The team behind the thirty-five years old Sweet Basil restaurant in Vail is working on the details of its new venture, Mountain Standard. Construction is in full swing at the rustic tavern located right around the corner from Sweet Basil and Eater has a sneak peek into the renderings for the space that is now being transformed.

The space was designed by Semple Brown, a leading restaurant design firm based in Denver, responsible for the interior at the Kitchen Denver, the Squeaky Bean, and Coohills, among others. In collaboration with the Mountain Standard crew, Semple Brown created a Colorado-inspired design meant to convey the feel envisioned for this new rustic tavern.

Dru Schwyhart of Semple Brown Design stressed the goal of providing a casual dining experience, while still retaining the high level of quality found at Sweet Basil. "Since the existing building is unique to Vail Village in being inherently modern, we tried to stay consistent with the clean lines while using a palette of rustic textures," Schwyhart said. To accomplish this, reclaimed wood and rusted steel will be used in the space, as well as large glass doors that will give patrons an intimate connection to the outdoors. In the summer, a 21-foot wide by 8-foot tall sliding glass patio door will completely open up the restaurant into the patio, but the window transparency created by it wil also enhance the dining experience by providing an intimate view of Gore Creek just beyond the park.

Mountain Standard will feature, among other things, a 32-foot long quartz bar-top, open display kitchen with wood fired rotisserie and grille, loose dining chairs made from recycled plastic Coca Cola bottles, walnut table tops and cabinetry, and dark hot-rolled steel and local sandstone exterior wall panels.

Focused on cooking over an open fire, Mountain Standard will open early December and will offer lunch, après and dinner serving straight through from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

http://denver.eater.com/archives/2012/11/20/mountain-standard-is-taking-shape.php