NAMED FOR ITS ELEVATION, THIS ASPEN SUPPER CLUB IS RAISING THE BAR SKY-HIGH
by Ruth Tobias
WHAT DO YOU get when you cross a movie actor-turned-restaurateur, a DJ, a couple of world-renowned artists, an up-and-coming culinary group, and a Master Sommelier? If you’re in Aspen, Colorado, you’re describing 7908: the biggest opening this town has seen in years.
“I think theatrically,” owner Roger Wilson says of his 35 years in Hollywood, “and I believe great hospitality is theatrical.” He calls 7908 the “Alpine reinvention of a wonderful model that came
up in the ’50s and ’60s in New York [at] the Stork Club, El Morocco, and Copacabana.” “It was apparent to me that a true supper club not only attracted the greatest luminaries—celebrities, old wealth—but also the local gangsters and Mad Men,” he adds.
According to Wilson, Aspen likewise possesses the unique ability “to be the most exclusive and inclusive place in the world.” “You get in a gondola car during ski season, and you could be sitting with a Wall Street power broker, a prince, and a truck driver,” he says. He pulled out all the stops to bring that metaphorical gondola ride indoors at his 6,000-square-foot venue, aiming to bring every walk of Aspen life together under one roof for cocktails, dinner, and dancing.
Ultra-sleek and modern from the dining room to the lounge, the space is filled with prized artworks by famed British photographer David Gamble and French street artist Mr. Brainwash. Bryan Normand, aka Kid Kamillion, serves as the resident DJ, spinning everything from Diana Ross to Rihanna on a state-of-the-art sound system.
To keep the drinks flowing, Wilson assembled a crackerjack beverage team of seasoned professionals. Among them is Master Sommelier Jonathan Pullis, who’s building a cellar he says will ultimately hold 2,000–4,000 bottles offering “great value regardless of price.” As a longtime fixture on the Aspen scene—first at The Little Nell, then at The St. Regis—he admits that “a lot of our guests know [him], so they don’t even open the list.” This leaves ample opportunity to recommend anything from a “fun indigenous varietal” for $50 and a grower Champagne to “blue-chip, investment-grade” trophies like first-growth Bordeaux and Grand Cru Burgundy.
For his part, Director of Spirits Matt Corbin says he aims to run “one of the best high-volume bars in the world” where he can “take care of everybody, from [his] friends who drink Bud to the guy who spends $2,000 on Scotch.” Sure enough, you can knock back Mules on tap for $13 a pop (cheap by ski-town standards)—or drop $500 on Corbin’s twist on a Vieux Carré, which combines Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year, Louis XIII Cognac, Bénédictine, and reserve vermouth in a crystal vessel from the 1930s.
One of Denver’s top restaurant groups, Culinary Creative, is assisting on the kitchen side as an operating partner, overseeing a menu that ranges from fried chicken to $120 nachos topped with caviar that “sell like crazy,” says co-found-er Juan Padro (“Roger wants what’s best at all costs,” he adds). Fortunately, one could say the same of the Aspenites falling in line overnight to form 7908’s fan club.
