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Hey, Spike! tells of Backcountry Brewery sale in Frisco

Miles F. Porter IV
Special to the Daily/Miles F. Porter IVBob, BOEC's Marci Sloan, and Tod at Keystone.
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Charlie Eazor is quietly making a big impact on the Frisco Main Street restaurant scene. Not long ago, he bought the famed Blue Spruce Inn from Travis and Annie Holten of Dillon’s Pug Ryan’s.

Then he opened up the Depot Diner on West Main, next to the Alpine Natural Foods store.

On Wednesday, Charlie closed on his purchase of the Backcountry Brewery (BCB) at Main and Summit Boulevard.



With the development of the Mount Royal Plaza in 1994, the Backcountry Brewery opened in 1996 on the efforts of a large investment group headed by Woody and Melinda VanGundy, Anthony Carestia, and Mark and Colleen Richmond. The group retains ownership of the corner’s massive building, which also houses Podium Sports and Abbey’s

Coffee.



Woody, a longtime Frisco businessman and the most visible of the investors, is in his second four-year term on the Frisco Town Council.

Speaking of the Sept. 1 change over, Charlie says it “completes our ability to adequately address the local and tourist market.”

“We have three different menus, three different price points, and three different atmospheres affording variety with the common purpose of absolute guest satisfaction,” notes Charlie. “We have had fun elevating the Spruce to a new level and hope to do the same with the Depot and BCB.”

“What a great facility with a fabulous heritage and the best micro-brewed beer you will find anywhere,” Charlie says. “We are excited Woody and Anthony have provided us this very exciting opportunity and look forward to continuing their legacy.”

Part of that legacy includes five Great American Beer Festival medals: two gold, two silver, and one bronze, Woody recalls with pride.

***

Ken and Jude (nee Allbrandt) Winchester were up for a few days from their home in Woodland Park, before heading back to Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands of the South Pacific.

Jude and Ken used to live here and there. Both were government contract staffers. This time it will be just Ken working. He went through gastric bypass surgery last December and has lost 150 pounds. He’s now out hiking and biking like crazy.

Jude has “Hey, Jude,” a sailboat down in Frisco Bay Marina, with daughter Jenna Allen in charge. Jude’s son, Roger, a grad of Summit High School, lives in Denver.

****

Hey, Spike! and Jimbo Deines were guests of Tod Hunt at the “Wounded Warriors” BOEC benefit golf tourney at the Keystone Ranch on Tuesday. Joining us was Bob Weinschenk.

It was a beautiful day and the course was in great shape, making golf ops chief Steve Corneillier quite pleased.

Tod and wife Mary Caroline live in Water Dance and in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Tod calls himself a “semi-retired” CEO, but is still involved in business and sits on at least six boards in the Pittsburgh area.

 The Hunts have four kids (three daughters and a son).

Also named Tod, the son is is a 27-year-old U.S. Navy lieutenant and served aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier for two deployments to the Persian Gulf followed by a seven-month stint on the ground in Baghdad.

Young Tod is now stationed in San Diego.

“Two of our daughters now live in Denver, which is great for us,” adds dad Tod.

 Bob Weinschenk and wife Kathy live in Prospect Point and Charleston, S.C. He is a retired Kodak executive and has worked all over the world, particularly in Latin America.

••••

Miles F. Porter IV, nicknamed “Spike,” a Coloradan since 1949, is an Army veteran, former Climax miner, and a local since 1982. Email your social info to milesfporteriv@aol.com.


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