Born from this place. Built with intention.

Elevated by the people who fill it.

A beautifully imperfect, quietly refined space made in Carbondale, for Carbondale.

Carbondale has always held the good stuff: the mountains, the makers, the long-timers who know every trail by heart, the young couples building new roots, the people who still wave when they pass by.

What it hasn’t had is a place where all that warmth could meet around a table.

Until now.



Amara is that place.





A locals-first wine bar for slow afternoons.



A cozy dinner spot for snowy nights.



A place that feels breezy in summer, golden in fall, and deeply human year-round.

Inside these walls:



Simple ingredients become exceptional food.



Wine is playful, personal, and unpretentious. 



Service feels like someone remembering your favorite seat.



And staying a little too long is basically the point.



It’s the kind of restaurant that makes a town feel more like a community, a gathering place that invites you to settle in, share generously, and savor the moment.



Here, tinned fish becomes a ritual.Bread is meant to be torn.

Wine is meant to be discovered.



And Carbondale becomes just a little more Carbondale.



Welcome home.



Welcome to Amara.

Elevated by the people who fill it.

A beautifully imperfect, quietly refined space made in Carbondale, for Carbondale.

Carbondale has always held the good stuff: the mountains, the makers, the long-timers who know every trail by heart, the young couples building new roots, the people who still wave when they pass by.

What it hasn’t had is a place where all that warmth could meet around a table.

Until now.



Amara is that place.





A locals-first wine bar for slow afternoons.



A cozy dinner spot for snowy nights.



A place that feels breezy in summer, golden in fall, and deeply human year-round.

Inside these walls:



Simple ingredients become exceptional food.



Wine is playful, personal, and unpretentious. 



Service feels like someone remembering your favorite seat.



And staying a little too long is basically the point.



It’s the kind of restaurant that makes a town feel more like a community, a gathering place that invites you to settle in, share generously, and savor the moment.



Here, tinned fish becomes a ritual.Bread is meant to be torn.

Wine is meant to be discovered.



And Carbondale becomes just a little more Carbondale.



Welcome home.



Welcome to Amara.

Elevated by the people who fill it.

A beautifully imperfect, quietly refined space made in Carbondale, for Carbondale.

Carbondale has always held the good stuff: the mountains, the makers, the long-timers who know every trail by heart, the young couples building new roots, the people who still wave when they pass by.

Inside these walls:



Simple ingredients become exceptional food.



Wine is playful, personal, and unpretentious. 



Service feels like someone remembering your favorite seat.



And staying a little too long is basically the point.



What it hasn’t had is a place where all that warmth could meet around a table.

Until now.



Amara is that place.





A locals-first wine bar for slow afternoons.



A cozy dinner spot for snowy nights.



A place that feels breezy in summer, golden in fall, and deeply human year-round.

It’s the kind of restaurant that makes a town feel more like a community, a gathering place that invites you to settle in, share generously, and savor the moment.



Here, tinned fish becomes a ritual.Bread is meant to be torn.

Wine is meant to be discovered.



And Carbondale becomes just a little more Carbondale.



Welcome home.



Welcome to Amara.

Maria J Cardenas

comes to Amara with a life spent in hospitality, trained at the Culinary Institute of America and refined in some of the country’s most demanding dining rooms. She’s managed restaurants, built wine programs, and curated lists recognized not for being loud, but for being thoughtful.

In Aspen, she shaped wine programs where intention mattered, bottles chosen for balance, story, and how they felt at the table. Wine that invited conversation. Wine that didn’t ask for permission.


But accolades were never the point.
Connection was.

Alongside her is her husband,

Ricardo

with a bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management of l'Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne, whose career in hospitality in Aspen began in 2010 and has been defined by leadership, consistency, and a deep respect for the craft of service. His formative years included management at The Little Nell, where precision, grace, and world-class hospitality are simply the standard. 

Ricardo brings a calm, steady presence to Amara, the kind that understands how a room should flow, how a team should feel supported, and how excellence is built quietly, day after day. His passion lies in the details guests don’t always see, but always feel: rhythm, care, and the invisible work that makes a restaurant truly sing.


Together, Maria and Ricardo share a belief that luxury should feel human.
That service should feel remembered.
That the best meals are the ones where time softens and the table becomes a place to land.


Amara is the natural extension of that belief.
A space built not to impress, but to belong.

Built to gather.
Built for Carbondale.