Telluride's Kitchens Don't Reopen All at Once. Here's the Order They Come Back.

Where do you book dinner downtown on the night the lifts start turning? Telluride Ski & Golf has set Thursday, Nov. 26, 2026, as its target for opening day, and says the date depends on conditions. That night, the bar, chop house and rooftop at the New Sheridan will still be closed, along with The Grand, La Marmotte, 221 South Oak and Sidework. The latest closure dates come from Visit Telluride's Off-Season Dining Fall 2026 schedule.

The posted dates fall into three phases. The first group reopens in mid-November, and most of it is coffee, cafes and to-go food. Around Thanksgiving, a few popular rooms close just as others reopen. Most of downtown's closed dinner rooms come back in December, after the ski season has started.

The places that never closed

Before getting to the reopenings, it helps to know who stays open the whole time. According to Visit Telluride's list, these places run all fall:

• Downtown, open daily: Baked in Telluride, Clark's Market, Cornerhouse Grille, Steamies Burger Bar, Brown Dog from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Smugglers from noon to 8 p.m. Butcher & The Baker is open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays. Telluride Truffle is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Last Dollar Saloon is listed as open.
• Downtown, fewer days: Kazahana, Tuesday through Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m. Rustico, Tuesday through Sunday, 5 to 9 p.m. Stronghouse, Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 8 p.m. West End Bistro serves breakfast every day and dinner Monday through Wednesday.
• Mountain Village and Lawson Hill: The Village Market and the Conoco in Lawson Hill are open daily. Crazy Elk Pizza runs 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Telluride Distilling Company is open 2 to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. Telluride Brewing Company's Craft Kitchen & Pizza in Lawson Hill is open Wednesday through Sunday.

Two downtown spots carry most of the late-evening load. Van Atta is open every day, 1 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and until 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. It opened at 101 W. Colorado Ave. in 2025, according to 5280's Telluride dining guide. The Telluride Daily Planet reported that it earned a 2026 James Beard nomination for Best New Bar. Its executive chef, Jen Williams, previously cooked at The National and Dunton Kitchen. There., at 627 W. Pacific Ave., came back on Oct. 28 and is open Wednesday through Sunday, 4 to 9 p.m.

Kazahana is at 126 E. Colorado Ave. 5280 says its chef, Naoki Takahashi, trained at Nobu. The restaurant's own site describes a 10-seat omakase bar. If you want that counter in November, plan around its Sunday and Monday closures.

The mid-November wave is mostly daytime

The first group of reopenings arrives about two weeks before the lifts.

Nov. 13 to 16

LIZ's website says it reopens Nov. 13, 2026. Visit Telluride's schedule shows it closed through Nov. 16, so check the restaurant's own page before you go. The site describes LIZ as a dine-in and take-out kitchen focused on fresh, healthy meals, with happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m. daily. The Telluride Daily Planet reported that chef Eliza Gavin opened LIZ on May 15 as her second restaurant. Her first is 221 South Oak. The two restaurants are on very different calendars this fall. LIZ comes back in mid-November, and 221 South Oak stays closed through Dec. 10.

LIZ's return lands the same weekend as the KOTO Ski Swap, which Visit Telluride's events calendar lists for Nov. 13 to 15.

Nov. 19 to 22

Bruno and Alloy Kitchen are listed as closed through Nov. 19. Bruno is the cafe at Between the Covers, serving coffee from Telluride Coffee Roasters and pastries from local bakers. Caravan and La Cocina de Luz stay closed through Nov. 22. So does Tracks Café & Bar in Mountain Village, which describes itself as locally owned.

That gives the town more lunch, coffee and casual options by the weekend before Thanksgiving. Dinner gains far less.

The week that runs the other way

While the cafes are reopening, a few places close.

If The National is on your list, you have until Nov. 14. It's open Tuesday through Saturday, 4:30 to 9 p.m., through that date. Then it closes Nov. 15 and stays closed through Dec. 4. The current National is chef Chris Thompson's restaurant. He co-founded Meadowlark Hospitality and opened the restaurant on the historic 100 block of East Colorado Avenue, as the Telluride Daily Planet reported. The chefs of the former National, Ross Martin and Erich Owen, went on to renovate a larger space and open The Grand, according to Telluride Magazine. The Grand closed Oct. 31 and reopens after Dec. 6.

Floradora Saloon has stayed open so far but closes Nov. 21 through Dec. 4. The Patio is open daily except Nov. 24 to 28, which covers Thanksgiving Day.

On the mountain, Allred's stays closed through Nov. 25. Telluride Ski & Golf lists the opening of Gorrono Ranch, under the Village Express lift, as "Thanksgiving Day- November 26, 2026 (snow dependent)." Both on-mountain openings depend on the ski season starting on time.

Downtown's dinner rooms come back after the lifts

The ski season starts ahead of most of the dining lineup. Here are the reopenings after opening day, in order:

1. Dec. 3: New Sheridan Bar, New Sheridan Chop House and New Sheridan Rooftop Bar are closed through this date.
2. Dec. 4: Coffee Cowboy's cart and general store are closed through this date. Floradora and The National are too.
3. Dec. 6: The Grand is closed through this date.
4. Dec. 8: Tellurado Studio is closed through this date.
5. Dec. 10: La Marmotte and 221 South Oak are closed through this date. Siam Talay in Mountain Village reopens.
6. Dec. 11: Communion Wine Bar in Mountain Village reopens.
7. Dec. 17: Sidework, at 225 S. Pine St., is closed through this date. It has been closed since Oct. 3, the longest break on the list.

Several Mountain Village places haven't posted a return date. Visit Telluride lists Black Iron Kitchen, Kettle Coffee and Timber Room as closed from Oct. 26 until a date to be determined. Telluride Brewing Company's Brew Pub has been closed since Oct. 11, also with no date.

One downtown room won't be back this winter at all. The Telluride Daily Planet reported that the Cosmopolitan at the Hotel Columbia closed in April. The hotel itself closed Sept. 2 for a full renovation and restoration, which owner Bridgitt Evans expected to take about two years, with a reopening planned for late 2027.

Where that leaves the rest of the off-season

Put the dates in order and the thinnest stretch for dinner is the one after opening day, not early November. Through Nov. 14, downtown has The National, Van Atta, Kazahana, Rustico, There., Cornerhouse Grille, Smugglers, Brown Dog and the West End Bistro's early-week dinners. On Nov. 15, The National drops off. Floradora follows on Nov. 21 and The Patio on Nov. 24. The mid-November reopenings add more counters and cafe tables than dinner reservations. From Nov. 26 to Dec. 3, ski traffic arrives while many of the town's larger downtown dining rooms are still closed.

Plan accordingly:

• Thanksgiving week: Van Atta is listed as open daily and Kazahana Tuesday through Saturday. The Patio is closed through the holiday.
• Opening weekend: If you have house guests, plan dinners around the year-round places. New Sheridan doesn't return until after Dec. 3 and The Grand until after Dec. 6.
• Early December: Over about two weeks, most of the closed dining rooms come back, from New Sheridan through Sidework on Dec. 17.

Visit Telluride's page says it is still being updated and asks businesses to submit their fall hours. LIZ's own date already differs from the list, so check with a restaurant directly before planning an evening around it.

At Chris Sommers, we follow the town's seasonal rhythm closely, from which kitchens stay open in November to how opening week fills the valley. If you're weighing a home here and want to see how the off-season would actually fit your life, schedule a private consultation.