After more than a year of construction and renovation, a much-loved watering hole reopened last week in the town of Minturn, which is located 2 miles up a valley from Interstate 70 near Vail.
The Minturn Saloon — which The Denver Post named in 2018 as one of Colorado’s most iconic bars — had a busy first weekend back in business as both locals and leaf-peepers made their way there to check out the changes over a few margaritas.
Built in 1901, after a fire burned parts of the 1880s-era mining town, “the building has always housed a restaurant and bar, as well as serving as a pool (hall), boxing hall and gambling joint at one point or another,” according to the Minturn Saloon’s website.
In the 1970s, it became a popular, sometimes rough-around-the-edges hangout for ski bums and Vail Valley locals, but by 1986, a group of new owners had turned the saloon into a popular apres-ski joint with Tex-Mex fare, as well as the destination for “the Minturn Mile,” a bucket-list backcountry ski run that downhillers could access via Vail’s Lost Boy trail.
In 2021, Vail Valley restaurateurs Anthony and Connie Mazza — who also own the Village Bagel in Edwards — bought the saloon after other attempts to save it failed. They closed it in April 2022 to begin renovations, but ran into several construction issues, according to the Vail Daily.
It reopened on Sept. 28, and is now serving Tex-Mex and drinks Tuesdays through Saturdays.
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