"No matter where you are in the world, if you start talking to people and you say you're from Vail, Colorado, anyone who knows Vail knows the Red Lion," co-owner Rod Linafelter told the Vail Daily in January. He was talking about the restaurant, which Marge and Larry Burdick opened in February 1963, during Vail Mountain's first ski season. Beginning in spring 2027, that restaurant and the building it sits in go separate ways.
The sign at the top of Bridge Street is staying. The restaurant behind it has one winter left, and the Red Lion name is leaving with the restaurant.
Two Red Lions, One Address
People confuse the two because they share a name. The company that owns the building calls itself Red Lion LLC. It went by Landmark until a few years ago. Linafelter says people keep asking him about the remodel, assuming his restaurant is the company behind it. Redevelopers Jeff and Charlie Selby own the first-floor and basement commercial space. The three apartments upstairs aren't part of the project and are "staying as they are."
The restaurant is a tenant. Linafelter says its lease runs through April 2027 and his group chose not to extend it. His group also owns the rights to the restaurant's name, and he has said that whatever opens in the redesigned space won't be the Red Lion. He summed up the position simply: "The sad thing is this is always a risk when you're a lessee and not the owner of the property."
The building side describes it differently. In January, project consultant George Ruther said the plan keeps "the iconic Red Lion logo and restaurant in place going forward," and that the team was working with the town's Design Review Board to preserve the building's Tyrolean look. So the logo stays with the building. Whether a future restaurant can use the Red Lion name depends on who holds it, and the operator says that's his group.
That's why this ski season matters. It's the last one where the sign, the name and the restaurant all mean the same place.
Sixty-Four Years on One Corner
The building has changed hands many times. The restaurant has always stayed put:
- 1962. Larry and Marge Burdick built the Red Lion Inn as a restaurant and lodge. They had seven children, who took up most of the upstairs, so the inn never really had room for guests.
- February 15, 1963. The restaurant opened during Vail's first season, according to the Vail Daily's history of the bar. The building also served as Vail's first medical clinic. Karl Eaton, son of Vail founder Earl Eaton and the first baby born in Vail, was delivered there.
- Early 1970s. A renovation turned the front patio into the glass-enclosed bar that sits on Bridge Street today.
- 1980 to 1988. The Burdicks sold, and the restaurant changed hands several times. In 1988 the Danenhauers and the Moores of Topeka, Kansas, bought it and rebuilt its reputation.
- November 1, 2000. Musician Phil Long and Jennifer Linzinmeir got the chance to buy the Red Lion and did it with partners. They still hold majority ownership, and Linzinmeir is the managing partner.
- January 2026. The redesign went to the Design Review Board, and Linafelter said the restaurant would not carry its name into the new space.
- April 30, 2027. Long has said the Red Lion will operate at least through this date.
The Burdicks and their family lived upstairs from the start, and the upstairs is still residential. Selby has said the team is working to keep the fireplace, the chimney area and the entry patio.
The Patio Vote Settled the Last Open Question
By last winter the project already had Planning and Environmental Commission approval and Design Review Board sign-off on exterior finishes. The remaining question was outdoor seating, and the hold-up was emergency access around the Seibert Circle fountain. Ruther credited the Vail Fire Department with helping reach a design that keeps emergency vehicle access and still adds outdoor seating.
The June application asked to grow the patio from 748 to 1,259 square feet, a 41% increase. To make room, the commission approved a landscape variance on July 13, 2026. It cuts the site's landscaped area from 723 square feet to about 409. Town Council called the decision up for review on July 21. On August 18, council upheld the variance 4–2, citing its goal of a livelier town. Langmaid and Staufer voted against, and Biszantz abstained.
The new layout turns the restaurant toward Seibert Circle. Ruther described a building that "faces right at the fountain" and then wraps the restaurant down Hanson Ranch Road, where Blu Cow and Big Bear sit today. The amended application describes accordion-style window walls that open the bar to the outdoors in any weather. Along Bridge Street, the plan adds about 3,500 square feet of retail. It meets the town's requirement of no net loss of restaurant and bar space by adding about 2,750 square feet of eating and drinking space on a new lower level.
Linafelter disagrees with the plan. He says the smaller restaurant facing Hanson Ranch Road will get less sun and less foot traffic, and that the current layout should stay. Council's vote ended that argument for this project. The Town's September 28 construction update still lists the redevelopment as a spring 2027 project.
Where the Music Goes
The basement is the biggest change. Shakedown Bar, Scott Rednor's 198-person room, mostly stays as it is. New excavation below the building adds a music venue for 350 to 400 people. Vail Village hasn't had one since 8150, in the Crossroads building that is now Solaris, closed in 2007. Jeff Selby says the goal is to book bands touring between Denver, Boulder, Summit County and Belly Up Aspen during the winter, when the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater is largely closed.
The Red Lion's music works differently. Linafelter notes that live music has always been part of the restaurant's draw. It currently books a rotating group of four local musicians, and they play at street level facing Bridge Street, where people walking by can hear them.
This ski season is the last chance to hear music at the corner in that setup. Phil Long, who played on that stage for more than a decade, won't be part of it. He moved to the Vail Chophouse in Lionshead in 2015 and retired from performing on July 4, 2026.
The Corner This Winter
Ruther says the Red Lion and Big Bear Bistro will stay open through the 2026–27 ski season in their current spaces. That's one last season before construction. Big Bear owner Vidette Gehl confirmed she's staying through the season and said many people had assumed otherwise. She is looking for another location in Vail. She also opened the Little Bear in EagleVail last year. Neither the Red Lion nor Big Bear has announced a final day or a farewell event.
The former Blu Cow space already has a new tenant. Rednor opened How Ya Doin' Deli next to Shakedown. It serves East Coast hoagies on rolls from Liscio's Bakery and Amoroso's Baking Company, two Philadelphia bakeries. The Sicilian comes with spicy coppa, soppressata and cherry pepper spread. As of the Vail Daily's August 24 profile, the deli was open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Happy hour ran 3 to 8 p.m., with $4 well shots and $5 drafts. Hours often change in the fall shoulder season, so check the deli's Instagram before you go. Rednor says his long-term plans are "evolving" because the building is set for a major renovation next spring.
A few things down Hanson Ranch Road are also changing before the season starts:
- Base Camp, 298 Hanson Ranch Road. A new deck and exterior work, scheduled to finish in mid-October.
- The 62, 278 Hanson Ranch Road. A full renovation of the former Los Amigos restaurant and prep kitchen, expected to finish in early November. Our earlier post covers what replaced Los Amigos.
- Parking. Town-operated lots are free through November 19. Winter parking runs November 20 through April 18, 2027. The Town plans to post winter details in mid-October, and pass sales start October 22.
- Opening day. Vail Mountain plans to open November 13, weather and conditions permitting.
For the other summer changes along the same stretch, see what's new on the Bridge Street walking loop. From opening day to the end of April, the corner of Bridge Street and Hanson Ranch Road will still have the Red Lion sign and the Red Lion restaurant. After that, construction is scheduled to start, and the name and the restaurant leave together.
Changes like this at the top of Bridge Street affect everyday life and property value in Vail Village. If you own near Seibert Circle and want to talk through what the Red Lion project means for your property, Jeff McAbee is glad to help. Schedule a consultation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
