City of Denver Again Turns to Gallery to Supply New Carts and Kiosk for Its Famous Concert Venue
Executive Summary:
Nestled in the hillside of Morison, Colorado, Red Rocks Amphitheater is a naturally formed, world-famous outdoor venue. Once listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the World and recently designated a National Historic Landmark, it is arguably one of Colorado’s most popular destinations.
For more than 100 years, the perfect acoustics of the flat, red rocks has made it the preferred location for public and private performances including notable concerts by the Beatles, Ringo Starr, Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead and John Denver, just to name a few.
As a Colorado-based company, Gallery is exceedingly proud to have been selected as the original cart and kiosk supplier for this famous site. Over the past 16 years, Gallery’s carts have held up against year-round weather extremes at an elevation of 6,450 ft.
Although the units were still operational, the City of Denver asked Gallery for new food service carts with updated designs that blended into the majestic beauty of the surroundings.
“When it came time to update the food and beverage service units at Red Rocks, there was no one else we would trust but Gallery,” said Tad Bowman, Venue Director for the City of Denver. “Gallery represents exactly the type of companies we want in Colorado – founded and headquartered in Denver, innovative, and focused on high quality. It is a pleasure to be partnering with them again.”
Partners:
- City of Denver
- Aramark
Challenges:
When building and designing carts for an outdoor venue like Red Rocks, the carts and kiosks needed to:
-seamlessly blend with the natural backdrop of the red rock formations, and
-be able to withstand the elements of all four seasons at a high altitude.
Additionally, Red Rocks is surrounded by rocks that reach up thousands of feet on both sides. The steep walls, combined with long narrow entrances, made it difficult to install carts in 10 unique locations throughout the venue.
How Gallery Delivered:
To ensure the new carts complemented their surroundings, Gallery’s design team selected materials that balanced well with the red rocks and nearby mountains. Dark wood panels were created that mimic the prevalent Colorado pines growing along the hillside of the Red Rocks amphitheater.
The wood, sourced from Central America, replaced traditional graphics on the carts to elevate the design and add a more sophisticated look. Additionally, awnings were fabricated in shades of red and maroon to compliment the natural color of the rock formations.
From a functionality standpoint, each location provided a full-service offering with both food and beverages. This was done to provide additional convenience for visitors, allowing them to meet all their refreshment needs at one location.
Finally, all the carts featured insulated walls and compartments to handle freezing winters and scorching summers. The wood décor was preserved with extra weather treatment, and each awning was protected with extra flame retardant guard.
Each cart also was specially engineered to withstand high winds by featuring anchors measured with the correct counter weights. Thanks to these carefully planned details, the carts are predicted to last at least another 20 years. [DGV1]
In order to install the carts and kiosks in the upper plaza location, the Gallery team used cranes to lift two of the carts hundreds of feet into the air. Additionally, a winch-and-hook mechanism was deployed to slowly lower the remaining carts down 5-10 flights of stairs in order to reach the north and south side plazas.
Results, ROI, and Future Plans
Red Rocks opens on April 19, 2017 for its first show of the year, debuting Method Man, Redman & Flatbush Zombies. Also debuting will be the sleek new Gallery carts. With combined food and beverage stations, shorter lines, new food offering, and a beautiful outdoor look, the new services are sure to get a standing ovation.