The Red Lion building at Bridge Street and Hanson Ranch Road is heading into its last ski season as currently configured. Redevelopment construction is set to start in spring 2027. Until then, the Red Lion and Big Bear Bistro keep operating. On Nov. 13, the same day Vail Mountain is scheduled to open, a new slopeside club on Bridge Street opens with dining reserved for members, their extended families and invited guests.
Taken together, the street's newest addition is private, and its oldest block is on a countdown. For the next several months, the public rooms clustered around Seibert Circle carry most of Vail Village's after-dark activity, and all of them are running on borrowed time.
A Block That Fills Its Own Gaps
The fastest sign of how this block works came after Blu Cow closed. Owner Simone Larese served the final Sunday service in April 2026. Scott Rednor, who owns Shakedown Bar downstairs and fronts the Scott Rednor Band, moved into the empty space. In late June he described how quickly it happened:
"It took us to 17 days, basically, from start to finish, sort of remodeling, getting the equipment together, figuring it out. I got some great staff that our team had put together, and we're rolling East Coast hoagies out. We've got a full bar in there and a little stage, just making use of what would have been vacant space."
The deli is called "How you doin'?", and Vail Daily suggests saying it with a heavy New York accent. Rednor has toured with Lenny Kravitz, Dave Matthews and Blues Traveler, so a "little stage" in a sandwich shop fits the person running it.
Big Bear Bistro is staying put for now. Owner Vidette Gehl, who opened Little Bear in EagleVail last year, confirmed she would stay at 297 Hanson Ranch Road through the coming ski season while she looks for another Vail location. She said many people had assumed she was leaving. As of early October, no new address has been announced. Big Bear's website still shows its summer schedule of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, so call before a shoulder-season breakfast run. The same goes for the Red Lion and "How you doin'?", since neither has posted fall hours.
Shakedown's October Runs Thursday Through Saturday
Shakedown Bar is the one venue on the block with a published fall calendar, and it follows a clear pattern. The 198-person room is closed most of the early week and opens for shows from Thursday to Saturday. Starting today, the October schedule looks like this:
- Closed Oct. 4–7, Oct. 11–14, Oct. 19–21 and Oct. 25–29
- Oct. 8: Scott Rednor, solo
- Oct. 9: Taylor Scott Band
- Oct. 10: Scott Rednor Band
- Oct. 15: Heavy Diamond Ring and Stelth Ulvang, doors at 7 p.m.
- Oct. 16–18 and Oct. 23: listed as TBA
- Oct. 22: Taylor & Max Duo
- Oct. 24: Scott Rednor Band
- Oct. 30: Bonfire Dub
- Oct. 31: Runaway Grooms for Halloween
Most nights list doors at 9 p.m. The calendar notes that live music usually starts 60 to 90 minutes after doors open. None of the listings is billed as a farewell show. The construction clock begins in spring, so this winter, not October, is the final run.
What Opens Nov. 13, and Who Gets In
THE SIXTY TWO Society is taking over the former Los Amigos site near Gondola One, and its website lists Nov. 13, 2026 as the grand opening. Founder Brad Kaemmer leads the project, with Jonah Friedmann as executive chef partner and Timothy Durkos as chef de cuisine. The club also lists equipment service through a partnership with the Gorsuch family.
The access model has changed since the first announcement. Vail Daily's February 2025 report described a summer 2026 debut with dining open to both members and the public. The club's Sept. 30, 2026 update says dining reservations will be held for Society members, their extended families and invited guests. If your plan was to walk off Gondola One on opening day and get a table at the old Los Amigos spot, the current plan doesn't allow for that.
Vail Mountain lists the same Friday, Nov. 13 as its opening day, and the date can shift with weather and conditions.
The Three Clocks on One Corner
| Venue | Status this season | What comes next |
|---|---|---|
| Red Lion | Operating through the 2026–27 ski season | Building rotated to face the Seibert Circle fountain, with the restaurant extending down Hanson Ranch Road |
| Big Bear Bistro | Staying through the ski season | Owner seeking another Vail location |
| Shakedown Bar | Shows Thursday–Saturday in October | Stays largely the same, with a new food component |
| "How you doin'?" | Open since late spring in the former Blu Cow space | Space falls inside the redevelopment footprint |
| Below-grade venue | Does not yet exist | Excavation is part of the spring 2027 construction |
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 plan keeps the Red Lion logo, the fireplace and chimney area, the entrance and the entry patio. The three residential apartments upstairs stay as they are. Project consultant George Ruther said the plan adds about 3,500 square feet of new retail at Bridge Street level and about 2,750 square feet of eating and drinking space on a newly excavated lower level.
That lower level is where the street's future nightlife sits. In January, the planned live music room was described as holding 350 to 400 people. A Vail Daily report in late June described Rednor planning for up to 450. At either size, it would be Vail Village's first indoor concert and event space since 8150 closed in Crossroads, now Solaris, in 2007. The aim is to book bands traveling between Denver, Boulder, Summit County and Belly Up Aspen in winter, when the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater is mostly closed.
The Approvals Are Settled
The building's exterior alteration and conditional use permit were approved unanimously on Dec. 22, 2025. The remaining question was the patio. The expanded outdoor seating displaced some landscaping, so on July 13 the Planning and Environmental Commission considered a 314-square-foot landscape reduction. Town Council called up that decision on July 21 and upheld it on Aug. 18 by a 4–2 vote.
The patio design follows the town's rule of no net loss of food and beverage space to condos or retail. It moves the restaurant and bar toward Hanson Ranch Road, adds outdoor seating and uses accordion-style window walls that open the dining room to the street. As of early October, no public update has moved the spring 2027 start.
New Public Tables Elsewhere in the Village
Two public restaurants opened within walking distance over the past year. Zuma Vail opened June 11, 2026 at The Sebastian, 16 Vail Road. It is operated by Azumi and serves dinner Wednesday through Sunday, 5:30 to 10 p.m. In Lionshead, Trails End took over the former El Sabor space at Lion Square Lodge, 660 Lionshead Place, across from the Eagle Bahn Gondola. Neither venue has posted a fall closure date. Discover Vail's own guidance for shoulder season is to call ahead, because hours change from week to week.
None of these replaces the Red Lion corner, where a hoagie counter, a breakfast bistro, a 1960s bar and a 198-person music room share one building. Shakedown's next show is Oct. 8, and the whole block keeps running until construction starts in spring 2027.
Patrick has served on Vail Valley planning and design review boards. If you own near Bridge Street and want to know how the Red Lion's spring 2027 construction could affect your property's access, patio frontage or rental calendar, Patrick H. Scanlan can go through the approved plans with you. Schedule a confidential market strategy consultation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
