Lost Planet: Store finally calls it quits

The sorry saga of Aspen’s Planet Hollywood has finally come to an end.

Less than seven years after opening with great hoopla and fanfare, the one-time restaurant and memorabilia shop closed in recent weeks with hardly a peep. A notice on the door at 312 S. Galena simply says, “This store is now closed.”

The public relations office at the corporation’s New York headquarters didn’t return a message for comment Friday on their lost planet.

Planet Hollywood never really seemed to catch on in Aspen. The popular belief was that it didn’t cater enough to locals.

The restaurant closed after the 1997-98 ski season. The corporation then operated what was probably the world’s most expensive T-shirt and memorabilia shop.

A source familiar with terms of the lease claims Planet Hollywood is locked into a long-term agreement for $30,000 per month for the ground and upper floors of a building owned by Andre Ulrych. It’s unknown if that rent can be reduced, since the business failed.

Ulrych Properties has a sign on the old Planet Hollywood door giving a telephone number for information about renting the space.

There have also been persistent rumors that Ulrych has the prime commercial spot up for sale, but he has repeatedly denied to The Aspen Times that the building is on the market.