El Rancho restaurant site considered for new gas station

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — In an effort to revitalize an iconic restaurant while bringing a new gas station and convenience store to the Interstate 70 corridor, Jack Buchanan, the owner of the historic El Rancho, is working with a Broomfield-based development company that has sold the property to QuickTrip.

El Rancho, Colorado was built in 1948 by the Jahnke family of Minnesota as a rustic lodge cabin cafe at the junction of Highway 40 and the road to Evergreen.

Then, when the new interstate highway system was being designed and built, the highway engineers talked directly to the owner at the time, Paul McEncroe, in 1969 to provide the restaurant its own interchange.

The exit opened in 1972, and ever since it has been commonly known as the El Rancho Exit. This made El Rancho the only restaurant in America at the time to have its own exit.

Since then, it has passed through many hands and now is under ownership by Buchanan. Now, a Broomfield-based engineering consultant Kimley-Horn, is proposing a convenience store and gas station. The company submitted a pre-application package for the site to Jefferson County on Aug. 7.

“The proposed Convenience Store with Service Station honors the seven-decade legacy of the site as a stopping point for travelers, and will be redeveloped as a new, Class A-type facility that will feature state-of-the-art systems and technologies, best-in-class design and construction standards, and exceptional accessibility for local residents and travelers along the I-70 corridor,” wrote Coy Williams, project manager with Kimley-Horn.

Not everyone is on board, however, including more than 900 Evergreen residents who have signed a petition started by Kim Teschke-Timm, who also lives in Evergreen.

“It’s a part of Evergreen and honestly it’s kind of a part of Colorado,” Teschke-Timm said.

Buchanan and Kimley-Horn have stated they intend to move the El Rancho building to the other side of Highway 40.

“The current property owners are evaluating the feasibility of relocating the existing restaurant to a nearby property, thereby creating the opportunity to redevelop the property by utilizing the existing property’s footprint,” Williams wrote.

Teschke-Timm said there are some holes in this idea.

“What they want to do is move it across the street, which has absolutely no infrastructure,” she said.

She added if they are unable to move it, then the only other option would be to tear it down.

“In essence what they’re doing is destroying a part of Evergreen, and Colorado, to build a mega gas station,” Teschke-Timm said.

She said other concerns were that this would impede the quality of life for people living in Evergreen.

“You’re going to have the noise to deal with, you’re going to have the light pollution which is going to be huge, you’re going to have, you know, they say that truck stops bring crime and all that goes along with that,” she said.

She said there is no point in having a travel stop at this location when there is already a gas station and a Walmart just across the street, plus many other truck stops along I-70.

“There is no need for this whatsoever,” Teschke-Timm said.

The Jefferson County Historical Commission submitted a memo to the county on Aug. 28, which stated their opposition to the moving or demolishing of the El Rancho building. The memo states that moving or demolishing it would “devastate the historical, scenic, and community character for area residents,” and the building is “an irreplaceable and iconic historic landmark and a big part of Colorado and Evergreen’s history with its location at the gateway to Evergreen and the mountains.”

It is worth noting that Buchanan and Kimley-Horn have stated their intention is not to destroy it, but to move it several hundred feet.

FOX31 has reached out to Buchanan and is waiting to hear back.

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