Local restaurateur, partner chef set to take over Local Coffee, Alpina, and Here House space for new concept

One of the worst-kept secrets in town has officially been confirmed: Long-time local restaurateur Raphael Derly and partner chef Cédric Vongerichten have bought out the lease of former Local Coffee, Alpina, and Here House, at 614 E. Cooper Ave., from Candice Carpenter Olson and Michaela Carpenter and will take over the space on Monday, Feb. 26.

“I have been in love with the location since it was a boutique years ago and was a fan and frequent customer of Local Coffee, so I’ve always had a big crush on the space,” Derly said.

He has a long history in the restaurant industry that spans across his country of native France, Los Angeles, and Aspen.

Born in Marseille and raised in Aix en Provence, he grew up visiting his family’s chalet in the Swiss ski town of Villar-sur-Ollon where he fell in love with skiing and began competing as a ski racer, which had him traveling all around the Alps. He found his way to Aspen in 2006 after a fifteen-year stint in Los Angeles running Pastis, a Provencal-type bistro, and then opening tapas lounge L’Absynthe. In 2012, he opened the Alpine cuisine-based restaurant Creperie du Village, which is now French Alpine Bistro and is now owned and operated by his ex-wife Karin Derly.

“The restaurant business has been my life,” he said. “My whole family had restaurants in the south of France; I had two restaurants in Los Angeles and have been in the Aspen restaurant industry for almost 20 years now. I’m passionate about it and I’m passionate about Aspen.”

Derly got to know Cédric Vongerichten, the son of internationally-renowned chef and restaurateur Jean-Georges Vongerichten, after visiting his Indonesian concept restaurants in New York City and eventually, they became friends. Cédric Vongerichten – who has frequented Aspen many times and is set to do a pop-up for The Little Nell’s “Chef’s and Somms” series on March 20-23 – had expressed an interest in finding a space in Aspen to Derly.

“Cédric, who has restaurants in New York and Indonesia, said to me, ‘Aspen has been on my bucket list for years; it’s my dream to open a restaurant in Aspen.’ We wanted to do something together, so I started looking for spaces.” Derly said. “So when Candice, Michaela, and I first discussed me taking over their space, I thought this could be the perfect spot.”

The mother-daughter team of Candice Carpenter Olson and Michaela Carpenter has operated the space under various concepts, first as a boutique, then Local Coffee, transitioning into a restaurant Alpina and a private co-working space-slash-club, Here House along the way.

Carpenter Olson said that they started talking to Derly about the possibility of selling the business “almost a year ago,” but that they weren’t quite ready to let go of the social club arm of the business, Here House, which had become known as a community gathering place for music, events, and talks that spanned everything from psychedelics to business.

“Running both (Alpina and Here House) proved to be too challenging,” she said. “A good restaurant requires the whole space. Then Raphael came in very recently (around the end of November/ December) and said, ‘I don’t know if you guys would consider revisiting this.’ And we’re like, ‘Yeah, funny, we just decided we want to sell.'”

She noted that once the decision was made, there was interest from other parties, but they felt like Derly was the right choice because it was important for them that the space remained in local hands.

“There was also an interested local company, but Raphael is more of an independent local, and that’s an intention and goal that we set, that that beautiful space that had been so local, would continue to be local,” she said.

Derly admitted that his relationship with the landlord also helped.

“Tony Mazza who was my landlord at the Creperie for 12 years, we liked each other, so it was a perfect fit,” he said.

Carpenter Olson attributed the desire to move on to new adventures as the reason why they decided now was the right time to sell.

“For eight years, Michaela has had a lease on a business that she’s owned and operated in Aspen since she was 23. The number one reason is so she can have the chance to go and have some other experiences. She’s young, and for her to have another chapter is important,” she said. “I also just started a full-time Ph.D. program in philosophy, cosmology, and consciousness, and it’s very demanding, and I’m spending, you know, basically all my time on it. It was time for new adventures.”

She also said that as far as Here House, anyone who paid advance membership dues will be refunded, but that the concept will live on in the community through events that won’t be tied to one location.

“We wanted to go out on a really strong note, and I think because of this winter series around geopolitics and history, in addition to the psychedelic series in the summer, we feel really good,” she said. “We also feel excited that there are now more people in the community who have been part of Here House who want to keep it going. So it will live on.”

As for what we can expect from Derly and Vongerichten’s new venture, we will have to wait a little longer for the details.

Though Derly isn’t ready to disclose the overall concept, design, and menu of the restaurant quite yet, he did note that they hoped to be open by the end of June or early July if everything goes smoothly. He added that most of the major renovations will be to the kitchen to fit Vongerichten’s specifications, and the rest will be “mostly cosmetic.”

“The vibe of the space is great; everything about it is flowing,” Derly said. “The location is amazing. The outdoor courtyard is private and not on the street, so you’re not having lunch or dinner looking at traffic. Inside is spacious, just shy of 2,000 square feet. The high ceilings and light exposure are beautiful. This is going to be very unique. From the design from the front of the house, the back of the house, the menu and everything is gonna be very great. Cédric is such a talented chef, and everything he does with food is fresh and unique. So overall I couldn’t be more excited.”

Sarah Girgis is the Publisher for The Aspen Times. She can be reached at 970-429-9151 or sgirgis@aspentimes.com.