Barbara Lawlor, Nederland. Kyle Schuler snowplowed a path in front of the Sundance Lodge rooms to the door of the office. It was shortly after the first snowstorm last week, just before the second snowstorm. The Sundance sign was bright and cheery against the white drifts on the deck, on the windowsills. Kyle’s partner Kim Schuler arrived and the two of them, co-owners of the Sundance, talked about how they came to be proprietors of the building that sits on a hillside overlooking the Continental Divide, the aspen glades, the streams and the Eldora Mountain Resort snowsports trails.
Kyle and Kim are partners; they are also son and father who happen to be like-minded and hard working entrepreneurs, the Sundance Lodge and Cafe being the type of investment the Schuler family is familiar with.
Kim grew up in a Northern Wisconsin resort in Rhinelander, where small lakes abound, fishing is the money sport and mosquitoes rule. His parents built the cabins situated next to a p
ristine lake by hand. They wanted to raise their five children in a healthy atmosphere, teach them the fruits of hard labor.
“I grew up mowing the grass, bailing out the boats, raking the beach,” says Kim. “We lived there year round and when I was a junior in high school my family decided to move to Boulder and run the Wagon Wheel Lodge in Fourmile.”
Kim began his senior year at Boulder High School and said he was depressed, starting anew. He says he joined the swim team, but just got through the year. He enrolled at CU and at the age of 19, decided he wanted to own a house.
Kim had saved his money but needed to work cleaning commercial buildings at night and fixing up rentals. At the age of 24, in 1983, Kim purchased 80 acres of land above Boulder Falls for $76,000, the owners financing him. He says there was a shack on the land that burned in the Black Tiger Fire. He lived there for a few years and then he and his wife moved to north Boulder where he began his construction company. He says Kyle was conceived during the fire. “I think I saw him five minutes in his first year of life.”
While Kim was building his business, Kyle was his sidekick, helping his dad build rentals and upgrading buildings for rentals. During his days at Boulder High, Kyle played soccer, track and indoor volleyball. When he graduated, Kim asked him if he wanted to go to college.
“No way,” said Kyle. “I had learned everything I wanted to know and college didn’t promise me a good job,” said Kyle. Kim says he and Kyle are the same two peas in a pod, sharing the same Wisconsin work ethic genes.
For the next 10 years, Kyle worked for his dad building rentals for low income families. Now Kyle is 27 years old and he and his dad are partners. Kyle lives in Sugarloaf where he feels most comfortable. The Schuler Construction Company raises money to buy property. Kim says, “If I hadn’t had Kyle help me with the rentals, it wouldn’t have worked out. He does three times the work I did and I didn’t pay him one dime.”
In high school, Kyle even chose to work with his dad on the weekends. He says he has an active nature. “To me it wasn’t work, working with my dad. He gave me respect and room to grow and I took it and ran with it. I got to drive tractors and hang out at lumber yards, my childhood dream.”
Kyle has lived in Sugarloaf for eight years, saying he is not a city person. For fun and a social life, he would come to Nederland and hang out with friends at the Wild Mountain Smokehouse or Backcountry Pizza. His favorite breakfast place was the Sundance Café, where he would order the Number One Works with a Bloody Mary.
He says last year he was busy with the contracting business and began to think about a project of his own. One day, when he arrived for his Sundance breakfast in July, he noticed a “For Sale” sign on the premises and when he made an inquiry, he found the selling price was lower than he thought it would be.
“I called my dad and told him to check the place out. The location is perfect, the scenery is beautiful and there was the cafe and lodge and I didn’t even know about the barn above the lodge, a perfect event center. When we walked up and stood on the barn deck, that’s what sold it for me.”
The Sundance sits on about eight acres on the ridge above Nederland, an overlook that some people have called, “The Top of the World.”
Kyle was particularly charmed by the history of the Sundance, learning that it had been an army barracks in Texas and moved to Nederland in 1964, where it became one of the first health food restaurants in the area, offering brown rice and sprouts and healthy drinks.
“One day a guy called to see if there were any rooms available and it turned out that it was the guy who moved the buildings up from Texas. I can’t wait to get together with him and hear that story.”
When Kim heard Kyle’s proposal to buy the Sundance, he decided to do some research, see about the price and see if it was doable.
“It shook out with the numbers,” says Kim. “It took two months of interesting work. It wasn’t an easy property to absorb, a lot of work. I warned Kyle he would have to work hard. I didn’t want him to struggle, but it was going to take at least a year of his time.”
Kim said that being a motel manager often leads to burn-out so he is looking for someone to work and live there and maybe even have another job. He said they are looking for a manager, maybe a couple. Anyone interested should contact the Sundance.
The closing of the property went smoothly. Kim says that long-time owner Hans von Mende was ready to sell and both men walked away happy on November 9, 2016.
One of the first questions people ask when they hear about the sale is “What about the restaurant?” Kim wants to assure the community that he knows how much people like the cafe and says it will continue as it is. “Hillary has a strong following and it is a win-win situation for both of us.”
In the last month, travelers have noticed the retaining walls that have been constructed below the Sundance. Kim says the walls will make it possible to add more parking spaces to the existing lot.
After living for 10 years at the Wagon Wheel Motel, Kyle knows the motel business. He says the Sundance is a many-dimensional venue with the cafe, the bar, the lodge and the events barn which will be the perfect wedding venue.
Long-time local residents remember the Sundance barn as the location of many memorable Halloween parties and concerts.
Kyle plans to add more outdoor accommodations, a patio, more landscaping and an outdoor space for people to congregate.
He says he will also open up the lounge behind the bar.
One of the big changes will be the loss of the Sundance Stables. With the transfer of ownership, the lease with the U.S. Forest Service is terminated.
Kyle and Kim look forward to greeting the guests that have packed the Sundance for decades, enjoying their breakfast or lunch where the food is as good as the view, the deal maker for two partners who are two peas in a pod.
