Pitkin County approves Greenway Foundation special-events liquor permit after procedural reconsideration

Pitkin County commissioners on Aug. 5 approved a special-events liquor permit for the Greenway Foundation to host a ticketed lunch on Aug. 10 at the Elk Mountain Lodge launch.

The board initially voted to approve the application but then paused the action after the chair realized the public-hearing portion of the liquor-license review had not been opened. The board reconvened the special meeting, opened the public hearing and took a second recorded vote that affirmed approval.

Sam Engen, the county’s liquor-licensing coordinator, told the board the application listed Aug. 10, 11 a.m.–3 p.m., and that the event is ticketed with plans to shuttle guests from Aspen. “It is a public event and then they’re shuttling folks from Aspen up to the Elk Mountain Lodge,” Engen said during the presentation.

Applicant Barbara Rudolph, who joined remotely, described the event operator as a culinary pop-up maker and said this would be her group’s first Aspen event. “We are planning a three-hour lunch on the Elk Mountain Lodge property,” Rudolph said, adding the event will be intimate and likely much smaller than the 100 invited shown on the application.

The board confirmed the nonprofit is eligible for the permit under state special-event rules — staff noted nonprofits may hold up to 15 state-issued special-event liquor permits in a calendar year and the application listed this as the organization’s 14th such permit.

With no members of the public offering comment during the reopened hearing, a commissioner moved to approve the permit, a second was offered and the board approved the application by voice vote. The clerk will notify the state of the local licensing authority’s decision.

Next steps: The board recessed the special meeting and returned to its regular work session.