Brad Kaemmer has come home. The second-generation restaurateur with deep Vail roots has returned to town to reimagine Los Amigos cantina at the base of Gondola One as something more ambitious than an après-ski hangout. Much, much more. 

Kaemmer’s vision is twofold: His project, a members-only dining and lifestyle club called the Sixty Two Society, doesn’t just replace Los Amigos (which closed in April after 53 years), it completely reinvents the space while simultaneously upping the level of polish, service, and amenities available to skiers at the top of Bridge Street. “Over the years, the energy on Bridge Street has been eroded,” he says of the village’s pedestrian gateway to Gondola One.

Kaemmer, who graduated with a class of 12 from Vail Mountain School in 1990, literally grew up on Bridge Street. He lived in the building that now houses Gorsuch, and his parents owned and ran Pistachio’s (now Vendetta’s), La Piñata (most recently Los Amigos), the Toy Store, and a children’s clothing store called the Velveteen Rabbit.

Kaemmer’s overhaul of Los Amigos begins by relocating the Sixty Two Society’s entrance off Bridge Street to the Gondola One plaza (and also building a convivial fire pit for the public to enjoy, outside a new enclosed patio), as well as reorienting the dining room to better capture the magnificent views of Vail Mountain. “I was able to make a deal with Vail Resorts, because that land between our front door and Gondola One isn’t ours,” Kaemmer explains. “I asked, ‘Can I put a huge, awesome firepit at the base of Gondola One?’” They realize the underserved value of that area...Bridge Street is the gateway of the mountain.” 

Activating Vail Village’s base area and bringing renewed energy to the historic commercial space anchoring the top of Bridge Street (which locals still refer to as the Vista Bahn Building, after Gondola One’s precursor) sounds well and good, but not everyone is happy. Convivial masses used to end the ski day on Los Amigos’ sunny deck, enjoying pitchers of Coors and plates of nachos with one eye trained on whoever was making the death slide down Pepi’s Face. “Some people are like ‘Oh, how could you?’” Kaemmer says, well aware of the dissent. “What they don’t understand is that my parents opened La Piñata long before Los Amigos. Vail is home base. My wife and I will be [at Sixty Two Society], we’ll be at the front door every day. It’ll be real hospitality, the way it was in the early ’60s.” 

For this season, the $9 million project is a construction zone (the club’s expected opening date is summer 2026), but the gist is this: The club’s luxe new dining room will be open to the public, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and offering a robust après, but dues-paying members will have priority in the reservation queue and exclusive access to private lounge areas and events. “Our model is food and beverage-centric with concierge services,” Kaemmer says. “If you want a PowerBar and oatmeal, that’s not my place. I want it to be everything but that. If, as a member, you want a fly fishing guide, I will make those arrangements for you—same with snowmobiling.” Members will also have access to a ski valet provided by Gorsuch to make the most of the ski-in, ski-out location—and black car service. As with Vail Resorts’ Signature Clubs on and around the main mountains, Kaemmer assures there will be real estate transferability, meaning the membership can be transferred with the sale of a house. There will be legacy transfers too.

Kaemmer is quick to admit that the Sixty Two Society isn’t for everyone. “We’re only taking 62 people. We’re just different,” he says. “We’re going to do it over the top. But when talking about luxury, it’s important that it’s not pretentious. I don’t want it to be white glove, white tablecloth. I just want it to be great, with craveable food.”