"Right now, the biggest ticket item is timing," Katie Bristow told the Vail Daily in March. She runs Black Tie Ski & Bike Rentals and Big Mountain Tuning out of Concert Hall Plaza with her husband. "I think everyone really just wants to get a full ski season in next year because it's plausible that some of us will be asked to move out midwinter."
Concert Hall Plaza is now set to be torn down starting May 1, 2027, so the season that opens on Vail Mountain on Nov. 13 is the full winter its tenants asked for. It is also the last one they will have in that building. At the other end of the village, the Town expected demolition of the vacant Lions Pride Building to begin around the end of October. Both replacements put homes where storefronts used to be. This winter, Lionshead still looks the way it has for decades, and the owners of both buildings have already decided what comes next.
The west end has a demolition date
Concert Hall Plaza sits at 616 W. Lionshead Circle, beside the West Lionshead Plaza bus stop. The Town of Vail's construction update for Oct. 26 lists its redevelopment for Spring 2027. The Little Diner gives a more exact date on its own site: demolition starting May 1, 2027.
The building houses three businesses that serve the same morning crowd:
- The Little Diner is run by Brian and Peggy Little. It calls itself Vail's only full-service diner, serves breakfast all day with lunch after 11:30 a.m., and cooks in a fully open kitchen it bills as "Breakfast and a Show." It marked 18 years on April 8.
- Black Tie Ski & Bike Rentals lists its Lionshead shop at 616 W. Lionshead Circle, Unit 201, offering ski rentals, retail and tuning.
- Big Mountain Tuning is the Bristows' tuning business, which works out of Lionshead Village.
The Bristows have run their businesses since 2012 and moved into Concert Hall in 2018. Last fall, as the building's redevelopment worked through town approvals, Bristow organized the commercial tenants into a small business association, the Vail Daily reported. She said a ski shop needs to be near the lifts and that a return to the new building "all really depends on affordability."
The diner has a plan of its own. On April 8, its anniversary, the Littles launched a crowdfunding campaign under the tag #saveourbacon. The goal is to raise enough to buy the commercial space in the new building, so the diner can own its space and have the developer build it to suit. The diner's site says there are "simply no better options" than staying put in Lionshead.
What rises in its place
The new building is called The Apogean. RealVail reported on the Planning and Environmental Commission's approval. The plan is a mixed-use building with nine homes, residential amenities, commercial space, enclosed parking and a pedestrian passage, plus at least $50,000 in public art. According to the Vail Daily, the Design Review Board approved the revised project in April, and the proposed development agreement names Beaver Capital SPE, LLC.
The commercial space matters most to the diner. In its March story, the Vail Daily described the approved project as likely not well suited to food and beverage operations like The Little Diner. That is the gap the crowdfunding campaign is trying to close.
The east end is coming down first
On the other side of the village, the Lions Pride Building at 500 E. Lionshead Circle is the first of the two to go. The Town's Oct. 26 update says crews have already removed the landscape island on East Lionshead Circle, with barriers and construction fencing to follow. Demolition was expected to begin around the end of October and take about three weeks. Excavation and shoring come next, pending approval of the building permit. Hyder Construction is the contractor.
The building has been empty longer than many people realize. The Vail Daily reported that it has been vacant since 2020, and it once housed the Swedish Clog Cabin. The replacement is called Montelisse. Planned for 500 and 534 E. Lionshead Circle, near the Lionshead parking structure, it is a seven-story, 85,341-square-foot condominium building with 37 units and a 159-space garage below grade. The owner is Telemark Ventures LLC, and the plan includes no restaurant or other commercial space.
Side by side, the two projects look like this:
| Concert Hall Plaza → The Apogean | Lions Pride → Montelisse | |
|---|---|---|
| Address | 616 W. Lionshead Circle | 500 and 534 E. Lionshead Circle |
| Today | Diner, ski rental and tuning shops | Vacant since 2020 |
| Timing | Demolition from May 1, 2027 | Demolition expected from around late October 2026 |
| Homes planned | 9 | 37 |
| Commercial space | Yes, likely not suited to a restaurant | None |
When both projects are finished, Lionshead will have 46 more homes and less ground-floor space for a breakfast counter or a tuning bench than it has this winter. The Vail Daily has tied this to a wider pattern across town. Many commercial buildings put up quickly in the 1960s, '70s and '80s are now being redeveloped, and redevelopment pushes rents up.
Bart & Yeti's has a lease into 2030
The third change in Lionshead this winter involves ownership, and the building stays put. The Vail Daily reported on Sept. 20 that Bart & Yeti's, the bar and restaurant in the Lift House Lodge, would soon be listed and sold under a court settlement. It has operated in the Lionshead base area for 50 years.
Two details from that report bear on what happens next. The settlement sets a minimum sale price of $585,000. The space is leased from the longtime local Lazier family into 2030, and the paper reported that a new owner might keep the Bart & Yeti's name in the same location. The lease at least gives the bar a path to stay where it is, something the Concert Hall Plaza tenants do not have.
The season's dates, and when the construction stops
The Town of Vail sets aside certain days when construction does not work, and those days line up with the village's biggest dates this season. Here are this winter's Lionshead dates in order:
- Through Nov. 12. The Town is test-drilling for geothermal energy in the Lot 10 parking lot at 281 W. Meadow Drive, listed under Lionshead in the construction update. Work runs Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to dusk inside the fenced lot. ADA-accessible parking is available in front of the Vail Public Library at 292 W. Meadow Drive.
- Nov. 13, Opening Day. Vail Mountain's official hours page lists Nov. 13 as opening day, and Vail Resorts notes that all opening dates depend on weather and conditions. It is also a construction no-work day in town.
- Nov. 26, Thanksgiving. No construction work in town.
- Nov. 27, 6 p.m., Lionshead Holiday Tree Lighting. The tree lighting is free and takes place by the Lionshead welcome arch, with a 15-minute figure-skating exhibition, live music and a special guest.
- Dec. 24 through Jan. 3. Christmas week and the New Year holiday are both construction no-work periods.
Up the mountain, Lionshead's gondola leads to one more change. Vail Resorts announced a retro-inspired redesign and a specialty Spritz menu for Bistro 14, which sits at the top of the Eagle Bahn Gondola, Chair 19. The resort's hours page lists Bistro 14's 2026-27 opening date as "Coming Soon."
The Little Diner serves breakfast and lunch during the winter and summer seasons, and its page still points to the West Lionshead Plaza bus stop. Its crowdfunding page is the one place in Lionshead where people can try to keep a business in the new building. The Town's next Spring 2027 date for 616 W. Lionshead Circle is the one to watch.
If you own in Lionshead and want to know what The Apogean and Montelisse could mean for your building, your view or your walk to the gondola, Vail Valley Team is following both projects closely. Schedule a private, concierge consultation.
