Scott Rednor took 17 days to turn the empty Blü Cow space in the Red Lion Building into a hoagie deli. "It took us to 17 days, basically, from start to finish, sort of remodeling, getting the equipment together, figuring it out," he told Vail Daily in June. He named it "How you doin'?" and gave it a full bar and a small stage, using a room that would otherwise have sat empty.
The deli is a stopgap. Both the Red Lion at 304 Bridge Street and Concert Hall Plaza at 616 W. Lionshead Circle are on the Town of Vail's list of redevelopment projects expected to start in spring 2027. Both new buildings will include commercial space. Most of the businesses there now are tenants, and the end of their leases decides when they leave. Getting into the new buildings depends on who can afford the rebuilt space, whether by renting it or buying it. Vail Mountain is tentatively set to open Friday, Nov. 13, and the season that starts then is the last one with these tenants in place.
The Red Lion building keeps a restaurant, but it won't be the Red Lion
The Red Lion was one of Vail's first buildings, put up in the early 1960s in the Tyrolean style the town's founders wanted. The approved redevelopment by Jeff and Charlie Selby keeps the building's signage and entryway look. It adds an underground event center plus retail, restaurant and bar space.
The new design does include a restaurant. As Vail Daily reported in January, the plan gives it less than half the current restaurant's total square footage and turns its patio away from Bridge Street to face Hanson Ranch Road. High-end retail is expected to fill the Bridge Street side, where the restaurant is now. Co-owner Rod Linafelter's group holds the rights to the Red Lion name, and he said whatever opens in the new space won't be the Red Lion. He also explained why:
"In that little space with that lack of street exposure, it's never going to be the Red Lion. The sad thing is this is always a risk when you're a lessee and not the owner of the property."
Linafelter's group has a lease through April 2027, and he said this coming ski season would be its last if the redevelopment goes ahead. The developers have since tried to win back some outdoor seating. In June they asked the town to expand the planned patio from 748 to 1,259 square feet. That work meant first agreeing with the Vail Fire Department on emergency access around the Seibert Circle fountain.
Big Bear Bistro gets one more season, and Rednor is planning what comes next
The Red Lion restaurant isn't the only tenant in the building. Big Bear Bistro owner Vidette Gehl confirmed in June that she would stay in her current space through the summer and the coming ski season while she looks for another location in Vail. In Vail Daily's March report, she said she would rather stay in Vail Village but was also considering Lionshead. She also opened a second place, Little Bear Cafe, in EagleVail.
Blü Cow is already gone from the building. In January it set April 10 as a tentative last day and had until April 15 to move out. Rednor's deli opened in that space over the summer. Rednor also owns Shakedown Bar Vail and is helping plan the year-round event space beneath the new Red Lion. It would be Vail Village's first indoor concert and event venue since 8150 closed in 2007. Shakedown is part of the plans, with food added to the drinks it has served for decades.
Shakedown's events calendar lists the bar as closed Nov. 1 through 12. Shows start Nov. 13, opening day, and continue through December.
The town has already acted on the loss of restaurant space. In 2025, according to Vail Daily, it passed emergency ordinances that paused conversions of restaurants and bars to retail. The Red Lion plan moves the restaurant and bar space toward Hanson Ranch Road and follows the town's call for no net loss of food and beverage space. So the building keeps its restaurant space after the rebuild. The businesses running it will mostly be new.
Concert Hall Plaza passed by one vote, and demolition is set for May 1
Lionshead's Concert Hall Plaza went through the same process this summer. Town Council was scheduled to vote on the development agreement July 7, but a widespread power outage cut the meeting short. The town's July 21 meeting summary records that council approved the agreement 4–3. Its key provisions are a public pedestrian easement, public art, and a fee in lieu of building employee housing. As Vail Daily explained, the approval lets the developer apply for a building permit, and the permit plans must match the earlier planning and design approvals.
The Little Diner, at the West Lionshead Plaza bus stop, has the most specific date. Its website says Concert Hall Plaza will start coming down May 1, 2027. Brian and Peggy Little have run the diner for 18 years, and their plan is to raise enough money to buy the commercial space in the rebuilt building, now called The Apogean. If they own the space, the developer can help build it out for the diner. They started the campaign on the diner's anniversary, April 8, under the hashtag #saveourbacon.
Katie Bristow, who runs Black Tie Ski & Bike Rentals and Big Mountain Tuning with her husband, put it in terms of money. "There might be an opportunity to come back (into the redeveloped project), but it all really depends on affordability," she told Vail Daily in March. She also organized the building's commercial tenants into a small business association. In a May newsletter post, the Bristows said Big Mountain Tuning had moved to Avon before summer and now operates there with Black Tie. Black Tie plans to leave Concert Hall Plaza at the end of the 2026–27 ski season.
| Business | Building | This winter | After the season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Lion restaurant | Red Lion, Vail Village | Final season; lease runs through April 2027 | Will not return under the Red Lion name |
| Big Bear Bistro | Red Lion, Vail Village | Stays through the season | Owner looking for another Vail space |
| "How you doin'?" deli | Red Lion, former Blü Cow space | Opened summer 2026 | Temporary use of the space |
| Shakedown Bar Vail | Red Lion, Vail Village | Shows from Nov. 13 | Part of the rebuilt building's plans |
| The Little Diner | Concert Hall Plaza, Lionshead | At the West Lionshead Plaza bus stop | Crowdfunding to buy space in The Apogean |
| Black Tie Ski & Bike Rentals | Concert Hall Plaza, Lionshead | Rental season in Lionshead | Leaves at end of season |
| Big Mountain Tuning | Now in Avon | Operating with Black Tie in Avon | Already moved |
The opening on Nov. 13 shows the other side
One Hanson Ranch Road opening happens the same day the lifts are set to start. The Sixty Two Society, a private alpine club limited to 62 memberships, lists its grand opening as Nov. 13, 2026. It's at 278 Hanson Ranch Road, the former Los Amigos space, which got a complete renovation of the restaurant and prep kitchen.
Drew Riley, who owns First Chair, used to own Los Amigos. Vail Daily reported that he was on the tenant side when the building's owner decided to go a different way. His family owns the commercial space where First Chair now operates, and First Chair offers a local card worth 15% off every order. Owning the space is also what The Little Diner is trying to do at The Apogean.
The winter's dates, in order
- Friday, Nov. 13. Vail Mountain's tentative opening day. Shakedown's show schedule starts, and The Sixty Two Society holds its grand opening.
- Through the ski season. Big Bear Bistro and the Red Lion restaurant stay open in the Red Lion Building. Black Tie stays in Concert Hall Plaza.
- April 2027. The Red Lion restaurant group's lease ends.
- End of the 2026–27 ski season. Black Tie leaves Concert Hall Plaza.
- May 1, 2027. The Little Diner's stated start date for Concert Hall Plaza demolition.
- Spring 2027. The Town's Oct. 12 construction update lists both the Red Lion and Concert Hall Plaza among projects expected to start.
When a business owner goes from leasing space to buying it, as The Little Diner hopes to do at The Apogean, the deal involves title work: commercial title commitments, construction-phase timing, and closings that may happen before the building is finished. First Alliance Title has named escrow teams and offers mobile closings across Colorado, so we can handle commercial and non-standard deals like these. To open your file, Place Order.
