Glen Haven's Winter Calendar Runs on Two Kitchens and a Christmas Habit From the 1960s

One dining room at the Inn of Glen Haven has stained glass made by Bill Wells. Wells was the priest at St. Francis of Assisi Anglican Church in Estes Park, and he bought the building in 1965. He also started a Twelve Days of Christmas dinner series there. The series ran for decades before the 2013 flood closed the inn, according to BizWest.

The holiday dinners going on the calendar for December 2026 are a smaller version of that tradition. They're also the main reason Glen Haven's winter has a shape. After October, the village's food and gathering schedule mostly comes down to two kitchens on County Road 43. The General Store covers weekend mornings in November, and the Inn picks up weekend evenings in December. Once you know the handoff, you know where things are open.

The General Store Goes to Weekends Only

The Glen Haven General Store's posted fall schedule is open October 23, 24 and 25, closing at noon on the 25th. It's open again October 30 and 31, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. In November it switches to Saturday and Sunday only, 9 to 4. No December hours have been posted yet, so check the store's Fall Hours page before you drive over expecting a cinnamon roll in December.

The rolls follow the same tight schedule as the store. Here's how the store describes it on its About page and homepage:

• Cinnamon rolls are baked in small batches every morning.
• For six or more, order a day ahead, by 4 p.m. the day before.
• Online ordering is available through the store's site.

In November, small batches plus two open days a week make the 4 p.m. cutoff matter. If you want a dozen for Sunday, call or order by Saturday afternoon, and Saturday is also when the store is open. A Friday afternoon order for Saturday works too, as long as the store takes it.

The store's current About page lists Amanda Hoskins and Becky Sorensen as owners and operators. The store reopened under new ownership with a grand opening on May 28, 2022, and the Estes Park Trail-Gazette quoted Hoskins as one of the new owners.

Weekdays Mostly Come Down to the Post Office Window

From Monday through Friday in November, the steadiest open door in the village is the Glen Haven Post Office. USPS lists retail hours as 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on weekdays, 9:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday, and closed Sunday. It also warns that hours can vary. Check the USPS location page before mailing holiday packages.

The Saturday hours overlap. The post office's Saturday window and the store's first three hours on Saturday fall in the same part of the morning, so you can pick up mail and coffee on one trip down the road.

The Inn's dining room is the one that goes dark. When BizWest profiled it in 2023, the restaurant closed in November and reopened in December for holiday dinners. The Inn's own restaurant page now goes straight from fall to December.

December Belongs to the Inn

The Inn of Glen Haven's holiday menu page lists dinners every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in December. Diners choose prime rib, a poultry entrée or a fish entrée, and vegan or vegetarian dishes are available on request. You pick your entrée when you make the reservation. Seating starts at 4:30 p.m., and the last seating is 7:30. Reservations are by phone at (970) 586-4696.

Every entrée includes a light appetizer, salad, fresh vegetable, bread and butter, and a homemade dessert. The poultry and fish options change from weekend to weekend:

The second weekend stands out. It's the only one with duck on the menu, and in the BizWest profile duck à l'orange appeared on the Inn's regular menu. If duck is the dish you want, the December 11 to 13 weekend is the one to book. Prime rib is on every weekend at $95.

Christmas week runs Thursday, Saturday and Sunday this year. December 24 falls on a Thursday, the Inn is closed Friday the 25th, and dinners pick back up on the 26th. If you have family in town, the Christmas Eve seating with live music is the one that falls on a weeknight.

What the December Dinners Are Left Of

The December schedule makes more sense once you know the history. In 2010 the Estes Park Trail-Gazette called that season the Inn's 45th year hosting the "12 Days of Christmas" and credited Bill and Doris Wells with starting it. A 2014 Trail-Gazette article described the dinners as running from December 26 to January 5. A separate Trail-Gazette story on a fund-raiser to rebuild the Inn said each night of the series had a different theme.

The building itself dates to 1919. It started as a general store, later served as a post office, and became lodging in 1935, BizWest reported. So for part of its history, the building that now hosts Glen Haven's December dinners did the jobs the General Store and the post office do today.

According to BizWest, Tom and Sheila Sellers bought the inn in April 1989 and kept the Wells tradition going until the 2013 flood closed the building. Chris and Emma Richmond bought it from the Sellers in November 2021 and reopened it on June 2, 2022. That fall, the Trail-Gazette reported that the restaurant would reopen on Fridays and Saturdays in December with a special holiday menu. The 2026 schedule adds Sundays.

Chef Tim Hutton stayed on through the change in ownership, and Emma Richmond took over the desserts after learning them from Sheila Sellers. That means the homemade dessert with each holiday entrée comes from recipes passed between owners. Chris Richmond explained the approach to the menu to BizWest:

"We didn't want to change anything that's not broken. Most people are very pleased with the menu here."

The old run between Christmas and early January has become weekend dinners spread through December. The tradition still takes place in the same building, and the regular kitchen still does the cooking.

After New Year's, the Inn Moves to Buffet Nights

The Inn's winter doesn't end on December 31. Its restaurant page describes Friday and Saturday buffet dinners from January through May. Reservations start at 4:30 p.m., and the last one is at 7:30. The page lists four buffet themes:

1. Italian night
2. Comfort food night, such as meatloaf or shepherd's pie and fried chicken
3. Mexican night
4. Soup, salad and baked potato night

That schedule is from last season. The same page lists Valentine's dinners on February 13 and 14 and Easter brunch on April 5, and those were the 2026 dates. Call the Inn before you plan around a 2027 buffet night. When BizWest spoke with Chris Richmond in 2023, he described the after-holiday menu as "a casual buffet-type dinner," not fine dining.

Put together, Glen Haven's winter looks like this. The store has weekend mornings through November. The post office keeps its weekday window. The Inn serves holiday dinners on three or four nights a week in December, then buffet nights on Fridays and Saturdays into spring. To book a seat for December, call (970) 586-4696 and choose your entrée when you reserve.

At Estes Park Team Realty, we've lived in the Estes Valley since long before the Inn's recent change of ownership. We're glad to talk about the North Fork corridor, from Devils Gulch to Drake, whenever you're ready. Start by browsing properties, or call us after your holiday dinner.