Aspen's restaurants took a big hit from the New Year's Eve bomber, but resilient partyers weren't to be deterred. Many simply carried off the celebration one evening later.

The night before, on New Year's Eve - one of glitzy Aspen's most lucrative dates - a full 16 blocks in the center of town were evacuated for more than 13 hours.

But by morning, Aspen was on the rebound. The annual New Year's Eve fireworks celebration above Aspen Mountain lit up the night sky Thursday and tourists and locals again filled shops and restaurants. And with nightfall arrived a pent-up demand to party.

Balloons filled the rafters of several restaurants and people were streaming back to the town's core early in the evening, said Kevin Siegrist, senior conference service manager at the swank Hotel Jerome.

The concierge was busy all day making reservations for the evening. "Everyone wants to experience" New Year's in Aspen, he said.

The desire for a day-later do-over even struck cyberspace. The Aspen Times reported an "F bomb" celebration spreading among locals with Facebook accounts. "F--- the bomb, let's celebrate," read the invitation swirling through the Web.

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

"It was absolutely the worst night for this to happen during an already-difficult year," said Campo di Fiore general manager David Elssweig. The restaurant had been booked solid for weeks with 200 guests at two New Year's Eve seatings.

The holiday week is the peak period of the year for Colorado's winter playgrounds.