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Perfect for Corona: Ski gondolas have become cool little restaurants

She does not know why she did it, but American Dominic Bastian one day began purchasing used ski gondolas from resorts.

When the corona plague broke out, luck lit up her face, as many restaurants discovered her - and the treasure she had amassed

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• Gondola

• Colorado

• Corona

• Restaurant

Walla!

Tourism

Wednesday, 17 February 2021, 08:55

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The wintry weather, along with severe Corona restrictions, made a pair of restaurateurs in the town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, USA, think of a particularly original solution.

The two, the couple Wendy and Rich Tokiaron, own a local restaurant and brewery called Mountain Tap.

In the summer, they could still open tables in the open air and thus maintain social distance, but winter, the heavy snowstorms in this area, forced them to think of another solution, and still - keep the limits of the corona.

In a brainstorming session they conducted, their accountant suggested using ski gondolas, the same ski lifts that lift and lower skiers to the mountain slopes.

These are small, enclosed spaces that can be easily heated and even provide the required social distance.

The two got too excited about the idea.

However, how do you get used ski gondolas?

Luckily for the couple, they located a woman, Dominic Bastian by name, who for some reason had purchased an entire fleet of such items in recent years.

She did this simply because she hoped that one day they would be used.

Indeed, when the global corona plague broke out, Bastian, along with its employees, began converting the old gondolas into small, personal dining spaces for restaurant owners.

Last November, the couple purchased from her a number of gondolas, which can easily accommodate up to six adults for a meal.

"These gondolas certainly saved us this winter," says Wendy Tokiaron.

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To the full article

The old gondolas have been converted into small dining spaces for a restaurant in Steamboat Springs (Photo: Official Website, The Gondola Shop)

The gondola can be heated easily and even provides the required social distance (Photo: Official website, The Gondola Shop)

Speakers and special lighting: Custom gondolas

Like yurts, tents, igloo-like structures and more, the ski gondolas also allow restaurants to expand their seating and offer comfortable accommodation units for winter dining, while maintaining corona restrictions.

The Food and Wine website reports that in many restaurants, between each order, a 30-20 minute disinfection process is performed, as well as special lighting, heaters and even Bluetooth-enabled speakers.

Bastian herself turned the matter into a lucrative business.

She and her crew are sanding and repainting the gondolas, also for active ski resorts.

She said when she heard one day that a Vermont ski resort was replacing its gondola fleet - she immediately offered to purchase all of those 55 units, thus taking a real financial risk.

A year later, she purchased another 95, from another ski resort.

"I really do not know what went through my mind," she says.

"I didn't really think about it."

Special lighting, heaters and speakers can be added to the gondola (Photo: Official website, The Gondola Shop)

"My phone and email 'exploded' from too many inquiries"

After the first orders for gondolas for restaurants during the Corona period, her picturesque gondolas gained rapid attention, especially on social media and in the press.

"From that moment on, my phone and email 'exploded' from too many inquiries."

Soon she was even asked not only to sell them as they are, but to provide custom gondolas, according to different requirements of restaurants.

She says a basic gondola costs $ 4,800, and a gondola that has undergone extensive renovation, upholstery and various additions will cost $ 20,000-15,000 per unit.

"It's crazy," she says.

"Things worked out strangely for me - but definitely good."

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