When the new Kuni Lexus opens in Greenwood Village, luxury- car owners bringing their vehicles in for service will be able to while the wait time away in the dealership’s day spa.
Perhaps a mani or pedi with your oil change, ma’am?
The tricked-out dealership with a mountain-view outdoor deck, along with the pamper-place waiting area, is part of the proposed use of the 6.2-acre property at 5150 S. Quebec St.
The sale of the site that houses a shuttered Ramada hotel is expected to close in roughly 30 days, according to Gregg Stone, president and general manager of Kuni Lexus of Littleton. He declined to disclose the purchase price.
Kuni’s quest to obtain that piece of ground was not without hurdles. The dealership had to gain a special-use designation from the Greenwood Village City Council to allow a car dealership to be built within the city limits.
Based on public hearings and Kuni’s proposal that it would mitigate traffic concerns, the City Council approved the special use. Council also approved Kuni’s use of 40-foot lights on 3,000 square feet of the front of the dealership with the stipulation that they be dimmed at 9 p.m.
“From the standpoint of neighborhood impact, this project was preferable to more intensive types of development that could occur on that site with more intensive traffic impacts,” said George Weaver, Greenwood Village community- development director.
Kuni plans to move its Lexus dealership at 6160 S. Broadway in Littleton to the new site, Stone said.
“We think the location is much more central to where our guests live and work,” Stone said. “We want to build a green-friendly, environmentally friendly building that is appealing to the neighbors and be able to service our guests the best we can.”
A star is born?
Could KALC-105.9 FM DJ Howie Drummond be headed to a new career as The Next Food Network Star?
Tune in to the Food Network at 7 p.m. June 5 for the series where home cooks and professional chefs compete to earn their own show.
Drummond, 40, will bring his experience as a cook at Bennigan’s who went on to owning a restaurant to the culinary competition.
Foote’s farewell.
Back in the day when such Avalanche stars as Patrick Roy, Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Ray Bourque and Adam Foote ruled the rink, the Denver ChopHouse made it a policy to keep the kitchen open after hours to accommodate hungry hockey players after home games.
The bond between the Rock Bottom-owned restaurant and the hometown team was so strong, in fact, that the popular LoDo eatery picked up the entire tab for the team’s 2001 Stanley Cup celebration.
So it seemed only fitting that Capt. Foote chose to mark his farewell announcement Friday with lunch at the ChopHouse with family and friends.
“We feel like we all grew up together in the ’90s: the businesses of LoDo, the Colorado Avalanche and the Colorado Rockies,” said ChopHouse general manager Collin McDowell. “We are proud to have celebrated such wonderful times with such talented people.”
EAVESDROPPING
A man watching South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel win the 2011 Masters golf tournament:
“That guy weighs 140 pounds? That’s what one of my thighs weighs.”
Penny Parker’s column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Hear her on “Caplis & Silverman” between 4 and 5 p.m. Fridays on KHOW-630 AM. Call her at 303-954-5224 or e-mail pparker@denverpost.com.
