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The Onion Rides Again!
The Red Onion regains its rightful place in the history of Aspen
By Tom Egan
When Tom Latta’s New Brick Saloon opened in 1892 it might be said that it was the yin to the Hotel Jerome’s yang, a classy gathering spot that nevertheless welcomed, and was frequented by, a decidedly blue-collar miner/rancher clientele. A workingman’s watering hole where one could get quality “Monongahela” rye or fine Crab Orchard whiskey, the New Brick also featured such boomtown enticements as billiards, pool and gambling and was well known for its fine furnishings and elegant fixtures. Even the entryway’s tile floor (still relatively intact) was a step up from wood.
The New Brick survived the silver bust in 1893 and went through a number of owners until becoming Kelleher’s in 1918. Tim and Nora Kelleher served sandwiches during Prohibition to stay in business, but when Tim died in 1945, Nora sold the business the next year to returning World War II and 10th Mountain Division veteran John Litchfield. A founder of the Aspen Ski School, Litchfield renamed it the Red Onion (the name was reportedly a nickname for the building) and an Aspen icon got a new lease on life.
With Aspen’s rebirth as a world-renowned ski resort after the war, Litchfield’s Onion became one of the most popular après ski venues in town. In the 1950s it was possible to ski right to the front door, where a lively scene played out daily after the lifts closed in “beer gulch,” as the bar area and adjoining few tables was known. When Werner Kuster and Arnold Senn bought it in 1953 and added another room and performance space on the east side of the existing restaurant in 1955 (now a separate business), the Onion entered its heyday as an energetic nightspot.
With regular performers like Glenn Yarborough and the Limeliters, John Denver, Freddie Fisher, the Smothers Brothers and even a famous appearance by Billie Holiday, the nightclub was hopping, the restaurant serving 650 to 850 dinners a night and employing about 100 people as the ’50s evolved into the ’70s. Throughout that time Aspen’s “social event of the season,” the annual hospital benefit dinner, was also held there when the regular steak-and-potatoes fare turned to wild game for a night.
By the late ’70s tongue-in-cheek Aspen State Teachers College would hold its annual “Freshman Mixer” at the Onion, and when David “Wabs” Walbert bought the restaurant in 1984 it became known for Aspen’s favorite meatloaf, Mexican food, burgers and well-attended Monday Night Football specials. After a recent and confusing three-year hiatus it feels like the town is whole once again as new owners Tom and Jennifer Colosi have restored and recently reopened the venerable eatery. Long live the Red Onion!
GO FIND IT !
Red Onion
420 E. Cooper Ave., Aspen
970.925.9955
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