New almost 1,000-person venue coming to Old Town

Perhaps it may not seem like the best timing to open a new venue during a pandemic, even one with an end in sight.

“Everybody always thinks we’re crazy for this,” Emalie Gutierrez said.

She and her husband, Joe, are opening the Vail, a venue to replace the Hotel at Old Town’s longtime conference center in the heart of Old Town at 210 N. Mosley.

Emalie Gutierrez manages the nearby Distillery 244 event space in which Old Town developer Dave Burk is a partner. He also owns the building where Gutierrez is opening the Vail.

“He thought it would be a good idea to bring another venue to downtown,” she said.

It will hold almost 1,000 people inside and another 450 on a patio.

Gutierrez said she and her husband have gutted the space, which she said “was outdated and really old fashionedy.”

They left two rooms near the front entrance for brides and grooms to get ready. Wedding business will be a particular focus at the space.

There also is a separate kitchen along with an office and bathrooms.

Gutierrez said she’s extended the patio and added lights.

Though she couldn’t change the dropped-tile ceiling, Gutierrez said she’s painted it black. She’s going for an all black-and-white theme.

“We’re just trying to bring something more elegant.”

That contrasts with the more industrial feel of Distillery 244, which has brick walls.

“A lot of people want the more elegant vibe with all the windows and natural lighting,” Gutierrez said.

With Noah’s Event Venue closing on the east side, Gutierrez said a lot of people have been looking for more elegant space. She said that outside of hotels, there aren’t a lot of options for larger events.

Though the Vail can hold almost 1,000, its L-shaped configuration lends itself to smaller events as well, Gutierrez said.

The extra space “allows us to give people more room to walk around and feel more comfortable.”

The venue has an open catering policy, but customers must use the Vail’s liquor.

Gutierrez expects final inspections this week, and the first scheduled event is April 10.

She’s honoring some of the corporate meetings and other events that were scheduled previously.

Gutierrez said she’s finding that as she’s booking events at the Distillery, she can tell people about the Vail to give another option, and vice versa.

“So they’re bouncing off each other.”

Vail is a reference to Vail, Colo.

“We just have a connection with Colorado,” Gutierrez said.

She and her husband considered several Colorado-related names.

“This one just stuck. It sounded like a clean name, and we’re trying to stick with a clean black-and-white space.”

This story was originally published March 16, 2021 at 12:17 PM.