In 1954 Duke and Lucile Smith brought forth upon this site the Loveland Pass Bar, Lounge and Restaurant, offering food and liquid refreshment to weary travelers and steadfast locals. The Duke, betting on the odds that a satisfied patron will always return, employed the legendary culinary skills of Christopher the Greek.
Indeed, word of the delectable treats from the Greek spread. Railroad folks from Keystone, pipeline people horn the Roberts/Eisenhower Tunnel projects, and old miners from Anywhere, U.S.A., crowded the bar and restaurant. When Irving and Betty Phelps front Sioux Fats, South Dakota, visited the Loveland Pass Bar, Lounge and Restaurant, they were overwhelmed by the boisterous Loveland night life. South Dakota couldn't hold a candle to this kind of place, so the Phelps simply bought the place for themselves. Irv became known for his love of mountain madness and outrageous parties. Until his untimely death in 1974, the "LP. Bar" was known as one of the "highest" saloons in the continental U.S of A. In that same year a gentlemen named Jerry Jones re-named it the Snake River adding some class to Keystone valley. (Continues below)
