Why Tabernash Tavern Became More Than a Restaurant

When Tabernash Tavern applied for its restaurant license in 2008, the case its owners made to Grand County was remarkably simple: there wasn't a place to eat in Tabernash.

County records from the May 2008 hearing show the applicant pointing to the thousands of second homeowners in the surrounding area and explaining that an effort had been made to preserve the character of Tabernash in the new restaurant. The commissioners approved the license.

Eighteen years later, the more interesting question isn't whether Tabernash needed a restaurant.

It's how one restaurant became so closely tied to the identity of the town around it.

Tabernash Tavern has earned a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence every year since 2014. It has also been voted Best Restaurant in the Sky-Hi News readers' choice contest for 11 consecutive years, from 2015 through 2025.

That's an unusual streak anywhere.

It's especially unusual in a mountain community of 401 people.

The Restaurant Tabernash Didn't Have

Tabernash has always been a place shaped by what happens around it.

The community was established in 1905 at the former Junction Ranch along the railroad line through Middle Park. In 1913, the Denver and Salt Lake Railroad moved its locomotive terminal from Fraser to Tabernash, bringing railroad activity into the community. When the completion of the Moffat Tunnel reduced the need for that terminal, Tabernash transitioned toward the ranching community that persisted afterward.

The 2020 Census counted just 401 residents in the Tabernash census-designated place.

That scale matters when you're trying to understand the businesses that survive here.

A restaurant in Denver can exist because it captures a fraction of a neighborhood. A restaurant in Tabernash has a different job. It has to work for locals, second homeowners, Winter Park visitors, people coming off the golf course, travelers headed down Highway 40 and the couple willing to drive twenty minutes because they heard dinner was worth it.

Tabernash Tavern managed to become all of those things at once.

And it has been doing it since 2008.

What 11 Straight Years of "Best Restaurant" Actually Tells Us

Awards can be marketing.

Patterns are more interesting.

Tabernash Tavern's wine program has received Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence since 2014, recognition specifically tied to the quality and breadth of a restaurant's wine program.

Then there are the local votes.

According to Tabernash Tavern, it has been voted Best Restaurant in the Sky-Hi News contest every year from 2015 through 2025.

The 2025 Best of Grand results add some context to what those votes actually represent. Tabernash Tavern won Restaurant: Tabernash/Fraser, Fine Dining, Vegetarian/Vegan and Chef. It was also recognized across categories including steak, barbecue, wine list, mocktails, dessert, cocktails and seafood.

In other words, locals aren't repeatedly rewarding one signature dish.

They're rewarding the restaurant.

That's an important distinction in a county where restaurants have to serve tourists without becoming tourist restaurants.

Four Nights a Week

Here's another detail that makes the Tavern interesting: it isn't open seven days a week.

Tabernash Tavern currently serves dinner Thursday through Sunday from 4 to 9 p.m., with dine-in and takeout available.

Four nights.

For someone accustomed to a city dining market, that can sound restrictive. In a mountain community, it creates something different: rhythm.

Locals know when the doors open. Reservations matter. Dinner becomes something you plan rather than something you happen into.

And because the restaurant has stayed in place long enough, that rhythm has become part of the rhythm of Tabernash itself.

That may be the better explanation for its longevity.

Not that Tabernash Tavern discovered some secret formula for operating in a tiny town, but that it learned how to operate like a tiny town.

Tabernash Has Another Kind of Dining Destination

Of course, saying Tabernash has one restaurant would miss an enormous neighbor just down County Road 83.

Devil's Thumb Ranch Resort & Spa occupies more than 6,500 acres in the Ranch Creek Valley and has built a dining ecosystem of its own, including Ranch House Restaurant & Saloon and Heck's Tavern.

But the two destinations play different roles.

Devil's Thumb Ranch is exactly that: a destination. People arrive for the ranch experience — lodging, Nordic skiing, horseback riding, spa weekends, weddings, dinners and time away.

Tabernash Tavern sits on Highway 40.

You can drive there from Fraser after work.

You can meet friends there on Thursday night.

You can make it the dinner reservation during a weekend in Winter Park.

One tells visitors what a Colorado mountain resort can be.

The other tells you something about what it feels like to actually live here.

Why Places Like This Matter in Grand County

This is the part that gets lost when people try to understand Grand County entirely through real estate listings.

A listing can tell you the square footage of a house in Tabernash.

It can't tell you what Thursday night feels like.

It can't explain why people drive from Winter Park or Granby for dinner, why you start recognizing faces at the next table, or why a restaurant in a community of roughly 400 residents can spend more than a decade winning local awards.

Those things sound small until you live here.

Then you realize they're the things that turn a collection of houses into a place.

Tabernash began as a railroad community. The railroad's importance faded. Ranching remained. Second homes arrived. Winter Park grew. Devil's Thumb Ranch became a destination. Highway 40 kept carrying people through.

And in 2008, someone stood in front of the Grand County commissioners and made the case that Tabernash needed a place to eat.

Nearly two decades later, that place is still serving dinner.

Maybe that's the better award.

Frequently Asked Questions About Tabernash Tavern

Where is Tabernash Tavern?

Tabernash Tavern is located at 72287 US Highway 40 in Tabernash, Colorado, between Fraser and Granby and just minutes from Winter Park.

When did Tabernash Tavern open?

Tabernash Tavern received approval for its new hotel and restaurant liquor license from Grand County in May 2008. The restaurant has operated in Tabernash since 2008.

What are Tabernash Tavern's hours?

As currently posted by the restaurant, Tabernash Tavern is open Thursday through Sunday from 4–9 p.m. for dine-in and takeout. Because hours can change seasonally or around holidays, diners should confirm current hours before visiting.

Does Tabernash Tavern take reservations?

Yes. Tabernash Tavern accepts reservations and provides online booking through its website. The restaurant also recommends calling if an online reservation is unavailable.

Has Tabernash Tavern won a Wine Spectator award?

Yes. Tabernash Tavern says its wine program has received Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence every year since 2014.

How many people live in Tabernash, Colorado?

The 2020 U.S. Census counted 401 residents in the Tabernash census-designated place. Tabernash is an unincorporated community in Grand County, Colorado.

What is it like to live in Tabernash?

Tabernash offers a quieter, more residential mountain setting between Fraser and Granby, with convenient access to Winter Park, Highway 40, outdoor recreation and Devil's Thumb Ranch. Its small population and limited commercial core give it a distinctly different feel from nearby Winter Park and Fraser.

Thinking about living in Tabernash, Fraser, Winter Park, Granby or another Grand County community?

The numbers matter. So do the things that never make it onto a listing sheet — the restaurants you return to, the roads you drive every day, the places where neighbors actually run into one another and the subtle differences between mountain towns only a few miles apart.

That's the Grand County knowledge we believe buyers should have before they make a decision.

Explore Grand County real estate and local insight with RE/MAX Peak to Peak.