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Silverthorne’s dining scene is about to get exciting. The 54-year-old town is cutting the ribbon on Bluebird Market this fall, introducing a 29,000-square-foot food hall and events venue that will feature a range of culinary concepts curated for Summit County locals and tourists.
The marketplace will accommodate roughly 1,300 guests—650 in the open-seating market and 600-plus in the Summit Assembly event venue. A wraparound mezzanine houses drink rails overseeing the hustle below, as well as quiet workspace nooks and three yet-to-be-leased retail shops. The market’s design is minimalist, mountain mod with lots of steel and concrete. Tables are made from Colorado beetle-kill wood, and three sizeable garage doors open to outdoor patio seating. The name Bluebird Market comes from the emotions conjured on a crisp, mountain day when slope and trail conditions and the weather are perfect, says Scott Vollmer, director of operations at Milender White, the developer for the hall.
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Among the dozen restaurant concepts filling the ground floor of Bluebird Market are mountain-town eateries and Denver-area favorites alike. Expect to find outposts of Breckenridge’s Crêpes à la Cart and the popular Dillon-based taco spot Chimayo Grill, as well as concepts from Denver’s Mighty Hospitality Group, including Mighty Burger, The Central Bar, and Hook & Harvest (serving poke bowls). Three eateries from Edgewater Public Market will also set up shop, including Lazo Empanadas, Lucky Bird, and Tilford’s Wood Fired Pizza. Three new-to-market concepts include Colorado Marketplace and Bakery, Nomad Coffee, and Don’t Call Me Charlie’s Ice Cream—all first-time small businesses run by husband-and-wife teams.
Vollmer says the 12 restaurants and three retail pop-up spaces present opportunities for small business owners to streamline operations with less staff while offering lower start-up costs and shorter lease commitments.
“The food-hall model can allow restaurant concepts to be much more profitable than a typical brick-and-mortar location,” says Vollmer. “Up here, there’s a huge labor challenge with leasing spanning 10-plus years. The food hall model is ‘do it simple and do it right.’”
And there’s still one spot up for grabs—the anchoring 3,000-square-foot restaurant space that formerly housed the Old Dillon Inn. Bluebird Market was built around and now encapsulates the historic bar, which will eventually serve as a full-service restaurant and late-night speakeasy once the right tenant is identified. Old West and mining-era nostalgia is preserved through old band posters and museum-style boards, telling the story of cowboys and iron workers who would frequent the watering hole.
As part of the 4th Street Crossing development, Bluebird Market will anchor Silverthorne’s larger plan to open a walkable downtown core with retail shopping, public parking, and residential townhomes, condos, and workforce housing. The grand opening is expected in October, and visitors can look forward to ongoing community events that include monthly live music and film screenings.
325 Blue River Pkwy., Silverthorne, 303-216-0420
