On Oct. 12, the prospective buyers of Carl's Pharmacy and the Miners' Building hardware store wrote a letter to the stores' employees. They planned to keep the existing teams and "continue operating Carl's and Miners' as they have been." They were also candid about what came next: "It would be dishonest to say we don't have ideas for how the businesses could evolve, but we've intentionally made no plans at this time." The Aspen Daily News obtained the letter and reported the pending sale on Oct. 30.
The letter shows how a local shop actually stays in downtown Aspen. The city has a rule meant to protect places like these two stores, a city-backed land trust, and a few buildings the city owns itself. For these two stores, though, the decision rests with the buyers and what they choose to do. Anyone weighing a downtown location, either to run a business or to own the building it sits in, should understand that before reading a lease.
The deal is waiting on a federal license
Carl's Pharmacy at 306 E. Main St. opened in 1965. Miners' Building Hardware opened across Main Street in 1976. Carl and Katie Bergman ran both, and the family has owned them ever since. The Aspen Daily News reported that the buyers are two local real estate agents. As of that Oct. 30 report, the contract had not closed. Linda Brining, the founders' daughter, said it was "primarily waiting on a pharmacy license from the Drug Enforcement Administration."
This is the friction that surprises people when a regulated business changes hands. A hardware store and a pharmacy can sit across the street from each other and be sold in the same deal. But the part of the deal that keeps the pharmacy counter open moves on a federal agency's schedule, and neither the buyer nor the seller controls that. For anyone buying a going concern whose value depends on a license, the license is the real closing date.
Brining said the family was "very excited to find purchasers with a desire and ability to keep Carl's Pharmacy and Miners' Building Hardware serving the community for years to come." The buyers described the purchase as "a long-term investment in both businesses and in Aspen."
A family looking for buyers who would keep the stores running is the only thing deciding whether a pharmacy and a hardware store stay on Main Street. To see why, look at what Aspen's other tools have and haven't done.
The chain-store rule has never been used
In 2016, a group of longtime locals asked the Aspen City Council to keep chain stores out of the downtown core. The group included former mayors John Bennett and Bill Stirling and Jerry Murdock, a co-founder of Insight Venture Partners. In March 2017 the council unanimously adopted a narrower version, as recounted in an April 2026 Aspen Daily News report.
The ordinance requires a conditional use review before the Aspen Planning and Zoning Commission for any "formula retail" business, defined as one with at least 11 other U.S. stores that share standardized features such as product lines and trademarks. It applies only to development that had not yet been proposed. Existing buildings and projects already in the permit pipeline were exempt. An existing downtown building comes under the rule only if its owner tears it down and rebuilds or adds 500 square feet of net leasable space.
In the nearly ten years since, no formula retail project has gone before the Planning and Zoning Commission. Community Development Director Ben Anderson told the Daily News that the rule "just hasn't been super effective at creating what people thought it was going to create when it was put in place."
For an operator, this means use rules don't decide whether you can stay. Rent does. The same Daily News report notes that Mi Chola closed in September 2025 after nearly ten years at Main and Mill streets, when its rent went from $42,000 a month to $85,000. On Sept. 1, 2026, the paper reported that Aspen Eclectic, a toy and gift shop that had been downtown for 16 years, was closing as its lease neared its end.
When the city owns the building, it sets the terms
The city's approach works best in the buildings it owns. Aspen Public House operates in a city-owned space in the Wheeler Opera House building and pays below-market rent in exchange for affordable menu options.
At 455 Rio Grande Place, another city-owned restaurant space, the council approved a five-year lease with 520 Grill on April 14, 2026, at a base rent of $5,623.33 a month, according to the Aspen Daily News. Owner Troy Selby moved his Silverpeak Grill operation there, and the restaurant opened May 1.
That space had already been through one attempt. The April Aspen Daily News report recounted that an earlier restaurant was selected before 520 Grill, ran into construction delays, and was open about four months before the city ended its tenancy. Below-market rent doesn't guarantee a below-market space will succeed. Even a sympathetic landlord still has to choose an operator who can run the business.
ThreeFifteen shows a private owner making the same choice
Most downtown property isn't city-owned. ThreeFifteen, at 315 E. Hyman Ave. across from the Wheeler Opera House, shows what a private building can do when its owner chooses local tenants. The building was once Eric's Bar and later Gravity Haus. The Aspen Daily News reported that it held its grand opening on Thursday, Sept. 17.
The project started with a lease search. After the Daily News was sold, its new owners didn't renew the lease on the paper's offices at 625 E. Hyman Ave. Publisher David Cook asked developer Mark Hunt about leasing a few unused offices at 315 E. Hyman, and Hunt suggested he take on much of the building. Cook said the goal was to show "that locals could do something that was as reliable and meaningful" in a prime commercial building.
As of the September opening, the building held:
- Eddy's Market, a coffee shop, artisan market, bakery and grab-and-go counter, and Eddy's Sit and Stay, a sit-down restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. Sisters Liz and Sondra Savickas run both.
- The Aspen Arts Club, where Buckhorn Public Arts leased eight offices for a year and turned them into rent-free studios for six-month artist residencies. Donors Mark Pincus and Hilary Shaw support the program.
- The Grove, a flexible downstairs event space in the former Eric's Bar, also operated by Buckhorn. It has hosted comedy, yoga and private gatherings.
- A tattoo studio, local retailers, and the Aspen Daily News newsroom.
The whole mix exists because a building owner agreed to Cook's proposal, and no rule required that decision.
The land trust wants a hand in the building itself
The Aspen Area Community Trust works from the same premise. It is a nonprofit that plans to keep commercial space affordable for locally serving businesses through acquisitions, affordable leases or deed restrictions. It grew out of a city exploration funded in 2023 by a $135,000 Colorado Department of Local Affairs grant. The city provided $35,000 in March 2026 to help establish it, and Aspen Community Foundation serves as its fiscal agent and technical adviser for two years. Aspen Public Radio reported that the IRS granted its 501(c)(3) status in mid-June. On Sept. 15, City Council adopted Resolution 107, a one-time $25,000 grant toward the trust's initial operating costs.
Board President Ann Mullins described the goal to the City Council: "This is bringing back the laundromat, this is bringing back one more pharmacy, could we bring back a gas station?" In late August, Aspen Public Radio reported that the trust was still looking for an executive director and hoped to preserve its first commercial property in 2027. Mullins told the station, "You need your first big win, and then you can show that to people."
So the city's newest tool for keeping a pharmacy downtown is still working toward its first preserved property, whether it gets there by a purchase, a buy-down or a deed restriction. Meanwhile, a 61-year-old pharmacy is changing hands through a private sale, and the buyers have said they intend to keep it open.
| Approach | Who controls the building | Status as of fall 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 formula retail ordinance | Existing private owners, who are exempt | No project has gone before P&Z |
| City-owned spaces | City of Aspen | Aspen Public House; 520 Grill on a five-year lease |
| ThreeFifteen | Private developer leasing to a local group | Opened Sept. 17, 2026 |
| Aspen Area Community Trust | Nonprofit, through purchase or deed restriction | Seeking first property, targeted for 2027 |
| Carl's and Miners' sale | New private buyers | Under contract, pending DEA license |
What this means for the next downtown lease
For an owner-operator, the economics show up at the counter. Jake Lansburgh, a co-owner of Silvers Bagel Bar, told Aspen Public Radio that a plain bagel with cream cheese runs about $8. "That is what we have to charge to survive," he said. A business that has to price like that is betting on its renewal terms more than on its menu.
Because the landlord's intent decides so much, our underwriting for a downtown Aspen space starts with the ownership:
- Who owns the building, and how long have they owned it? A long-held family property and a recent acquisition usually come with different expectations for rent.
- Is the building likely to be torn down or expanded? That is the point at which the 2017 formula retail review would start to apply.
- Does the lease's renewal language set any limit on rent increases? Mi Chola's rent doubled.
- If the business depends on a license, how long does a license transfer take, and who carries the costs while it's pending?
This is general information, not legal or financial advice. Before signing, have your own attorney and accountant review the lease and the deal structure.
Questions we hear about downtown Aspen space
Does Aspen ban chain stores downtown? No. The 2017 ordinance requires a conditional use review for formula retail in new development, and existing buildings are exempt unless they are rebuilt or expanded by 500 square feet of net leasable space. As of the April 2026 Daily News report, no project had gone before the Planning and Zoning Commission under it.
Can a local business apply for a city-owned space? The city fills those spaces through its own selection processes. 520 Grill was chosen for 455 Rio Grande Place after an earlier operator's tenancy there ended, according to the April Daily News report.
Has the Aspen Area Community Trust preserved a property yet? As of Aspen Public Radio's August report, it was aiming to preserve its first property in 2027.
If you're weighing a downtown Aspen lease or a building with a local tenant already in it, we start with the same questions about ownership, renewal terms and licensing that decide how the Carl's sale plays out. C&E Group has run local businesses here and packages commercial deals here. Connect with the C&E Team, and we'll walk through the building, the lease and the numbers with you.
