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Restaurant proposal needs more work

Lu Snyder

DILLON – There’s a new restaurant in the works in Dillon.

Sally Brainerd, an architect with RKD Architects in Vail, is working on the drawings for the restaurant proposed for Red Mountain Plaza in Dillon.

The 5,430-square-foot building would be built on Highway 6, directly across from Alpine Bank, said Dillon Development Coordinator Theresa Worsham. That’s pending approval by the Dillon town council.



Brainerd had her first preliminary hearing with the Dillon planning and zoning commission Wednesday night. The commission asked her to make some changes to the plans before returning for a second preliminary hearing next month.

The plans still are in the conceptual stages, Worsham said, when “we iron out the details such as architecture and design. So we still have an opportunity to fix any of the problems that we see.”



The main problem the planning and zoning commission noted with Brainerd’s drawings involves the roofline.

“It’s a pretty long, unbroken roof plan,” Worsham said of the proposed building. “The town likes to see broken-up features … such as dormers, pitched roof elements and wall plane changes.”

While the commission’s focus on the roof might seem picky, Worsham said the building is in a very prominent location. Situated on the corner of Highway 6 and Anenome Road, with Dillon Dam Road above, the building will be viewed from all directions.

Brainerd said she’s taken this into account when designing the building.

“It’s an all-sided building,” Brainerd said after the meeting. “There’s really no back to it, because you can see it from everywhere.”

The commission also asked Brainerd to speak with the owners of the three adjacent lots in Red Mountain Plaza. According to Worsham, all the lots have owners, though only two buildings have been completed at this time.

She has returned to the drawing table to address the commissioners’ concerns. Though the roof line will change, she said the style will not.

“It’s pretty mountain contemporary,” Brainerd said of the building. “(It uses) traditional and rustic materials … stucco, timbers, exposed structure … but they’re put together in a contemporary way.”

Brainerd said the owner – Phillip Salkinder of Eagle County – plans to open a Mexican restaurant, with a maximum capacity of 192 seats.

“He’d like to leave the option open to having some entertainment at dinnertime,” Brainerd said. “Currently, his idea is Mariachi or jazz bands, for atmosphere. He has the notion that diners would actually stand up and dance.”

Brainerd is scheduled to return to the Dillon planning and zoning commission sometime in June – the date has yet to be determined.

After Brainerd has satisfied the commission’s concerns and it makes a recommendation to council, council members will make the final decision to approve or deny the building.

The council’s approval is necessary before the owner can move toward construction, but Brainerd said, ideally, Salkinder would like to break ground this autumn.

“He’s planning to build all winter,” Brainerd said. “But he’d like to get the foundation in this fall, before everything freezes.”


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