Stanley Chocolate Factory gets green light on liquor license and carousel

Story by Barb Boyer Buck

Visions of carousel horses, BBQ, and making chocolate bars swirled through Town Hall Tuesday night while John Cullen, doing business as JWC Elevations, LLC, was granted both the legal right to build an indoor carousel at the Stanley Chocolate Factory downtown and a liquor license.

There was also a surprise announcement: Wes Moore, owner and chef of the popular WesTex BBQ food truck in Estes Park, will open a barbecue restaurant within the chocolate factory complex that will also house a vintage carousel from France. The town’s Development Code now explicitly allows for the carousel as a legal “indoor recreation” within the downtown Estes Park corridor.

At the April 22 Town Board meeting, Section 13.3.2 was amended to say: “Limited Commercial Recreation or Entertainment Establishments, Indoor: Limited to the following indoor entertainment establishments only: Indoor movie theaters and theatrical space for dramatic, musical or live performances; indoor billiards, pool and other table games; and indoor carousels, but only as an accessory use to a retail establishment or food/beverage sales and only in compliance with all accessory use standards. For the purposes of this definition, “indoor” means within a permanent, fully enclosed structure, allowing for fully closable windows and doors.” 

Since Cullen first purchased The Stanley Hotel and came to Estes Park 30 years ago, “The Stanley has gone from $1 million a year to now $44 million a year” in revenue, said Cullen during his presentation in the liquor license hearing.

When he first flew into Colorado, he landed at Stapleton Airport. A short while later, he flew out of Denver International Airport.

“And I said, ‘this is really crazy, because why would anybody take a perfectly good airport and put it out in the middle of Saskatchewan, who’s ever going to come to this airport?’” he asked rhetorically.

There will be a rooftop restaurant at the chocolate factory complex, along with trains running along the ceiling, a coffee shop, and more, said Cullen, all designed to make it a magical, memorable, and immersive experience for families in downtown Estes Park.

Cullen told the Town Board that the Stanley Chocolate Factory will open on July 4. “F. O. Stanley always opened his buildings on July 4,” he said, citing that patriotic imagery of picnic tables and barbeque, open-air seating with no amplified music from the rooftop will make it like “July 4 every day.”

No one from the public was on hand to provide support or opposition to granting the liquor license or amending the development code.

One letter of opposition was received before the Town Board meeting. “This development risks undermining the unique character and natural allure of Estes Park,” said John Howell of Estes Park in his letter.

“Estes Valley is already saturated with amusement park-style attractions, including slides, rollercoasters, and go-kart tracks. These offerings, while popular with some visitors, have already shifted our town’s identity away from its roots as a serene mountain gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park.”

Ordinance 05-25, which added language to the downtown corridor development code to allow indoor carousels, and the liquor license application were both approved unanimously by the Town Board.

“And it’s now the sixth busiest airport in the world.” Cullen used this analogy to explain why The Stanley Hotel brand needed another location in Estes Park.

“People will come to The Chocolate Factory, much like The Stanley, it has a magnetic appeal that people will come to have a full family experience,” said Cullen.

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