The Red Lion, a long-running après-ski fixture in Vail Village, is staring down an uncertain future after the building’s owner offered lease terms the restaurant’s operators say they cannot accept. Patrons and staff have mobilized, and the bar-restaurant is still serving crowds while its owners hunt for any path that keeps the Red Lion in its longtime Bridge Street home.
Owners say the offered lease makes staying impossible
Co-owner Rod Linafelter told reporters the proposed lease "would make it financially impossible" for the Red Lion to remain in its current location, and he said moving to a different space would fundamentally change the business. The restaurant employs roughly 80 people, as reported by CBS Colorado.
Developer's redesign would shrink the restaurant and add retail
Denver developer Jeff Selby has pitched a major renovation that would rotate the restaurant's footprint, shift the patio away from Bridge Street, and carve out new retail space along the street-facing side. The plan also calls for a below-grade music venue that could hold roughly 350 to 400 people. That proposal is currently in front of Vail's design and review board, and Linafelter has said his current lease runs through April 2027 and that he will not be extending it, as reported by Vail Daily.
Locals flood town officials with pleas
Fans have been peppering the Town of Vail with what officials describe as hundreds of messages and have stopped news crews in the village to argue that the Red Lion is central to Vail's identity. One patron told reporters, "I feel like I'm in, like, my uncle's basement, having a great time." Town Manager Russell Forrest said the town has limited authority over which businesses occupy privately owned spaces: "We regulate broad categories of land use, like retail or restaurants. But we can't determine who the tenants are." An application tied to the renovation is active with the town, according to CBS Colorado.
Lawmakers and rules give the town some leverage
Vail has adopted temporary moratoriums and code amendments aimed at protecting nightlife in its village cores, including rules intended to prevent a net loss of eating-and-drinking square footage in key districts. The framework and conversion-permit criteria are spelled out in the town code, Ordinance No. 27, Series 2025, which sets conditions under which a conversion from a restaurant to another commercial use can proceed, according to the Vail Town Code.
What comes next for the Red Lion
The outcome of the design-review process, along with any decision on conversion permits, will decide whether the Red Lion can remain in something close to its current form or be forced into a very different future. For now, the restaurant stays open while owners, loyal patrons, and town staff weigh options and wait to see what Vail’s review process allows.
