Chamber to decide future of last summer’s Evenings on Elk

Mixed reviews

While most people enjoyed attending the Evenings on Elk events last summer, few businesses are willing to participate in it this year—that was the news brought to the Crested Butte Town Council by Crested Butte/Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce director Christi Matthews during the council’s meeting last month.

Whether or not Evenings on Elk should return was the topic of discussion during the Crested Butte Town Council meeting on Monday, March 17. The council also discussed whether to allow outdoor sales of liquor by restaurants.
The Town Council started the Evenings on Elk event last summer, hoping to boost vitality on Elk Avenue by allowing commerce and restaurants to bring their wares onto the street, which was closed to traffic. The event garnered mixed reviews.
This year, Crested Butte mayor Alan Bernholtz said the Town Council was handing off the event to the Chamber of Commerce, which could decide whether or not to pursue it.
With the event under her purview, Matthews explained that she conducted a survey of chamber members. She found support for the event in general but few businesses willing to participate in it.
Matthews said if she found support from businesses to continue Evenings on Elk, she would pursue it. Under her vision, the businesses would support the event, the Town would fund it and the Chamber of Commerce would administer it. “We have no problem being the administrators,” she said.
Several Elk Avenue business owners were at the meeting to protest the reinstatement of Evenings on Elk or to express concerns. Restaurant owner Davin Sjoberg was against the idea because closing the street caused parking problems. If the event were to go forward, Sjoberg said, he would want to see better advertising and communication of it.
Like other business owners, Elk Avenue business owner Linda Mladenka noticed a sharp drop-off in sales during Evenings on Elk. “The sales went to zero,” Mladenka said. “And evenings are huge for us in summer… Evenings on Elk just didn’t work for us.”
Restaurant owner Lee Dickleman suggested the town consider a partial closure of Third Street if it wanted to pursue the event, instead of shutting down Elk Avenue.
After hearing from the business owners, the Town Council briefly discussed allowing alcohol to be served on the street during events when streets are closed. To do so, town clerk Eileen Hughes explained, the Town would temporarily rent out part of its property to restaurant owners, who would then apply to extend their liquor licenses beyond their current property lines. The alcohol would have to be contained by the restaurant within the designated area. After discussing the item, the Town Council agreed to pursue the concept if Matthews finds that business owners support continuing Evenings on Elk.
Matthews said after the meeting that those conversations are still ongoing with businesses and she plans on reporting back to the Town Council.