Carol Breen used to make silver jewelry at her house. This fall she works from a studio across the street from the Wheeler Opera House, at 315 E. Hyman Ave., in the building that once held Eric's Bar and later Gravity Haus. She told the Aspen Daily News that the space has let her experiment more, and that she hopes to launch a jewelry collection by December.
That December target is one of several deadlines built into the building now called ThreeFifteen. The studios are leased for a year, each artist residency lasts six months, and the newest evening program started as a pilot. Nearly everything that makes the building feel local comes with an end date, because the whole project was set up to show that locals can hold a prime downtown building and make the numbers work. This off-season is the first time most of the valley can walk in and judge the result.
A Newspaper's Move Grew Into a Whole Building
The project started with an office search. The Aspen Daily News reported that when the paper was sold to Hoffmann Media Group in February, the new owners chose not to renew the lease on the newsroom's longtime offices at 625 E. Hyman Ave. Publisher David Cook went looking for what he called a "soft landing." He asked developer Mark Hunt about leasing a couple of the empty offices at 315 E. Hyman.
Hunt suggested something bigger: take on much of the building and build something new around it. Cook, now one of ThreeFifteen's partners, went the other way from the downtown trend. Most landlords chase national and international tenants. He filled the building with locally run businesses and community space.
"We wanted to set out to prove that locals could do something that was as reliable and meaningful, both from an output perspective as well as a well-curated perspective. We're really hoping to shift the trend back towards favoring locals for these important buildings in downtown Aspen."
David Cook, as quoted in the Aspen Daily News
Cook gave the landlord the credit. In the same report, he said the Hunt family could have gone after much larger commercial tenants and backed the local concept anyway. Hunt said seeing the building "come back to life and become a place where people want to spend time has been really rewarding." A grand opening was set for Sept. 17, from 4 to 8 p.m., and by Oct. 8 the building was announcing its own evening programs.
What You'll Find on a Weekday
Here is what's in the building now, with hours as each business lists them. Off-season schedules change, so check before you head over.
| Tenant | What it is | Listed hours |
|---|---|---|
| Eddy's Marketplace | Coffee, grab-and-go, groceries, gifts | Daily, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on off-season hours starting Oct. 14 |
| Eddy's Kitchen, Sit & Stay | All-day sit-down menu, coffee bar, cocktails, beer and wine | Thursday to Monday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., happy hour 4 to 6 p.m. |
| Mischief Vintage | Curated vintage and artisan clothing, Suite #5 | Daily, "11 to 7ish" |
| Aspen Arts Club | Artist studios and a programming room | Event-based |
| The Grove | Downstairs event space where Eric's Bar used to be | Event-based |
| Tattoo Aspen | Tattoo studio | Not listed |
Sisters Liz and Sondra Savickas run both of the upstairs food and drink spaces. They were already planning a neighborhood market when they heard in May that Cook was putting together a local concept. The Daily News article calls their two businesses Eddy's Market and Eddy's Sit and Stay. On their own site they go by Eddy's Marketplace and Eddy's Kitchen.
The food is plain on purpose. Liz Savickas described it to the paper as "all-American," an all-day menu that's "very approachable": salads, sandwiches, wraps, chicken Parmesan, meatball subs, family recipes and rotating specials. Eddy's own menu also lists avocado toast, house-made quiche, a Chicken Caesar Parm Crunch Wrap and the signature Eddy salad. The Marketplace says its chicken salad is the thing to grab on your way up the mountain. Eddy's is at 970-281-4207, and the Eddy's website has the current menu and hours.
Savickas described the building to the Daily News as something like a downtown block party: get a coffee, run into a friend, meet an artist working upstairs, catch an event downstairs. The artists upstairs and the programs downstairs are on fixed terms.
The Deadlines Built Into the Building
Tim Sack founded Buckhorn Public Arts, the organization behind several large public art projects around Aspen. When Cook approached him, Sack was already talking with donors Mark Pincus and Hilary Shaw about a long-running problem for working artists in town: finding space they can afford. With Pincus and Shaw's support, Buckhorn leased eight offices at ThreeFifteen for a year and turned them into rent-free studios for eight artists. Sack estimated that six of the eight had never had a dedicated studio before.
The building's local character depends on these time limits:
- The studio lease runs one year. Buckhorn's eight offices are leased for 12 months.
- Each residency lasts six months. So the studios can turn over at least once within that lease.
- Breen's collection is aimed at December. It is one of the first public products to come out of the studios.
- Teen Art Night was a pilot. It was scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 15, and organizers said it would become monthly if it worked.
The Aspen Arts Club's residency page currently lists seven artists: Rae Lampe, Kendra Lauren, Jamison Menard, Carol Breen, Abril Ere, Aggie Flores and Axel Livingston. Kendra Lauren makes custom hats in her studio. Breen's jewelry is headed for its first collection.
Teen Art Night was billed with art led by Rae Lampe, plus gaming, a movie and snacks for students in grades 9 through 12. Scot Woolley is organizing the event with Lampe and Sack. He told the Aspen Daily News that "Aspen has a lot for little kids and a lot for adults, and not much in between." Admission was set at $20, with scholarships on request and walk-ups welcome. Whether that pilot turns into a monthly night is one of the first real tests of whether The Grove can become a regular stop.
Between Now and Nov. 26
Aspen Snowmass has scheduled Aspen Mountain to open Nov. 26 and Aspen Highlands to open Dec. 12, both depending on conditions, according to The Aspen Times. Until then, ThreeFifteen runs at off-season pace. The Marketplace closes at 4 p.m., and the Kitchen is open Thursday through Monday. These weeks are the quietest the building will be all year, and they make the easiest window to meet the artists upstairs before the ski crowds arrive.
Buckhorn also runs The Grove, the flexible downstairs room where Eric's Bar once was. The Daily News reported that it has already hosted comedy, yoga, breathwork and private gatherings. A speaker series, receptions and larger branded events are possibilities that don't have dates yet. Cook called it a "one-of-one" space in Aspen. The Aspen Arts Club describes a 2,000-square-foot programming room and invites local practitioners to teach a skill, lead a class or host a meetup. If you have something to teach, the club's programming page explains how to get involved.
Some of the building's tenants go back further than ThreeFifteen. Tattoo Aspen stayed on through the change. Longtime Aspen businesses have moved into the offices and coworking space alongside the Daily News newsroom. Elsewhere downtown, the owners of the toy and gift shop Aspen Eclectic at 635 E. Cooper Ave. said they would close on Sept. 4 as their lease neared its end, the Aspen Daily News reported. Both stories turn on lease terms. At ThreeFifteen the terms were written to give local tenants room, and Buckhorn's studio lease covers one year.
If ThreeFifteen has you thinking about which parts of downtown Aspen stay in local hands and what that means for the blocks around them, I'm always glad to talk it through over a coffee from Eddy's. Jordie Karlinski knows this town from the inside, and I'm happy to share what I'm seeing. Let's Connect.
