Aspen had largely returned to business as usual Thursday morning. The annual New Year's Eve fireworks celebration above Aspen Mountain was rescheduled and tourists and locals once again filled shops and restaurants.

The day before a full 16 blocks in the center of town had been evacuated as police searched for bombs planted by a would-be bank robber. The impact: a lot of nervous people and millions of dollars in lost New Year's Eve business.

The staff at Campo di Fiore was busy preparing for its sold out New Year's Eve festivities on Wednesday afternoon when the call came from police ordering everyone to get out immediately.

What many Campo di Fiore and many other downtown Aspen businesses initially hoped would just be a momentary disruption turned into a cancellation of New Year's Eve altogether, ruining the busiest night of the year for many restaurants, bars and nightclubs.

"It was absolutely the worst night for this to happen during an already difficult year," said David Elssweig, general manager of Campo di Fiore, located on South Mill Street. The Italian restaurant's annual celebration had been booked solid for weeks with 200 guests at two seatings.

Aspen Police Chief Bill Linn on Thursday estimated that losses for downtown merchants could be in the "millions of dollars" range.

"We understand this has been pretty trying for some of the businesses in town," he said during a press conference. "The timing of this couldn't be any worse for many of them given the economy and all of the things going on in the world."

The week between Christmas and New Year's is the peak period of the year for Colorado's winter playgrounds. Many resort towns endured a nail-biting start to the season in November with scant snow and the faltering economy, but heavy snowfall in December helped entice enough skiers to keep reservations about on par with past years.

While the core of Aspen remained eerily silent on New Year's Eve, some businesses just outside the perimeter cashed in. Local Spirits 'n Wine on Main Street was forced to close all night, while the Great Western Grog Shop - just a block away from the barricades - had a line outside the door. Many customers had decided to celebrate on their own after realizing that they wouldn't be able to get into any restaurants or bars.

"A lot of people went to Plan B," said Roger Carlsen, manager of the Grog Shop. "They were pretty intent on enjoying the evening" in spite of the events.

At Lather Salon Aspen, owner Jeff Novak kept a nervous eye on the fire trucks parked just across the street from his Main Street boutique. New Year's Eve is the salon's busiest day of the year, booked solid with partygoers getting their hair done in preparation for the night's parties.

"We were so lucky that we weren't affected," he said. "I cannot imagine what it would be like to be a restaurant owner. Those guys must've lost in the thousands and thousands of dollars."

Campo di Fiore kept its elaborate New Year's Eve decorations up another night in an attempt to do over the scotched celebration, Elssweig said. But things were looking up: The restaurant couldn't rebook any of Wednesday night's guests because it was sold out on Thursday.