Clark’s Market in Aspen shut its doors today for an entire store remodel which will take 10 to 12 weeks to complete.
Walking down the aisles at Clark’s Market was practically post-apocalyptic this week. On Thursday, the shelves were mostly bare, interspersed with canned beans, jarred peaches, pie crust mix and lots of energy drinks. All of the shoppers displayed a calm demeanor as they perused the last of the perishables and non-perishables in the store. The items have been on sale all week and, in the last days, they were 75 percent off.
Local Gerald DeLisser is one of the many returning shoppers on the hunt for a good deal.
“I came in yesterday and got a bunch of stuff,” DeLisser said. “Probably stuff I wouldn’t normally get...a bunch of different teas. And I got a new water bottle, also got a universal remote yesterday and some ear buds.”
Clark’s employee Jim Wolf, who has been with the company for almost two decades, said the closing sale this week has brought a lot of customers in.
“It’s been fun actually,” Wolf said. “We’ve really enjoyed it and it’s just really cool to see everyone coming in and having fun with us and we are having fun with them.”
Clark’s should reopen in mid to late June after the remodel, which will include a new floor and ceiling and new walls, according to store manager and co-owner of the family-run company, David Clark.
“My dad built this store when he was 28 years old and I’m 27 and I’m the one tearing it down,” Clark said. “We’re really excited to get the new store put together, I mean we love this store but we are so excited for all of the new opportunities that [the new] one is going to offer.”
Once the remodel is complete, the deli will be three times its original size and there will be a new artisan pizza oven, a self-serve buffet, an expanded bakery and a much larger focus on healthy, organic goods. In the meantime, the company is taking care of all of the store’s employees by either having them work at the Snowmass and Telluride locations or by activating their paid vacation early.
“We are taking care of everybody. It doesn’t make sense to try and rebuild our staff,” Clark said. “I mean I’ve got people that have been with us for over 30 years. We don’t want to lose them. We love those people and they’ve done good by us so we are doing everything we can to keep our staff intact.”
David Clark’s brother, Tom Jr., says this remodel has been in the works for years and it’s very near and dear to the family’s heart.
“Aspen is a really special store to us because it’s where our dad started the company in 1978,” Tom Clark said. “This is the store that we grew up in. I worked there through high school and know every inch of that place. It’s really exciting to be able to bring an entirely reimagined grocery store into that space.”
During the closure, the pharmacy will remain open in a small structure across from Aspen Wine and Spirits.