Steamboat Pilot & Today

With more young people moving into Oak Creek, the owners of Chelsea's see an opportunity for more nightlife.

Owners Jaila and Andy Benjamin recently purchased a 12-inch disco ball that now spins from the ceiling of their Chinese restaurant and bar. They collected a pile of 1970s era disco albums, including K.C. and the Sunshine Band and the Bee Gees, and they bought a copy of Saturday Night Fever to play over and over on a background television. They rummaged through all the great South Routt thrift stores and put together 1970s costumes, and tonight, they will open the doors to the first Disco Night.

"We just thought Oak Creek needs something," Jaila Benjamin said. "The Colorado Bar has bands every once in a while, but we need more chances to get people out and get them dancing."

Part of the Benjamins' inspiration was their memory of the weekly Disco Night held at the Inferno, a long closed but still legendary bar in Steamboat Springs.

Jaila Benjamin was a regular at the Inferno.

"Those nights were always fun," she said.

The disco ball will start spinning at 9:45 p.m. The strobe lights and black lights will be turned on, and the hula hoops will come out from behind the bar.

In recent months, hula hooping has become a popular pasttime in the late hours at Chelsea's, and many customers and staff are getting pretty good at it.

"(Chef) David Chen is awesome at it," Benjamin said.

There will be prizes tonight for the best hula hooper and the best costume.

"For years, we have been trying to build up the nightlife scene in Oak Creek with bands," Benjamin said. "It's nice to go out and then be able to walk home and not get behind the wheel of a car."

For those who want to make the trip from Steamboat, Chelsea's offers a designated driver dinner special. For parties of four with reservations, the designated driver eats free.