It’s pretty amazing to consider that for the first 10 years of the Snowmass ski area, there was no grocery store in Snowmass. If you wanted a quart of milk or other food staples, you had to drive either upvalley to Aspen or downvalley to Basalt. It’s also pretty amazing to consider that in more than 33 years of being in business, Village Market Snowmass has been open every day since.
John Buxman is the owner of Village Market Snowmass as well as Village Markets in Edwards, Telluride and Moab, Utah.
Buxman grew up in Oklahoma and came to Colorado after college in 1949 as the Colorado mountain resorts in Vail and Aspen were just beginning to evolve into ski towns.
He got into the grocery business by working in a store and rising up through the ranks. Eventually, Buxman was able to open his own grocery store in Minturn in 1968. In 1978, he opened a Village Market in Vail that was open until 2008.
In 1979, Buxman opened his Village Market in Snowmass.
“I have a love affair with Snowmass,” Buxman said. “The first time I drove in there, I said, ‘This is where I want to live.’ It’s the greatest little town in the world, as far as I’m concerned, and I really love being part of it.”
