelier Jonathan Pullis, and endless hours of entertainment by Kid Kamillion, 7908 closed its doors in mid-April.
“We will take the summer to rebrand and remodel. We’re incredibly proud of what we have built and look forward to revealing our exciting future plans when the time is right. We thank all of our regulars — locals and visitors alike — for making our dining room, bar, and lounge one of the highest energy places in Aspen.”
The company did not respond to a follow-up email with more questions.
Gomez, executive chef of 7908 Aspen since June 2019, gained national attention last year when he was a contestant in the popular Bravo TV show “Top Chef: Portland.”
Partnering with the Souki family, Hollywood actor and singer Roger Wilson was the face of the restaurant when it debuted.
“I would hope this place could be a bit of a theater that suspends the reality of how different Aspen is now than it was 35 years ago,” he said during in an interview with The Aspen Times in 2018. “I want to bring that wonderful mix of locals and visitors that comes together in the right way; not only did you have a great night but there were stories of substance.”
State liquor license records show Wilson was a member of 7908 Aspen LLC starting in May 2018 before that role ended in February 2020. Pullis currently is listed as a member, along with Charif Souki. Brooke Peterson is listed as the LLC’s chair and the Souki Family Trust as its owner. The liquor license expires May 1, according to public records.
Peterson forwarded questions to Ajax Holdings, of which he, Souki family members and other individuals are principals, and which also owns the space used by 7908.
An investigative series finding Pitkin County received the highest amount of direct pandemic aid per capita than any other Colorado county also noted that 7908 received more than $2.7 million in pandemic relief funds.
The Denver Post reported earlier this week that “dinner and dancing were a tough mix to pull off amid the most severe pandemic restrictions, so 7908 Aspen, a late-night supper club named after the city’s elevation, faced nearly two years of challenges. The Post’s data shows the business received nearly $720,000 in PPP money and nearly $2 million from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, a program aimed at replenishing lost revenue.”
