Jayma Cardoso is well-known in Montauk, N.Y., thanks to her hotspot The Surf Lodge. And with her second concept, The Snow Lodge, in Aspen, she’s quickly becoming an expert on the winter sports destination.
Cardoso has been visiting Aspen for five years, and says that opening The Snow Lodge was dictated by the Montauk clientele.
“People used to say to me, ‘Jayma, there’re so many amazing restaurants, but I feel like there’s room for a fun après.’ Not that Cloud Nine or all these other amazing venues aren’t, but I don’t think that anyone was doing what we do with music,” she says. “In Europe, there’s obviously tons of après ski places similar to what I think The Snow Lodge is. But yeah, I think it’s knowing that our guest is there. I guess you put it out there in the universe and it comes.”
When she initially came to Aspen, Cardoso was under the impression that the town was “so fancy, and I probably don’t have the right outfits,” she says. “And then you get in there and it’s super low-key. People dress quite casually. There’s a lot of money and the people with a lot of money are very low-key. So you can never tell who’s who, what’s what. And people don’t really care.”
With several seasons under her belt, Cardoso has nailed down her favorites spots around town. She likes to start the day at Louis Swiss Bakery over Paradise Bakery, given the lack of indoor seating at the latter: “I’m Brazilian, so I’m really cold outside!” she says. She likes the charcoal lemonade at Jus, oysters at Clark’s, takeout Mexican food when she’s with her son John, and Casa Tua or Matsuhisa when hanging with clients.
For shopping, she’s learned over the years to head to Heirlooms consignment shop for chic finds that won’t cost quite as much as the designer boutiques in town.
“It’s the best of the best,” she says.
This season, she’s been hitting the new Revolve that opened in the Fwrd store.
“You can find things under 200 bucks, but you can also find a vintage working bag at Fwrd. I love that,” she says.
