SNOW PLACE LIKE MAMMOTH
Published in the Jan. 10, 2026 issue.
Shoppers spent 3.9% more from Nov. 1 to Dec. 21 this year compared to last year, according to Kim Bhasin of The New York Times. This figure comes at a time when consumers are navigating economic uncertainty.
It struck me as strange that people are continuing to spend, and in fact spend more, this holiday season than they usually do.
I wondered how this trend would impact local businesses in Mammoth, especially following low occupancy rates this summer and fall. Was there a marked discrepancy between the week leading up to Christmas, when there was no snow, and after, when it dumped? And did businesses do better on the days the mountain was closed, due to tragic circumstances?
So this week, I spoke with a variety of business owners, managers, and employees about their holiday performances.
The businesses I spoke to all agreed on one thing: snow is good.
“It’s like money falling from the sky,” said Joanie Schaller, who has owned and operated Roberto’s, a Mexican restaurant, for 40 years. “In the summer, it’s guaranteed business. It’s beautiful every day. But in the winter, you need snow to be busy.”
Schaller estimated this year was busier than last, perhaps due in part to Mammoth Mountain’s closure on Dec. 26 and 27. The continuous blizzard also helped.
“Stormy days are always busier anyways,” Schaller said. “It was crazy, really.”
Roberto’s doesn’t take reservations. Instead, the restaurant operates on a first-come, first-serve basis. Schaller said her restaurant was “as busy as it could possibly be.”
One Burger’s employee echoed her sentiment.
“When the mountain is closed, people like to eat and drink,” she said. “Why not come eat and drink here?”
Even Surefoot, the chain bootfitting store in the Village, saw an increase in traffic on the days the mountain was closed.
“Usually, we are pretty busy early in the morning and then get busy again when people are done skiing,” said Todd Koenig, the general manager of Surefoot, “but those days we were busy just straight through. A lot of people with a lot of pent up energy and nothing to do.”
“A few of those days were just insane,” added Dominic Carton, an employee at Mammoth Mountaineering Supply.
David Gold, the general manager of Vulcania and The Patty Shack, hypothesized the timing of the holidays also helped boost business. I spoke with him at Vulcania, therefore the perspective I gleaned from him came from his job in fine dining.
“The holidays being mid week made it drastically busier,” Gold said. “If you have a holiday on a Friday, no one is going to be here on a Tuesday. But because it was weekend, holiday, weekend, holiday, weekend, we just crushed the entire way through.”
Vulcania has been fully booked since Dec. 18, and is booked through this upcoming Saturday. The restaurant also “crushed” midweek lunch, a phenomenon which only occurs during the holidays.
“It’s a double edged sword where it’s great to be successful and I wish I had twice the dining room and twice the kitchen capacity,” Gold said.
When I asked him about consumer spending in the face of economic uncertainty, he responded that people will spend their money either way.
“It’s what they’re spending on that changes,” Gold said. “Short term goals versus long term goals … I think people will always feel the need to get outside and go on an adventure.”
Like visiting Mammoth and spending money in town, even when the country is in a financial pinch.
“I think it’ll just be a good season,” Schaller said. “We have Martin Luther King’s Day and President’s Day coming up. Those are all huge. It’s just more huge than it used to be.”
Some town establishments, like the Limelight Hotel and Trendy Tots, a toy store in the Village, didn’t want to talk. Others, like Toomey’s, needed their owner’s approval to go on record. In these cases, the owner was not available.
