The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
By Mark Reaman
Food truck as accessory kitchen
The Crested Butte town council indicated at the January 5 meeting that they supported a request from The Hideout restaurant to use a trailer/food truck as an accessory kitchen space next summer. David Wilkins of The Hideout made clear that the current kitchen was too small to adequately provide service for both the indoor and outdoor seating at the location. He indicated that if they could not utilize that food truck that is parked behind the building, the restaurant might have to decrease available seating along with decreasing the menu selections and perhaps raising prices to make the business work.
The council had granted the use of the food truck as an accessory kitchen during the so-called “restaurant emergency” but that emergency designation has been lifted. The town is also in the midst of updating its zoning code. So, the council was hesitant to support using the accessory kitchen in the winter, but gave a thumbs up to The Hideout using it next summer. They will look at a more permanent solution to such situations during the zoning code update process. Town attorney Karl Hanlon will come back to the council with a formal resolution approving the use of the food truck next summer at the next meeting.
Town talking money
The town council will hold a series of work sessions to delve into the town’s financial situation. They scheduled three two-hour long-range financial planning work sessions to dig deep into the town financial numbers and consider ways to maintain town services and revenues. The first work session will be held March 9 and the last is scheduled for early June.
Special event priorities
After a long philosophical discussion on January 5 over how to approve or not approve special event applications in Crested Butte, the council asked staff to come up with a new protocol to evaluate such events. The general consensus was to prioritize events that originated with local groups and had general community benefit instead of those from the outside. But town attorney Karl Hanlin said that may not be legal. The staff will ponder potential guidelines that are legally defensible to prioritize special events that have community benefits. He will bring something back to the council to consider at a future date.
Community composting goes on
The council approved the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between the towns of Mt. Crested Butte and Crested Butte to continue a composting drop-off program on January 5. The towns jointly subsidize the program at a not-to-exceed amount of $42,000 per year, split evenly ($21,000 each). Member fees offset municipal costs. Crested Butte’s subsidy totaled $12,245 in 2024 (June–December). With approximately 60 members projected, the 2025 subsidy is estimated to be $16,500.
Staff is also exploring relocation of the compost drop-off site from the Chamber to Clark’s Market. Clark’s has expressed strong interest and may also begin composting store food waste. Staff anticipates that a more visible and convenient location could help increase participation in 2026.
