And the 2026 Myles Rademan Spirit of Hospitality Award goes to … Randy Barton!

Barton, best known as manager of the Egyptian Theatre, was honored with the Park City Chamber/Bureau’s annual award at its meeting last week. In Barton’s words, however, it’s a “recognition,” not an award.

“I don’t accept on behalf of myself, but on behalf of all the folks who love arts and culture,” Barton said.

He added that he appreciated that the award was not competitive in what can be a very competitive town.

Since moving to Park City in 1975, Barton founded the iconic late-night fast food chain Sconecutter, organized a cow ballet, hosted a drive-time radio show, saved the Egyptian Theatre from financial ruin and, most recently, was seen riding a camel through Main Street at the Miners Day parade.

“I was always involved with the Egyptian Theatre from the day that it was renamed the Egyptian in 1981,” Barton said. “I was never in charge but always there.” 

As a member of the Park City Players, Barton was involved at the theater as an actor and worked concessions at the Sundance Film Festival. 

Over the next few decades, Barton’s involvement around town ranged from television to concert promotion to radio. His TV show, “Park City Faces,” spotlighted the people and personality of Park City every weeknight live for nearly a decade. 

“It was really fun to do that show during the Olympics,” Barton said. 

For two weeks, the program filmed from Main Street instead of the usual studio, and Barton interviewed a horse. 

“I just love that we hosted the world,” Barton said, “and speaking of hospitality, we did such a marvelous job of it.”

After a stint on television, Barton moved to radio.

KPCW ran “The Local View” for four hours a day, five days a week for 20 years. During his time on the radio, Barton was known to make what he called “outlandish” statements. Outlandish, maybe. Radiantly positive, definitely. 

Barton said he would advise people to get out and learn to drive in the snow instead of being afraid of storms. During traffic jams, he’d tell listeners to embrace it, relax and enjoy the music. 

Barton was organizing a concert series in Salt Lake City in the ’90s and wanted to bring the same energy to Park City. In 1997, he started Mountain Town Stages. That evolved into Mountain Town Music, which programs, produces and fosters live music performances in the area. 

“Radio, theater, television, all kinds of at the same time as doing music and concerts. That was kind of my deal,” Barton said.

In 2009, Barton added “Saved the Egyptian Theatre” to his resume. 

“Everybody tells me, you know, ‘You saved the theater. Without you, it wouldn’t be there,’” Barton recalled. “I say, ‘Yeah, but I’m one of many, going all the way back to the 1800s, of people that would rise up and save the theater.’”

As Barton tells it, in the spring of 2009, the theater had closed and canceled all productions because it was out of money. The board of directors had in mind a schedule full of community theater programming, but Barton had a different vision. 

“I told them that was a bad decision for the community and (to) give me 90 days to show you what it should be,” he said. 

Barton luckily negotiated a contract at the beginning of the 90 days; the board tried to fire him three times during that period.

By the end of the three months, Barton had built a model of the theatre that still stands today.

“That is, something on stage every week, building a Pharaoh Club for the support of the theater and making the Egyptian the centerpiece of social life in Park City and a real gathering place,” he said. 

As Barton accepted his recognition, he proudly described the theater as “historic, authentic, intimate, genuine, social and, because of me, slightly irreverent.”

There are many opinions about what makes Park City unique. Is it the skiing, the history, the proximity to Main Street or the culture?

“(Arts and culture) has always been a part of Park City from the very beginning, and it is always what makes Park City a real town,” Barton said. “People talk about going to other ski areas, and what they love about Park City is it is real because of the dining, the arts, the culture, the history.”

If it were up to Barton, Park City would market itself as a “stationary cruise ship.”

“We have all the things that you would go on a cruise for: entertainment, shows, great food,” he said. “Base (the city) on that model. If somebody’s here, they’re going to be entertained.”

Barton is quick to share business strategies, and as a father of three, he’s well-versed in giving life advice.

“You know, I tell my kids and others, be careful with what you decide to do because you just might end up doing that and nothing else for the rest of your life,” Barton said. “I’ve done more than the arts. I’ve done business and I’m a runner. I’m a golfer. I have great joys. Best is being a parent, always.”

He enjoys what he calls “goof-off golfing,” a discipline of the sport where points aren’t counted and improvement isn’t the goal. Unlike his openness toward business matters, his favorite golf course is top secret.

Barton was recognized with a hospitality award, so why all the talk of entertaining? Entertainment and hospitality are one and the same, he said. Barton was born in Hollywood, after all.

“When you say that you’re entertaining tonight, that doesn’t have to mean that you’re dancing or on stage with a mic,” Barton said. “(When) you’re entertaining people, you’re bringing them into your home and showing them a nice time. Hosting is the same thing.”

According to Barton, entertaining and hosting go hand in hand with kindness and openness. 

“The divisiveness of the world is based on a lack of hospitality and ‘I will welcome anybody’ attitude,” he said.

As he accepted the Chamber/Bureau’s recognition, Barton reminisced about the days when he was new in town and faced with the common question: “So, how long have you been here?”

Barton said he feels like he’s on the other side of that question after 50 years in Park City. 

“People want you to talk about what makes you mad or upset, what you hate about the town,” he said. “But I love this town more every year.”

The post Perspectives on hospitality and entertainment from Randy Barton appeared first on Park Record.

As construction shapes Deer Valley East Village, another piece of the long-term vision will soon welcome its first guests.

Canopy by Hilton Deer Valley, the first Utah location for Hilton’s Canopy brand, is scheduled to open this summer. It will be the third hotel to debut in Deer Valley East Village following the opening of the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley and Pioche Village. 

With the opening expected at the end of July, the property will serve locals as well as visitors, said Kat Barrett, vice president of commercial services at Extell. 

Located at the base of Deer Crest with the Jordanelle Express Gondola steps away, the four-story 180-room hotel includes four dining venues, an indoor pool, hot tub, sauna, steam room, cold plunge and fitness center, a game room, meeting spaces and skier services.

Extell Development Company owns the Canopy Deer Valley as well as the neighboring Grand Hyatt Deer Valley and is also developing the Four Seasons and Waldorf Astoria hotels at the new base area.

It will also be the second property managed by Extell’s own recently created hotel management arm, Barrett said, with a few other properties in the pipeline.

“(Canopy) hits this upper upscale positioning in this market, which I think is a huge opportunity, because there’s not a lot of upper upscale inventory,” said Barrett. “It’s luxury or maybe it’s mid-scale product, so it’s going to open up doors for people who wanted to travel here.”

The hotel is also significant for the 12-year-old Canopy by Hilton brand itself as the first property to come online with its new face, including a logo and updated color palette.

Of the 180 guest rooms, 96 are king rooms, 74 are queen-queen rooms and 10 are suites. A king room with a small balcony is expected to start around $300 per night during the offseason before increasing to $800 during peak ski season.

While Canopy is positioned within Hilton’s upper-upscale portfolio, Barrett said the brand is similar to boutique-style hotels by creating a sense of place.

“As part of the Canopy branding, it’s local, it’s a sense of home,” she said. “Every Canopy hotel has a bed canopy, and the inspiration behind that is we’re bringing you under the canopy, so we’re showing you things local, we’re showing you our home.”

Not only does that come through in the design elements, but also in the retail items that will be available for purchase and the dining concepts. 

Artwork and furnishings reference skiing and Utah’s mountain landscape. Rugs resemble aerial views of ski trails, while whimsical collage-style artwork includes images such as a hand mixer whipping up a snowstorm and an oversized tea bag steeped in a mountain lake.

“A lot of the colors that you’ll see here are reminiscent of ’60s, ’70s ski culture,” Barrett said. “Everything has texture to it, color, a different finish, so if you’re here four or five nights, you could technically be sitting in a different seat and having a little bit of a different experience.”

For the namesake bed canopies, a large weave of colorful straps extends up and over the bed, reminiscent of backpack straps, Barrett said. Historical influences also appear throughout the restaurants, like a decorative rope installation in the three-meal restaurant that pays tribute to the area’s ranching and mining history.

The hotel’s culinary program will be led by Executive Chef Scott Rackliff, whose resume includes hospitality brands like Pacific Hospitality Group’s Meritage Collection and Michelin-starred restaurants such as Eleven Madison Park in New York City. Rackliff recently moved to Park City from Huntington Beach, California, after growing up in New Hampshire.

“It feels like coming home, coming back to nature, and in the mountains,” Rackliff said.

The property will feature four separate food-and-beverage concepts designed to serve hotel guests and local residents.

A grab-and-go café in the lobby will offer coffee, pastries and sandwiches during the day before transitioning to desserts and sweets in the evening.

The main restaurant is an Italian brasserie featuring an outdoor pizza oven, Italian cuisine and flatbreads. The concept was developed with consulting chef Daniele Uditi, founder of the Los Angeles restaurant Pizzana.

On the other side of the lobby’s two-way fireplace, a lounge provides another casual gathering space, while the fourth-floor restaurant will focus on elevated American comfort food paired with mountain views.

“It’s rustic American comfort food, but with lots of inspiration from what we have here,” Rackliff said of the upstairs restaurant designed with a-frame ceilings and a large vintage fireplace. “So there’s bison on the menu, we’ll play with some elk probably on specials and stuff like that, and then game meat.”

Among his favorites planned is a duck confit sandwich, with a traditional duck leg confit pressed and grilled until the skin becomes crisp, served with arugula, sweet and pickled cherries, fennel seed and mustard seeds on a pretzel bun. There will also be classics like a Salisbury steak made from Wagyu beef, potatoes, charred carrots and a mushroom demi-glace.

“One of my favorite things is comfort food, just try and give it that Michelin-star twist,” Rackliff said. “To me Michelin isn’t about actually getting the damn star. I don’t really care. But if you embody those criteria into what you’re doing, you’re going to have a great restaurant.”

That approach also includes sourcing ingredients locally whenever possible.

Rackliff said the kitchen has some budding partnerships with local purveyors like PaMaw’s Organic Farm in Daniel for produce and Heber Valley Artisan Cheese for regional cheeses. The plan will be for all four dining outlets to open with the hotel, and increase hours as the busy season arrives.

As the team puts the final touches on the property, Barrett said the excitement is growing.

“It’s so rare, at least in hospitality, that people get to be part of an opening,” she said. To commemorate that, each staff member involved is gifted a Canopy-branded hard hat.

Reservations are now open for stays starting Aug. 16. For more information, visit hilton.com/en/hotels/slcvepy-canopy-deer-valley.

The post A few finishing touches prepare Canopy Deer Valley for summer opening appeared first on Park Record.