After this morning’s new conference, which took place at Flora Street Cafe in view of the driving rain, we have details about Stephan Pyles’s partnership with Ventana by Buckner.
“This is what I enjoy doing these days,” Pyles said, referring to the licensing agreements that have led to openings of Sky Canyon and Stampede 66 in both area airports, with more projected openings coming. The Stephan Pyles brand has opened projects on corporate campuses. And now the partnership with the luxury high-rise retirement community, which will include two 12-story high-rises, one five-story building, a movie theater, spa, salon, and a fitness center with ties to fitness leader The Cooper Institute. So it’s official: Pyles is out to pioneer senior fine dining.
“It’s kind of my base. I’ve been in the restaurant industry 40 years,” Pyles said. “A lot of my folks will be there. Instead of them coming to me, I’ll be coming to them.”
What this will mean in practice: five separate restaurants, for which Pyles will develop the framework, hire and train executive chefs and general managers, and then step back. They will include:
• A 44-seat restaurant with a high-end menu and wine list
• A casual bistro, with a menu that will rotate monthly, focusing on various regions of the Mediterranean
• A café with power bowls, protein shakes, and grab ‘n’ go
• A sky lounge with craft cocktails and a 12-story view
• The potential for in-room dinner party service
All of this, according to Ventana by Buckner director Rick Pruett, is in response to investigations into what ranks highest among senior living residents—notably food and dining. So all of the baby boomers who ate at Pyles’s Ruth Street Café and moved with him through his namesake restaurant to Stampede 66 and Flora Street Café will, presumably, find their bliss.
“Ventana promises to start a new trend: fine dining for senior adults,” Christopher Ruth, Media Relations Director at Buckner International, wrote to me in an email.
Construction will wrap up in June, with tenants moving in August.
