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Beech Tree Bar & Grille Grand Opening Saturday, Legendary Red Baron Room Open To Public

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The newly renovated Beech Tree Bar and Grill celebrates its grand opening on Saturday, Dec. 12.

By Jesse Wood

Beech Mountain Resort will celebrate the grand opening of the newly remodeled Beech Tree Bar and Grille on Saturday, Dec. 12, at 5 p.m. $4 pints and other drink specials are on tap and the Harris Brothers will perform from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The event starts at 5 p.m.

This is a family friendly event, so the kids are welcome.

Originally constructed when Beech Mountain was first being developed in the ‘60s, the Beech Tree Bar and Grille received a “fresh facelift” over the summer with a comprehensive interior remodel.

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The legendary Red Baron Room is now open again, and on the grand opening celebration only is open to the public.

Patrons will notice the new HD TVs on both levels and a large projection screen downstairs for special events, Sunday football, “brew ‘n view” nights and other film premieres. The stage still exists and is necessary for the expansion of the music series lineup. In addition, the balcony bar is reopening, and don’t forget about the revamped menu.

“I think this will be a great restaurant/bar for not only area visitors, but also locals,” Beech Mountain Resort spokeswoman Talia Freeman said.

In the basement of the Beech Tree Bar and Grille is a private club, the legendary Red Baron Room, which opened in January of 1970.  The basement is decorated with authentic World War 1 flying memorabilia in honor of the Red Baron, German flying ace Baron von Richthofen, and the remodeled bar features a replica of 1917 French bar with oak flooring and comfortable seating.

Open to new members, individual memberships start at $100 and family memberships are just $175. For this one time only during the grand open celebration, the Red Baron Room is open to the public.

“This is your chance to see this exclusive area and sign up for a membership,” Freeman said.

 

In addition to the Beech Tree festivities, the Beech Mountain Brewing Co. will be open Friday-Sunday, serving noon to 7 p.m daily.  Ski Beech Sports is open this Saturday, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., offering 10 percent off the entire store.

The rest of operations at the resort will begin when the weather permits. See other upgrades, improvements and renovations that took place over the summer to increase the quality of product that Beech Mountain Resort puts out.

Tubing Run

As soon as the ski season ended last year, construction crews set to work on bringing tubing back to Ski Beech, just one of the new offerings patrons can expect to see in the coming weeks.

The new state-of-the-art tubing park is located adjacent to the ice skating rink – in between parking lot #2 and parking lot #3. It offers 700-foot runs on a multiple-lane course that features a new carpet conveyor – dubbed the “magic carpet ride” – and new restrooms nearby.

“They have done a nice job of engineering the design, so I think our customers will be really pleased,” said Freeman earlier this summer.

Quad Lift Upgrade

The largest investment of the summer is the improvement to the quad lift.

“The quad was a major investment, but definitely worth it.  It will be running like new again,” Freeman said.

Beech Mountain resort built a terminal over the high-speed quad lift on the top of the mountain to help keep the lift from being exposed to the elements. In addition, Beech focused on improving the other lifts as well.

“We have made a significant investment into the lifts to get them working efficiently, and running faster,” Freeman said. “I think the quality and speed of our lifts is very important to our customers, so we are making significant financial investments towards that project.”

Improved Snowmaking Ability

Beech Mountain Resort also installed an additional 14 SMI Super Pole Cat snow guns, which will provide additional coverage in much needed areas and give Beech the largest snowmaking capacity in its history.

Additional Improvements

The group sales department features new flooring and new space for group meetings and the resort features renovated bathrooms and new stairs throughout.

Beech Mountain Resort hired a new head brewer, Billy Smith, who is a native of New York and graduate of Lees-McRae College. He recently placed in third at the N.C. State Fair for his Beech Blond Ale.

Bald Guy Brew will be back with a new location in the Resort Village, next to the ticket booth, where he will provide specialty drinks and espresso.

New Burton snowboard rentals have been introduced to the fleet and Beech Mountain will be offering free beginner lessons Monday-Thursday (non-holiday) with the purchase of rental equipment for people eight years or older.

“We are very excited to show our customers the improvements,” Freeman said. “Ski Season is, of course, our favorite time of year.”

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