Via iStockphoto / @camilarrain TikTok
A black bear ran into Aspen's upscale Sant Ambroeus restaurant, jumped across tables, and sent diners scrambling. Here's why bears are entering town.
Dinner at one of Aspen‘s swankiest restaurants took a very unexpected turn when a black bear ran straight into the dining room.
It’s the kind of thing that’s easy to imagine Hunter S. Thompson having a field day with. In a 16-second video posted by New York City native Cami Larrain (@camilarrain), diners at Sant Ambroeus can be seen scrambling as the bear bounds through the restaurant and jumps onto a table.
It’s an almost comically Aspen scene: people enjoying $70 plates of veal at an upscale Italian restaurant while an actual apex predator crashes dinner.
Larrain, who describes herself as a New York City native and whose TikTok usually features stories from the fashion world and “Architectural Digest” home tour parodies, may have accidentally captured her most surreal piece of content yet.
A Bear Crashes Dinner At Sant Ambroeus
The video starts mid-panic; a figure rushes across the room, and a bear appears across Sant Ambroeus’ dining room. It leaps onto a table and runs across several tables, while a man says, “go, go, go.”
As the camera pans across the room, a figure is quasi-confronting the animal: he’s holding a tray jack like a shield, trying to shoo the confused bear out of the restaurant. No other people appear to be in the immediate vicinity of the bear.
The Santa Monica Observer reports that the video was first posted to Justine Bateman’s X account.
Further, the Observer reports that there has been “elevated bear activity in the Aspen area this summer.” This is because a dry summer has meant less food for the bears. So they go into town looking for “easy calories” like those found in garbage cans and human environments.
The bear was identified as a black bear cub, and “As of early August 12, there were no immediate public statements from Colorado Parks and Wildlife or Aspen authorities specifically addressing this restaurant entry,” reported that source. However, black bears are common in the area, and most encounters end without incident.
The Bear Quickly Becomes The Restaurant’s Most Famous Customer
It’s true, sometimes the jokes really do write themselves. And the internet shows up for this 21st-century version of Goldilocks.
“Least demanding Sant Ambroeus customer,” writes Angelnumber8888 of the upscale Italian eatery.
DozerDaze (@dozerdaze) takes a shot at the Lone Star State: “To be fair he is still more behaved than most of the Texan tourists.”
While several others express sympathy for the conditions that are driving the bears to the bistro: “These poor babies are thirsty and hungry. This drought is awful for all wildlife,” acknowledges Julie Beekman (@juliebeekman0).
Then Beccasneaky (@beccasneaky) jumps into the conversation. “Even bears need princess cake.”
What Draws Bears Into Restaurants And Homes?
Alaskans know about bears. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game advises that the best way to stay safe around bears is to keep them away from human food. This is the best way to prevent conflicts and confrontations between bears and people.
Because bears love human food, they love to plunder garbage bins, and break-ins are real problems in areas with bear populations. It is a matter of safety for both parties, as people can get hurt while bears face euthanization when they become a nuisance. Or, when they’re food conditioned and become aggressive as a result.
That image, of a literal hungry bear scavenging for luxury Italian scraps because the wilderness is parched, is almost too Thompson-esque to be true. It really mirrors this particular moment in time. Aspen’s rough-and-ready wilderness vibes bump against the private planes and coddled luxury of the one percent who vacation there.
@camilarrain He took one look at their prices and was outta there #aspen #colorado
Larrain has not returned a request for comment.