What does a downtown block look like when its newest storefront belongs to its oldest business? Walk across the Basalt Center Circle parking lot this fall and you'll see the answer. Jimbo's Liquors has been open since 1972. It now sits in the red brick building on the corner, in a store built from scratch where the old one stood. Upstairs, the condos above the old grocery aisles are finished, and many now belong to local employers housing their staff. Food is the one use most people link to this site, and it is the part still waiting.
Most downtown projects open with a big anchor tenant and fill in around it. The former Clark's Market site went the other way. The order matters because it explains what the block is right now: a place people live, with a liquor store at the corner and the market still to come.
Ten years empty, then three years of work
The building at the center of Basalt held City Market, then Clark's Market, along with Habitat for Humanity and a few smaller shops around them. The grocery section then sat vacant for more than a decade. Jimbo's was the last original tenant left in the building. The redevelopment ran in this order:
- 2022. The town approved a mixed-use plan from LB-West, a locally owned development company. The site included the old grocery space and the commercial space next door, where Jimbo's and BLT Taqueria operated.
- Around Thanksgiving 2024. Jimbo's moved into a 360-square-foot trailer in the corner of the parking lot so it could keep operating at the same address while the old store was torn down for the new building.
- May 2026. Jimbo's left the trailer, ran an "End of an Era" sale, moved its inventory into a toy hauler and closed for about two weeks. Online ordering and delivery stayed open.
- Friday, June 12, 2026. Jimbo's celebrated its grand reopening in the new Basalt Center Circle store, with family and friends standing alongside owner Gonzo Mirich.
- August 25, 2026. The Roaring Fork Conservancy held a ribbon-cutting outside the finished Midland Residences to mark buying a staff studio in the building.
- This fall. The market and restaurant spaces still have no announced opening date.
The oldest business went first
Mirich didn't have to stay through the construction. In May he told the Aspen Daily News that he had hoped to lose about 30% of his profits during the trailer period. He ended up down about 40%. He kept his core employees working full-time, taught skiing in the winters, took catering jobs and borrowed from friends and family to get through. In his words, "I wanted to keep my employees working and keep the brand alive."
Jimbo's has been through more than one stretch like this. Mirich told The Aspen Times that the store also got through the July 2018 Lake Christine fire and stayed open through two years of the pandemic before the trailer chapter began. He bought the business 10 years ago from Steve Broitzman. He calls Broitzman his "Roaring Fork Valley father," and he still repeats Broitzman's advice when he talks about why he stayed:
"If you take care of the people of Basalt they will take care of you."
The new store is about 1,600 square feet. The original was about 900, and the trailer was 360. The Basalt Chamber's directory lists it at 128 Basalt Center Circle. Mirich said he would fill the extra space slowly, mostly based on what customers ask for, so regulars help decide what goes on the shelves. He also planned tastings on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We haven't found anything dated after the reopening confirming that the tastings started, so ask at the counter before you plan a Thursday around one.
Customers have asked Mirich whether the new neighbors will make the store "fancier." His answer was "absolutely not." He describes the model as "really nice selection but at Basalt prices." He also does what he calls "downselling," pointing a customer to a better bottle that costs less. "It's been working really well since 1972 and I'm not planning on changing that," he said.
Then the neighbors moved in upstairs
Most of the change on the block this fall is above street level. Midland Residences has 65 units, a mix of studios, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms. A quarter of them are deed-restricted, and 65% must be occupied by primary residents.
The owners make it more than a typical condo building. According to LB-West, close to half the units are owned by local organizations and businesses that plan to rent them to their staff or students. The Town of Basalt, Colorado Mountain College and the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies bought deed-restricted units. Aspen's school district and fire department bought free-market condos. Andrew Light, one of LB-West's two managing partners, told Aspen Journalism, "We have always had a goal of this project being an active, living community."
Matthew Anderson is set to be one of the new residents, renting a deed-restricted studio his employer bought in the building. He grew up in Basalt and works as a water quality technician for the Roaring Fork Conservancy, whose office is downtown. His parents' pharmacy once operated inside the old market, and he spent about 15 years walking through it after school. "I'm going to be sleeping right above where I used to walk every day after school for about 15 years," he told Aspen Journalism. "It is almost eerily full circle."
For the Conservancy, the change shows up in commute times. Executive Director Rick Lofaro said that one employee still commutes every day from No Name and another from Silt. From the new studio, Anderson can walk to work. "I don't know anybody, any of my friends who walk to work, so the opportunity is almost indescribable," he said.
That is why the block reads differently this fall. A building that sat empty for more than a decade is now finished housing, much of it held by local institutions for the people who work for them. Those are the people likely to be shopping at the corner store and, once it opens, at the market downstairs.
The food comes last
The commercial space in the new development totals about 9,000 square feet, Jimbo's included. The plan calls for a "local market and boutique restaurant," both run by CP Restaurant Group. CP is the Aspen-based group behind Aosta, CP Burger, Steakhouse No. 316, The Monarch, The Wild Fig and Woody Creek Tavern. Its own site also lists a Wild Fig location at Willits.
Here is what is confirmed so far, and what isn't:
- Open now. Jimbo's Liquors, at 128 Basalt Center Circle since its June 12 reopening.
- Built and sold. The Midland Residences units above, close to half of them owned by local employers and organizations.
- Planned, no date. The CP market and restaurant. Neither has a published name, menu or opening date. Aspen Journalism's early-September story describes the space as "designated" for a small grocery and a locally owned restaurant group, and does not report either as open.
- A forecast only. In early May, Mirich estimated that the market and restaurant would open in about six months. That would mean around November, but it was his guess, not an announcement from CP.
- Unknown. BLT Taqueria, which used to operate on the block. We haven't found a current report on where it is now.
Even in its plans, the grocery space comes back at a much smaller size. A building that once held a full City Market and then Clark's Market will have a small market sharing ground-floor space with a restaurant and a wine shop. That fits a block with 65 homes upstairs, and it is a different kind of shopping trip than the full-size grocery store that once anchored downtown Basalt.
The walk out from the block
Getting to and from the block on foot is also changing. Aspen Public Radio reported on September 1 that Emma Bridge and the Two Rivers Road corridor were waiting on a few more weeks of upgrades, including a parklet planter. The bridge stayed open during the work, and town engineer Catherine Christoff said the goal was to make the bridge more park-like. We haven't seen a completion notice, so the planter may or may not be in place when you cross.
Together, the new homes upstairs and the walkway upgrades point the same way. Downtown Basalt is getting more people within walking distance of its center, and the walking routes are getting more attention. The store to walk to this fall is the one that never left. The market and restaurant are next in line, and they still have no date.
If you own near downtown Basalt and are curious how a reoccupied Basalt Center Circle shows up in what nearby homes are worth, Bruce Johnson can give you a clear, block-by-block read. Request a Home Valuation, and we will walk through the comparisons with you.
