A new gas station and convenience store may soon take the place of the historic El Rancho restaurant, a landmark along the Interstate 70 corridor in Evergreen, Colorado.
Local developer Jack Buchanan is working with Broomfield-based Kimley-Horn, a development company, to bring a QuikTrip to the site. The plan aims to revitalize the area while maintaining the legacy of the iconic restaurant.
El Rancho was originally built in 1948 by the Jahnke family as a rustic lodge and cafe at the junction of Highway 40 and the road to Evergreen. When the interstate highway system was developed, engineers worked with then-owner Paul McEncroe in 1969 to give the restaurant its own dedicated exit, which opened in 1972. It became known as the El Rancho Exit and was the only restaurant in the U.S. with its own highway exit at the time.
The site has changed ownership over the years and is now under Buchanan’s control. On August 7, Kimley-Horn submitted a pre-application package to Jefferson County, proposing to replace El Rancho with a modern gas station and convenience store.
“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, state-of-the-art facility with best-in-class design and accessibility,” said Coy Williams, project manager at Kimley-Horn.
However, the plan has met with opposition from the local community. More than 900 Evergreen residents have signed a petition against the development, spearheaded by local resident Kim Teschke-Timm. She believes the plan could erase a key piece of Evergreen’s history.
“It’s a part of Evergreen and honestly it’s kind of a part of Colorado,” Teschke-Timm said.
Buchanan and Kimley-Horn have expressed intentions to move the El Rancho building to a nearby site on the other side of Highway 40, preserving the structure. “The current property owners are evaluating the feasibility of relocating the restaurant to create an opportunity for redevelopment,” Williams added.
Teschke-Timm, however, remains skeptical. “What they want to do is move it across the street, which has absolutely no infrastructure,” she said, noting that if the relocation plan fails, the restaurant may be torn down entirely.
“In essence, what they’re doing is destroying a part of Evergreen, and Colorado, to build a mega gas station,” Teschke-Timm concluded.
