When the news broke that Tavernetta would be opening a second location in Vail, you could almost hear the collective cheers up and down the I-70 corridor. The restaurant, which is the sister to Boulder’s Michelin-starred Frasca Food and Wine, will replace Flame in the Four Seasons Resort and Residences Vail this winter. “No one knew this was happening and we’ve worked on it all year,” says Bobby Stuckey, co-founder, Frasca Hospitality Group and Master Sommelier. “[The Four Seasons] announced it to their team when they brought them back from the off-season. The teams are so excited.”

Tavernetta first opened in Denver’s Union Station neighborhood in 2017, and unlike Frasca, which is micro-focused on Italy’s Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, its scope spans the whole country. The same will be true of the Vail location, though there will be a culinary emphasis on Italy’s alpine regions. The all-Italian wine list promises to be exquisite and will be bolstered with a full Champagne offering. (An unparalleled wine program is a hallmark of all Frasca Hospitality Group restaurants, which also include Sunday Vinyl and Pizzeria Alberico.)

Another hallmark: Hospitality. This emphasis really notched the deal for both the Four Seasons and Tavernetta. “We have the same end goal,” explains hotel General Manager Jerome Arribas. “That is entertaining people in the same way and being dedicated to hospitality. True hospitality is hard to deliver.”

Frasca Hospitality Group will put a chef de cuisine in place and it has worked closely with Studio Collective, the award-winning Venice, California-based design group, and Denver-based OZ Architects to renovate the space. The Four Seasons will staff the restaurant.

Tavernetta Vail is expected to open around Christmas, and that’s a present we can’t wait to open.