Hello to our Beloved Community, 

We hope this letter finds you safe and healthy. It has been exceedingly difficult to write this particular Love Letter from Helles. We started it weeks ago, and every day the news cycle brings a fresh horror that we’re trying to process and relate to. How do we conduct business in a time like this? How do we feel okay talking about the mundane details of our work? Our hearts are heavy as we watch what’s happening in Minnesota and across the country. The devastation is real, and so is our belief in our collective ability to center care for humanity and the planet to create a different nation and world. We are hugging you all.

As we prepare for our 27th season at the restaurant, farm, and now the Lodge, we've been thinking about how much our work has changed over the decades—but also how, throughout many seismic shifts, one thing has stayed consistent: our values. From the very beginning, when we opened in 2000 as a little garden-to-table restaurant, our aspirations were implausible and somewhat grand—we joked a lot that we would make the world a better place “one biscuit at a time.” Back then, our main goal was to help dismantle sick food systems by modeling how sustainability is possible even in one of the most remote parts of the country. But as we've grown over the decades, our missions have grown, as well. Our now not-so-little farm-to-table restaurant/lodge/food truck has become a fierce voice in the fight to protect the planet and her wild places (particularly the landscape that informs our work, the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument). And we also regularly use our fairly big platform to push back against cruelty and to advocate for peace and human rights. To that, we will be participating in Friday’s General Strike in all the ways we can—and will be donating the proceeds from tomorrow’s Lodge sales to mutual aid organizations here in Utah. We encourage you to participate in whatever ways you’re able.

Winter Solace

We are pledging to meet this moment (and truly, all moments) with our characteristic and relentless love and hope—and with that comes an offering of an experience that encourages true connection and community: with oneself, with one another, and with this awe-inspiring wilderness. It is through connection, grounding, and nourishment of soul and body that we find strength in difficult times. Our endless commitment is to provide that to you all, our own version of a higher-consciousness hospitality. We hope you’ll come see us soon. Because while time in nature can’t solve all the problems we face today, it is a scientifically proven balm for the soul and a reminder of just how much there is to save. We’ve felt this deeply over the past few months, and our winter guests have confirmed it. Although Hell’s Backbone Grill and Little Bone are closed for the winter, the Lodge has remained open—a place of quiet and calm in a frantic world. While we always wish for snow (because it’s what the landscape needs), the days here have been mild and stunningly sunny, and our guests return from long hikes and tell us that Boulder's winter beauty is healing—the bright blue skies, clean air and water, herds of gorgeous deer in the pastures, and the sounds of great horned owls hooting in the treetops.

We invite you to spend time in quiet, remote Boulder in what remains of winter. We invite you to walk on the red rocks in a quietude so deep you can hear the flutter of bird wings above. We invite you to accept the myriad gifts of wintry wilderness. And with just under 6 weeks left until it gets much (much) busier around here, we want to offer a 20 percent discount on our winter rates through March 12th. We hope this makes a trip more accessible. Also: One beautiful bonus of owning the Lodge is that we can now offer an assortment of heat-and-eat meals to our Lodge guests, made by the amazing Jen Castle herself. (Think Pumpkin & Gruyere Tamales and Red Chile Turkey Posole and Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies savored in your warm guest room or by the fireplace in the Common Room, with an incredible view of our bird sanctuary, where migrating water fowl also land for a few nights). It’s really a dream come true to be able to hold the door open for guests to experience both the magic of a Boulder winter along with the flavors and nourishment of HBG.

Moving into Season 27

Our initial intention for this newsletter was to provide details about our upcoming season—“Dinner reservations are open, here are this season’s hours, learn about the changes to Utah’s alcohol rules due to new legislation, and let us explain our dog policy.” And while it’s still our intention to provide these details—because we do really want you (and your dogs) to come visit us this season—everything feels so unspeakably hard and strange and wrong right now. But we also recognize this moment as a summons to deepen our engagement with the way we show up in the world—as business owners, chefs, farmers, hoteliers, land stewards, activists, employees, friends, neighbors, and humans.

Hell’s Backbone Grill & Farm is and always has been a place of respite, sanctuary, inclusiveness, and heart congruence. A place built on kindness. A place where we don’t shy away from politics (it’s been on the menu for over a quarter of a century now and, like the chocolate chile cream pot, is an item we’ll never 86). Our work has always been about feeding people, but to us, this extends much further than hospitality or service. It’s an offering of our hearts, our passion and our art—and we wholeheartedly believe that it’s important at times like these to continue doing what makes us feel most alive and connected to others. So, with that: We want to invite you to Boulder. Come, and let us feed you.

Dining reservations for our 2026 season are officially available.

This Year’s Program

Hell’s Backbone Grill’s first dinner service of season 27 will begin at 4 pm on Friday, March 13th, with our Little Bone food truck opening the following morning, Saturday, March 14th, for breakfast and lunch.

Dinner at HBG will be offered from 4 – 9 pm, Thursday – Monday (closed Tuesday/Wednesday)

It’s best to make reservations directly through our website or Tock portal, but we're also glad to assist via email hbg@hellsbackbonegrill.com or phone. To connect directly with the restaurant, call 435-335-7464 and leave a message—or 435-335-7460 will connect you with the Lodge, where we have staff who can help with reservations.

As for Little Bone, our sweet food truck will expand its hours slightly this season:

Spring hours 
Breakfast & Lunch from 7:30 am – 2 pm daily
Dinner from 4 – 8 pm on Tuesdays & Wednesdays when the restaurant is closed

Speaking of Little Bone: Some happy news is that in the effort to continually honor excellence on our staff, as well as improve our offerings to you all, our cherished Hellion Lacy Allen has accepted the position of Little Bone Manager. Lacy has been part of our team for so long, and she was integral in helping us launch the food truck (and she also created those cardamom waffles you’re all obsessed with), so we’re delighted that she wants to grow with us.

We’re also proud to announce that Tyler Warren, who shined last year in his role as lead line, has accepted the role of Head Chef for HBG. He’ll be working closely with our founding Executive Chefs Blake and Jen to coordinate the back-of-house team and bring fresh inspiration to the menu. We’re so pleased to have Tyler beside us in the kitchen—his culinary sensibilities and talents align beautifully with our mission to highlight place-based, seasonal, Four Corners cuisine. And not that you need convincing, but in case you do: He was the genius behind the Blue Hubbard squash gnocchi last season… IYKYK.

You Don’t Look a Day Over …

One notable change in policy from last year, due to a recent Utah legislative change, is that we have to card all guests who wish to drink alcohol (yes, even if you are 108 years old!) We’ll send reminders about this, but we want to make sure everyone knows up front, because there’s no doubt it will be inconvenient. We’re adding additional staff this year to make this new requirement less disruptive to excellent service. To that, several of our trusted longtime front-of-house staff have achieved their sommelier certifications, and one of them will be on the floor every night, performing the ID verifications and assisting with information, selections, and generally elevated wine service.

We Love Dogs

In an effort to minimize confusion, we want to clarify our dog policy, as it’s slightly complicated. Because our patio is pretty tight, and particularly because we’ve always taken care of a colony of wild kitties (and they’re carrying on the patio-loving legacy of the late, great kitty queen Jezebel, who famously ruled the space), we cannot allow dogs other than licensed service dogs on the patio itself. We can accommodate leashed and well-behaved dogs (barkers need not apply!) on the outside of the patio railing, however, when the patio walls are rolled up—and we’re making a more visible dog “zone” along that stretch of driveway. You’re welcome to bring a bed with you; otherwise we’ll provide rugs and water bowls for your pup. That said, we roll up the walls only when the weather permits, which might not be until later in April. We’re also designating a few “dog-in-vehicle” specific parking spots that are shady and close to the patio. So please be aware that while we love dogs (truly, we have so many dogs between us, and we’ve increased the number of dog-friendly lodge rooms, and we’re adding an outdoor dog washing station), it’s not always possible to accommodate canine dinner companions. But when you make a reservation, please indicate your desire to bring your pup, and we will do our best to make it happen!

Gratitude & Grace

A heartfelt thank-you to those of you who did your holiday shopping with us. Our December was BIG, and your support was deeply appreciated—it helped keep a number of our sweet Hellions employed and gave us a little breathing room. We are so grateful, and we hope our goodies brought joy to you and your loved ones this holiday season. The national strike notwithstanding, we’re still steadily shipping out signed HBG cookbooks, pantry delights, and gift cards for Valentine’s Day, birthdays, wedding gifts, anniversaries, and other special occasions. We hugely appreciate your continual support, and we also know that there are so many organizations, individuals, and businesses with imminent needs. Over the years, we’ve been the recipients of SO much support in times of struggle, and we encourage you to seek out ways that your money can uplift those with the greatest need at this moment. There’s no shortage of opportunities to help others.

Looking Ahead

From what we can tell, despite the madness of our world (or maybe because of it), this season is looking to be busy. We have several weddings booked, a few workshops and retreats in the making, and we’re lining up our public events, as well. We’ll host the weekly Community Market again this summer and fall, and we’re coordinating with the SB Dance Troupe to organize an event here in August. We really enjoyed our Etta Place Cider Dinner last November, so we’re exploring hosting something similar again this year. And we’re feeling comforted and buoyed to be inviting the Monks of Drepung Loseling Monastery to grace us with a visit again this year. We’re currently working on summer dates with them, and we’ll let you know so you can make travel plans.

What feels particularly meaningful in this moment are the elements of our work that deepen relationships, grow bonds and networks, and support other individuals and organizations that we believe in. So we’re leaning into the many ways we can bring people together to foster this, and we look forward to sharing them with you.

The fact that we cannot save everything does not mean that we cannot save anything and everything we can save is worth saving. You may need to grieve or scream or take time off, but you have a role, no matter what, and right now good friends and good principles are worth gathering in. Remember what you love. Remember what loves you. Remember in this tide of hate what love is. The pain you feel is because of love. 

Rebecca Solnit

The Fight for the Monument Continues …

We knew the attack on our public lands wasn’t over, and now we’re at another pivotal moment. As such, we’re doubling down on our advocacy work. This week, Blake is joining SUWA (Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance) and an advocacy coalition of environmental groups in Washington, D.C. She’ll travel with representatives of the five tribes of this landscape and a few other local-to-the-region concerned citizens and business owners to push for the preservation of Grand Staircase. Once again, the Utah delegation, this time with UT REP Celeste Maloy in the lead (probably to get the very unpopular Mike Lee’s name out of the headlines), is pulling legal levers to try to strip protections from the Monument. Specifically, they’re attempting to use the Congressional Review Act to overturn the Monument’s Management Plan—a plan that involved years of public input. After many unsuccessful attempts to overtly rescind/steal public lands from the American people, these legislators are now using more obscure means to achieve the same end. And it’s not just in Utah. This tactic is also being used to threaten the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota, and if it’s successful, it will likely continue on to other important and fragile landscapes across the country. We encourage you to read the specifics and learn how to take action.

More than ever, this recent assault on public lands reminds us that our struggles and successes are all connected. Just as we understand how each element of this sensitive desert ecosystem is interdependent, we know that what happens to our corner of the high desert West affects what happens to the waterscapes of Minnesota and beyond. We’ve seen that when we join forces to rally around our public lands, whether it’s the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument or public lands more generally, we have collective power. We have strength in numbers. We see it now in the energy of those coming together to care for their communities across the country. So, once again, we ask you to join us to make the calls, help the helpers, sound the horns, show up, do it all and then some. Joan Baez wisely wrote: “action is the antidote to despair,” and those words have never felt more relevant. Thank you for the multitude of ways you have taken action, and continue to act, in support of the land and all sentient beings. We are eternally grateful to share this wild planet with all of you.

With tenderness & resolve,
Blake, Jen, Nina, Morgan, Nick, The Hellions & The Owls

p.s. Blake’s sister Lavinia, who co-authored both of our cookbooks (and helps us write these Love Letters) has a very relevant & helpful newsletter of her own. Here is the link to it on her substack if you would like to check it out.

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be.

I go and lie down where the wood drake 

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. 

I come into the peace of wild things 

who do not tax their lives with forethought 

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

and I feel above me the day blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time 

I rest in the grace of the world and am free.

~ Wendell Berry