STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — At the Mountain Tap Brewery in Steamboat Springs, owner Rich Tucciarone has been brewing up an idea to give his business a lift during the pandemic.
With indoor seating not allowed under the current health guidelines, he’s seating people outside, which in a ski town, isn’t the best plan. So he and his wife Wendy have turned several gondolas into outdoor dining cabins.
“Single household, we ventilate them between seating and do a sanitation of them,” said Tucciarone. “We have the original fiberglass seats in there, so they are super cleanable.”
There are three gondola, and each has been upgraded for dinner with pine beetle kill wood tables, heaters, coat racks, Bluetooth speakers and lights you turn on to let your server know you want something.
“We can see the light on from inside,” said Tucciarone. “We’ll come out and get you another beer or pizza or whatever you need."
With temperatures dropping, the gondolas have given the restaurant additional seating that has been so popular the plan is to keep them around even after the pandemic.
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