May 1, 2024

Dear friends,

It is with extremely heavy hearts that we announce the closure of Lemon Lodge Ski Bar.

Our dream of a ski and social community – with many hopes attached – was warmly received by so many of you. Along the way, guests have learned to ski and snowboard, improved their edge techniques, enjoyed dinner with friends, rehabbed injuries, learned the value of a cowbell, stopped by for drinks and apps, complimented Lemon Lodge as a truly unique concept and even commented, “The world needs more places like Lemon Lodge.” 

So what happened and what led to our closure? Much can be traced back to the beginning. For four long months the El Paso County Regional Building Department (RBD) held us up, not allowing us to move into our space. Contradictory oversight and capricious delays cost us an unexpected $80,000, which doesn’t include other expenses that accrued or the inability to generate income while we waited and waited. Subsequently, for the sake of others who might follow, we have communicated our concerns with leaders at both RBD and the city’s Economic Development Department – only to be met with disinterest. In our opinion, that’s inexcusable for a city that claims to promote small business.

Since the inception of Lemon Lodge, neither my husband or I took a paycheck, choosing to reinvest everything back into the business. Along the way, it’s increasingly been a story of having more outgo than income. Now the well is dry.

We want to thank our incredible staff: Chris our GM, Michelle our Bar Manager, Jake our Assistant Manager, and Lincoln our lead ski instructor. Also many thanks to Mike, Andy, Kolby, Katie, Aden, and Bella. Each one of them has been with us since day one and they are incredible human beings. We’ll do whatever we can to help them land well with their heads held high.

Thank you, Downtown Partnership and Visit COS, for believing in us. These are two incredible organizations that are crushing it to bring visibility to local businesses.

For those of you who hold punch passes/memberships or gift cards with remaining value, we offer a one-time 25% off any purchase of Evergood Adventure Wines during the month of May. Evergood’s delicious wines made from lemons have been the après power behind Lemon Lodge. During weekend sales hours in May, stop by the winery in Palmer Lake, present your Lemon Lodge digital punch pass or physical gift card to receive 25% off your entire wine purchase, including Evergood Gold. We’ll send and post hours via email and our social channels. If you live outside Colorado, we’ll email a 25% off coupon code for online purchase. This town is too small - the world is too small - not to do the right thing.

Please know this decision is devastating to us. We poured our heart and soul into building this business. We liquidated all we owned to open Lemon Lodge. However, we met our staff and you, so let’s ride the Last Chair together with this wisdom from Dr. Seuss: 

Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.

Melanie (& Matthew)

P.S. If you or someone you know is looking to up their ski and snowboard skills year-round, we are selling an Olympic-caliber simulator that’s still under warranty. Home gym, ski team training center, resort property, cross-training gym, condo or apartment gym – send inquiry to sim@evergood.wine (not dot com).