A small fire-damaged patch inside The Blue Moose Tavern has caused a big problem for two of the three restaurants in Green Mountain Falls in western El Paso County.

The popular bar and its next-door neighbor, Cantina Verde, have been closed since an electrical fire on July 3 burned a 1-square-foot area, said Cat Guidry, owner of The Blue Moose Tavern. The fire was quashed before it could spread beyond where it ignited.

But the seemingly insignificant event was important enough to put the two businesses out of commission during the height of tourist season and the town’s annual Green Box Arts festival.

“It’s quite silly it’s caused this much chaos,” Guidry said.

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She’s hoping her business can reopen on Friday, but the doors might not be unlocked for customers until next week, she said Wednesday.

The nearby Mexican restaurant, Cantina Verde, may not reopen until next Wednesday, July 23, said Jesse Stroope, one of the owners.

Inspections and utilities being reactivated are among the tasks to be completed.

“It’s terrible,” Guidry said. “We’re quite literally at peak season, and we’re having to turn people away.”

Would-be customers streamed by The Blue Moose Tavern, as she sat in her empty bar Wednesday, fielding in-person inquiries and phone calls from friends and strangers.

“You can tell there’s just a ton of people,” Guidry said. “We have a full parking lot, but neither of us is open.”

The town with a population that averages 875 people, according to city hall, has been packed.

Scott RC Levy, executive director of Green Box Arts, said this year’s festival, which ran from June 27 through July 12, sold 7,000 tickets for events such as concerts and classes. But he estimates a total of 15,000-20,000 people flocked to the town, primarily to see the new outdoor installations.

“The festival was the most well-attended in 17 years,” he said. “It’s just unfortunate the fire happened, and the amenities we’re normally able to have people consider just weren’t available.”

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What made this year different, Levy said, is that social media chatter about the primo display, an aerial sculpture suspended above Gazebo Lake titled “Off the Beaten Path,” went viral online. That brought many visitors who had never been to Green Mountain Falls before, he said.

And Cantina Verde, which opened one year ago this month, and The Blue Moose Tavern, which Guidry has owned since 2018, missed the prime opportunities for business for both the July Fourth holiday weekend and the second half of the arts festival, Stroope lamented.

Yet the parking lot was steadily full, despite the eateries being temporarily out of pocket, Guidry noted.

“We’re disappointed to be closed at the height of tourist season,” Stroope said. “We’re working hard to get open as fast as possible.”

Eight full-time employees and a couple of part-timers have been on standby, Guidry said.

“The second we get the go-ahead we can reopen, I’ll text my bartenders and say, ‘Do you want to work?” and if not, I’ll be working the bar,” she said.

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The Blue Moose Tavern dates to the early 1900s. After the hotel situated in front of the bar burned, townsfolk felled large trees, hoisted the bar on top of the log trunks, and rolled the building down what was then a 70-foot-wide road to its current location at the corner of Ute Pass Avenue and Lake Street, said resident Mike Urban.

The trees still hold up the building, he said.

For 30 years, he’s owned Mike Urban Electronics, just a hop away from The Blue Moose Tavern. While talking, he holds up a piece of scorched wood from the fire at the bar in the early 1900s that singed the floor.

“It’s a seriously compromised building,” Urban said.

The Blue Moose Tavern, formerly named Pine Gables Tavern, has a history of being a locals hangout, offering bar food, varied music, sports on TV, pool tables and a friendly atmosphere.

The lone sit-down restaurant in town left with an “Open” sign in its window, The Pantry, has been feeding the masses. But it’s been difficult for employees of the family-owned breakfast and lunch spot that began life as a bakery in the 1950s to keep up with the heavier-than-usual demand.

Marlys Fleharty of Woodland Park has taken guests to the restaurant three times in the past two weeks.

“We love it. This place is special, it’s quaint, and the food is good,” she said while sitting outside on a bench waiting to be seated.

Two weeks ago, her party waited 1½ half hours just to get a table. The wait on Wednesday was at least 45 minutes.

“They definitely need more places to eat here,” Fleharty said.

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