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win
01-24-2007, 08:22 PM
We are going to provide limited food and beverage service in the Valley House in the old first floor cafeteria starting this weekend on weekends and President's Week. We will offer simple food chili, a soup, burgers, hot dogs, fries, a daily special and pizza as well as coffee, hot chocolate and sodas. We think this will help spread people out at the lunch hour, and give us good feedback as we plan the Guest Services Lodge. Brown baggers are welcome too! We are also going to make Timbers more accommodating for the apres ski crowd so that people will have the choice of Timbers and Casterock Pub to have an apres ski drink.

BushMogulMaster
01-24-2007, 08:23 PM
We are going to provide limited food and beverage service in the Valley House in the old first floor cafeteria starting this weekend on weekends and President's Week. We will offer simple food chili, a soup, burgers, hot dogs, fries, a daily special and pizza as well as coffee, hot chocolate and sodas. We think this will help spread people out at the lunch hour, and give us good feedback as we plan the Guest Services Lodge. Brown baggers are welcome too! We are also going to make Timbers more accommodating for the apres ski crowd so that people will have the choice of Timbers and Casterock Pub to have an apres ski drink.

Very cool... definitely a smart move. 8)

greenmtnboy
01-24-2007, 08:44 PM
Thats excellent news Win. It will help when the mountain gets slammed over presidents week. I heard that the master plan calls for a lodge at the top of Gatehouse. What a treat that would be!!! Good things take time.

TimKeogh
01-24-2007, 09:03 PM
We are going to provide limited food and beverage service in the Valley House in the old first floor cafeteria starting this weekend on weekends and President's Week. We will offer simple food chili, a soup, burgers, hot dogs, fries, a daily special and pizza as well as coffee, hot chocolate and sodas. We think this will help spread people out at the lunch hour, and give us good feedback as we plan the Guest Services Lodge. Brown baggers are welcome too! We are also going to make Timbers more accommodating for the apres ski crowd so that people will have the choice of Timbers and Casterock Pub to have an apres ski drink.

Great idea - I will definitely be there! May I suggest a grill fired up outside with burgers/dogs to attract us carnivores by smell...
Many guests may not realize this option is available (and we wouldn't want an announcement in the GH Lodge speaker)

Lostone
01-24-2007, 09:26 PM
1) Last weekend there were announcements of the availability of Valley house, but without any food service. Good to hear we'll be bringing that back online for busy times.

B) That smell isn't from burgers being cooked. There are eople from the food sevice departments who stand around the liftlines around noon with cans of burger smell. I remember the time they got the wrong cans. It was the new car smell cans. Everyone left to buy cars. :shock:


III) Parts of this post may be lies. :roll: :lol:

gottdogg
01-24-2007, 09:34 PM
I agree that this is the way to go -- talk about responsiveness by management. Hopefully, it will be used and alleviate some of the crowds at the Lodge. However, can you add a few bottles of beer to the list of items available???

Hopefully the weather will continue to cooperate and the mountain can make up for the early season woes. Looking forward to some mid mountain fare in the future. Don't you think that expanded food service might be better at a larger Allyn's first, as this is the focal point of South?

Best of luck

win
01-24-2007, 10:10 PM
TimKeough, we are going to turn up the volume!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just Kidding, but we will get the word out in a few ways. Not licensed to serve alcohol now, so you will have to come down the mountain for that. Yes, future plans (but probably not next year) are for a lodge on the flats at the top of the Gate House lift. It could also be a great summer venue. The problem with Allyn's is that is needs water and Forest Serive approval to expand. We are limited by code what we can serve without running water. There are solutions but at a cost, so I have to understand the ROI. And the owner of the land has to agree that an expansion makes sense!

All said and done, I hope the skiing and riding is as good this weekend as it was today, so that everyone will stay on the slopes, come in for a quick lunch, eat a lot because of the calories burned and then stay around a long time after the lifts close and be so energized that everything will seem great!

Spread the word. A good crowd helps us fund the future!

Hardbooter
01-24-2007, 10:10 PM
We are going to provide limited food and beverage service in the Valley House in the old first floor cafeteria starting this weekend on weekends and President's Week.

Wow, I love that you guys act so quickly to solve problems. You've also done a great job of instilling a customer-comes-first attitude around the whole mountain (except for the bags in the lodge policy. I've warned my guests about that in advance.)
So I'm wondering, is the feedback that you get from this chat room useful or does it just reinforce information that your getting from other sources? I have noticed both you and Adam around the lodge during weekend lunch hours so you problably figure a lot of this stuff out on your own. It does seem like the mountain is much better off now that its owned and run by skiers but are we, the chatting public, useful at all?

BushMogulMaster
01-24-2007, 10:14 PM
but are we, the chatting public, useful at all?

Of course we're useful!




Aren't we? :?

sugarboarder
01-24-2007, 10:16 PM
1) Last weekend there were announcements of the availability of Valley house, but without any food service. Good to hear we'll be bringing that back online for busy times.

B) That smell isn't from burgers being cooked. There are eople from the food sevice departments who stand around the liftlines around noon with cans of burger smell. I remember the time they got the wrong cans. It was the new car smell cans. Everyone left to buy cars. :shock:


III) Parts of this post may be lies. :roll: :lol:

Lostone - I think you may have gotten some powder up your nose. All that time on the hill and everything.

Tin Woodsman
01-25-2007, 12:25 AM
Wow. Just wow. Bravo, Win. Great move. This will definitely help thin out the crowds in the new GH, IMHO. At the least, you'll probably find some of the old timers venturing over to VH to enjoy the leg room and relaxed atmosphere over there. This will then skew the remaining GH patrons towards those that are less familiar with the Bush, but those are the people you want seeing this beautiful new building anyway! Looking forward to chili and a slice next to my bags in VH this weekend!

Quick question if you can answer - are the potential expansion at Allyn's Lodge and the construction of a new facility at the GH flats mutually exclusive? Why would the USFS allow you to build an entirely new bldg at GH flats while limiting your ability to expand at Allyn's?

win
01-25-2007, 07:34 AM
Tin, they may not be. Our long-term master plan that was approved by the Forest Service already had a lodge at the top of Gate House. We will also think about Allyn's and decide what we think makes the most sense.

A lot of what I read on the Forum has been thought about but, some good gems do comes out of it and feedback and percpetions are always important.

Just read today's forecast from our guy! Really cold tonight and tomorrow but looking pleasant (high teens and 20's) on Saturday. We are going to have to be careful of our employees on the mountain tonight so they stay safe. It may be the coldest night of the season especially up high.

Hardbooter
01-25-2007, 08:32 AM
Our long-term master plan that was approved by the Forest Service already had a lodge at the top of Gate House.

So what else is in the master plan? I've seen various plans for trail expansion but I've never heard what has been approved by the forest service. Did you get any new lifts approved? If you were to open the terrain above Inverness (on land that Sugarbush owns) would you need that approved? Would you need community/state approval for that or for new lifts?

007
01-25-2007, 09:28 AM
We are going to provide limited food and beverage service in the Valley House in the old first floor cafeteria starting this weekend on weekends and President's Week. We will offer simple food chili, a soup, burgers, hot dogs, fries, a daily special and pizza as well as coffee, hot chocolate and sodas. We think this will help spread people out at the lunch hour, and give us good feedback as we plan the Guest Services Lodge. Brown baggers are welcome too! We are also going to make Timbers more accommodating for the apres ski crowd so that people will have the choice of Timbers and Casterock Pub to have an apres ski drink.


Thanks Win!!!
I will spread the word.
As the renaissance continues..........................!!!

Tin Woodsman
01-25-2007, 09:36 AM
We are going to provide limited food and beverage service in the Valley House in the old first floor cafeteria starting this weekend on weekends and President's Week. We will offer simple food chili, a soup, burgers, hot dogs, fries, a daily special and pizza as well as coffee, hot chocolate and sodas. We think this will help spread people out at the lunch hour, and give us good feedback as we plan the Guest Services Lodge. Brown baggers are welcome too! We are also going to make Timbers more accommodating for the apres ski crowd so that people will have the choice of Timbers and Casterock Pub to have an apres ski drink.


Thanks Win!!!
I will spread the word.
As the renaissance continues..........................!!!

Actiually, 007 has a good point. Can you elaborate on what changes will be made to make Timbers more apres friendly? I'd like to spread the word but I don't know what word to spread!

random_ski_guy
01-25-2007, 08:59 PM
Yes, future plans (but probably not next year) are for a lodge on the flats at the top of the Gate House lift. It could also be a great summer venue. The problem with Allyn's is that is needs water and Forest Serive approval to expand. We are limited by code what we can serve without running water. There are solutions but at a cost, so I have to understand the ROI. And the owner of the land has to agree that an expansion makes sense!


I was actually thinking about this the other day. A mid mountain lodge atop the Gatehouse chair would make a lot of sense because i) its at the cross roads between the two mountains (unlike Allyn's or the Glen House) and ii) its an easier site to build on (flat, readily accessible and offers a reduced visual impact on the ridgeline). The draw back is that it really doesn't have the views the other two lodges offer. However, I think the cross roads aspect can't be understated. With a central on mountain location, overflow from both Lincoln and Mt Ellen base areas can quickly reach the Gatehouse flats for food and rest.

Of course, there is that pesky snow under the Slide Brook chair issue....But then again, Mt Ellen can probably handle its crowds fine during those periods when the Slide Brooks chair is on hold anyways.

random_ski_guy
01-25-2007, 08:59 PM
Yes, future plans (but probably not next year) are for a lodge on the flats at the top of the Gate House lift. It could also be a great summer venue. The problem with Allyn's is that is needs water and Forest Serive approval to expand. We are limited by code what we can serve without running water. There are solutions but at a cost, so I have to understand the ROI. And the owner of the land has to agree that an expansion makes sense!


I was actually thinking about this the other day. A mid mountain lodge atop the Gatehouse chair would make a lot of sense because i) its at the cross roads between the two mountains (unlike Allyn's or the Glen House) and ii) its an easier site to build on (flat, readily accessible and offers a reduced visual impact on the ridgeline). The draw back is that it really doesn't have the views the other two lodges offer. However, I think the cross roads aspect can't be understated. With a central on mountain location, overflow from both Lincoln and Mt Ellen base areas can quickly reach the Gatehouse flats for food and rest.

Of course, there is that pesky snow under the Slide Brook chair issue....But then again, Mt Ellen can probably handle its crowds fine during those periods when the Slide Brooks chair is on hold anyways.

thinksnow
01-30-2007, 10:25 AM
Don't you think that expanded food service might be better at a larger Allyn's first, as this is the focal point of South?

Firstly, thanks for the quick response Win, to reopening the Valley House with some food capacity.

Secondly, instead of changing everything about the current Sugarbush (ie, changes to Allyn's Lodge), why not focus on improvements? The warming hut near the bottom of Heavens Gate could really use-- well, anything! But a bathroom could be a nice start--esp when the chair is on wind-hold, and you're waiting for it to open!

random_ski_guy
01-30-2007, 05:17 PM
Gottdogg / Thinksnow, On several occasions Win has indicated that the process to expand Allyn's is complicated by the fact that it sits in the national forest. The principal issue is water/septic. I don't think the NFS will permit a leach field at these higher elevations.

Furthermore, from his posts, it sounds like the process to get an expanded Allyn's together would be cost prohibitive from a permitting perspective and perhaps not permitted altogether. Since I believe the HG warming hut is also in the national forest too, I think the mtn has the same problem. Perhaps it could happen some day, but its a long slow road to make happen.

Win probably could add more.

Tin Woodsman
01-30-2007, 06:00 PM
Don't you think that expanded food service might be better at a larger Allyn's first, as this is the focal point of South?

Firstly, thanks for the quick response Win, to reopening the Valley House with some food capacity.

Secondly, instead of changing everything about the current Sugarbush (ie, changes to Allyn's Lodge), why not focus on improvements? The warming hut near the bottom of Heavens Gate could really use-- well, anything! But a bathroom could be a nice start--esp when the chair is on wind-hold, and you're waiting for it to open!

I've always found that the woods behind the warming hut there act as a perfectly good bathroom, at least for a #1.
:lol: :lol:

ski_resort_observer
01-30-2007, 06:19 PM
Don't you think that expanded food service might be better at a larger Allyn's first, as this is the focal point of South?

Firstly, thanks for the quick response Win, to reopening the Valley House with some food capacity.

Secondly, instead of changing everything about the current Sugarbush (ie, changes to Allyn's Lodge), why not focus on improvements? The warming hut near the bottom of Heavens Gate could really use-- well, anything! But a bathroom could be a nice start--esp when the chair is on wind-hold, and you're waiting for it to open!

I've always found that the woods behind the warming hut there act as a perfectly good bathroom, at least for a #1.
:lol: :lol:

That's actually a Vermont tradition. :lol: :lol: There is actually a reason for this. In good yankee tradition and the fact most Vermonters historically are not on a municipal system they are just trying to extend the time between having to call and pay for a visit by Winslow's Super Septic Sucking Service. :lol:

Speaking of sewer systems, if you live in Warren Village you have a semi-new municipal system owed in part to the man who built the Pitcher Inn as he paid for a big chunk of it to get the inn hooked up. You can also thank him for taking a big ugly pile of charred remnants of the previous building and transferring it into one of the classiest inns in the Northeast with a national reputation. There is also the Warren Store which he purchased and brought calm to a sea of anxiety loyal employees had after the longtime owner passed away. Win had been a very positive business/community leader in the valley even before he took over the Bush.

sugarboarder
01-30-2007, 06:43 PM
Watch out where the huskies go....

FZ