Owners of Gondola Pub & Grill are hosting a party to celebrate 40 years in business at the base of the Steamboat Resort

Hundreds of people came out Saturday to help Gondola Square Pub & Grill owners Raeanna Ellis, Tony Dickson and Chrissy Benjamin celebrate 40 years in business in Steamboat Springs.

“It was chaos,” Dickson said of the party. “It was really fun. I had been planning this party for a long time.”

He said former employees and longtime customers of Gondola Pub & Grill traveled to Steamboat Springs for the celebration. Ellis and her daughter, Tevis Van Treese, who live in Arizona, were also in attendance. Ellis bought the restaurant in the heart of Steamboat Square in 1984 with her husband, Jim, who died in 2011.

The business has been under the same ownership group since the Ellises took over the 3.2% alcohol-licensed counter-service restaurant called The Works. In the years since, the restaurant has moved and changed names, but has never lost sight of what was important: family.

“We started in 1984 and we still have the same ownership group as in 1984,” Dickson said. “We’ve added a few things along the way. I became a partner in 2002 and Chrissy joined us in 2007 … when I needed a full-time employee, and that’s a good thing because it changes your mindset about going from employee to owner. We’re going to keep going as long as we can.”

Dickson said he is fortunate to have an experienced and dedicated staff that includes many long-time employees, including Mike Cole, who has been with the company for 25 years; Michael Ruby, who has been with the company for more than 20 years; Montana Going, who has been with the company for 14 years; and kitchen manager Alejandro Lopez, who joined the team 12 years ago.

“When I looked at our staff last year, we didn’t have one person who didn’t have 10 years of experience as a server,” Dickson said. “We only hired one server.”

Over the years, the business was known as The Works, then Grubstake, a tribute to Raeanna’s family and their heritage as Arizona mine owners.

“A lot of people thought we were serving steak, but it was actually staking,” Dickson said. “The name came from Raeanna’s mother, who owned several mines in Arizona. The name was more like, ‘Would you trade some of your stake for food?’ and that’s where the name Grubstake came from.”

Originally, Grubstake was located behind its current location, and Dickson called it Little Grubstake. However, before the 1990-91 ski season, the restaurant moved to the location that had housed The After Glow, Pink Cadillac, and The Helm. In 1999, the Ellises took advantage of the opportunity to purchase the building from the American Skiing Company and secured the business’s location in Steamboat Square, which was then called Gondola Square.

The same year, Dickson became a partner in the business and the name was changed to Gondola Pub & Grill in 2002 to highlight the establishment’s location at the foot of the resort.

Dickson said he started working for the Ellises after graduating from Steamboat Springs High School in 1983 and has seen more than one change. He recalls a time when customers would place their orders using phones set up in the restaurant because it was difficult to navigate in ski boots, or when the restaurant used a large smokehouse and offered only smoked meats on the dinner menu.

“I graduated from Steamboat Springs High School and became a ski lift operator. I got tired of eating ramen noodles all the time, so I needed a second job,” Dickson said. “I was walking past The Helm and saw people cleaning inside. I knocked on the door to see if they needed any part-time help. Jim told me to come back the next day, and I’ve been here for 40 years now.”

Dickson said over the years, Gondola Pub & Grill has found its niche by offering pub grub and American cuisine, including burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, Ruebens, tuna melts and cheesesteaks.

“The list is long,” Dickson said. “We change it a little bit every year based on what’s happening and what’s trendy. We try to keep up with it as best we can.”

The Ellis family brought Dickson on as a partner in 2002, then added Benjamin, another longtime employee, in 2007. Both men are quick to point out that Gondola Pub & Grill is a place where family is always at the center, a place where employees want to work and a place where customers want to return year after year.

The Gondola Pub & Grill, located directly across from Christy Sports and The Range Food and Drink Hall in Steamboat Square, is currently closed for the summer. It will reopen when ski season begins in November and will remain open until closing day in April.

“It’s amazing to see the people who come through our doors,” Benjamin said. “We’ve seen their kids grow up and there are so many people who come in and want to tell you about how they got started here. These are the people who come back regularly and feel like this is their place to go. This is their ‘Cheers.’”