With two restaurants that opened this year operating on Main Street and plans for a boutique hotel and restaurant development in the historic former City Hall and fire station buildings, Typhoon Hospitality has brought in an experienced international hospitality executive to help guide its growing presence in downtown Montrose.
Edward Read, who spent much of his career managing luxury hotels, restaurants and private clubs in Hong Kong, moved to Montrose in August with his wife and two children to serve as Typhoon Hospitality’s general manager.
Read will oversee the company’s existing restaurants, MsSo and Persimmon, at the corner of Main and Cascade, while helping advance its long-planned hotel project and potential future developments.
For Read, whose career has taken him from London to Dublin to Hong Kong, the newest opportunity is a dramatic change of pace and a chance to help shape the future of a community he believes has considerable untapped potential.
“We want to help put Montrose on the map,” Read said.
From Hong Kong to Montrose
Born in London, Read moved to Hong Kong when he was about 5 years old after his father, a civil engineer specializing in high-strength concrete, took a job there during a period of major infrastructure development.
He grew up in Hong Kong before returning to England to study hotel and restaurant management at university. His career subsequently took him to London, Dublin and back to Asia, where he worked his way through the ranks of luxury hospitality.
Read began his career with Mandarin Oriental, eventually advancing through restaurant management and food and beverage leadership positions before becoming a general manager.
His most recent position in Hong Kong was general manager of the Aberdeen Marina Club, a private membership club owned and managed by Shangri-La.
The sprawling facility, which Read described as essentially a resort within Hong Kong, features swimming pools, a bowling alley, an ice skating rink, fitness facilities, a spa and a marina. It serves approximately 10,000 members and employs about 400 people.
Read spent about five years overseeing the operation, including the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and Hong Kong’s prolonged restrictions.
It was through the private club industry that he became acquainted with Typhoon Hospitality owners John and Alia Eyres, who shared their vision for Montrose and invited him to visit in the spring of 2025.
He arrived expecting a an American getaway. He left contemplating a new life.
“I just fell in love with this beautiful little town,” Read said.
He subsequently joined Typhoon Hospitality while still living in Hong Kong, working remotely as his visa application proceeded. After receiving approval in July, he relocated to Montrose in August.
His wife and children, ages 13 and 11, made the move with him.
Despite the dramatic difference between Hong Kong and Montrose, Read said the family has adjusted remarkably well.
“The great thing is it’s so different that you can’t compare,” he said.
Rather than measuring Montrose against the conveniences of another major metropolitan area, the family has embraced the open spaces, mountain scenery and slower pace of life.
He said the community’s willingness to help newcomers has been especially striking.
“Everybody’s out to kind of help each other and support each other,” Read said.
He has also enjoyed the region’s outdoor opportunities, including trips into the mountains to see the changing fall colors.
The move carries a personal significance for Read, whose father relocated a young family halfway around the world to pursue a professional opportunity in the 1980s.
Decades later, Read has found himself making a similar decision.
“I often kind of reflect on that,” he said. “If he could do it back in the ‘80s, why can’t I do it now in 2026?”
Building on MSSO and Persimmon
For now, much of Read’s attention is focused on Typhoon Hospitality’s existing restaurants.
MsSo, the company’s Asian noodle restaurant, is approaching its first anniversary in January. Persimmon, its upscale Asian dining concept, has been operating for approximately three months.
Both restaurants have been well received, Read said, although establishing the operations has required considerable effort.
Staffing has been among the biggest challenges.
“In a small town like this, there is kind of a small talent pool,” he said. “Everybody knows everybody, and pretty much everyone’s worked everywhere.”
After a period of turnover and adjustment, Read said the restaurants have developed more stable teams, allowing management to focus on training, service and menu development.
At MsSo, that has included specialized culinary training.
In August, Typhoon brought in a consultant who had been working in Hong Kong to spend a month teaching employees techniques associated with Asian cooking, including wok preparation, noodle making and the development of authentic flavors.
Read said those skills are relatively uncommon in Montrose restaurants and require considerable training.
The company is also preparing changes at Persimmon, where Read said the menu will be expanded to offer greater variety and more accessible options.
The restaurant initially opened with a relatively limited menu, partly because of staffing constraints. With operations becoming more established, the company hopes to broaden its appeal.
“Not everybody wants to have a big steak when they come in,” Read said. “Some people just want a burger or some pasta.”
He acknowledged that Persimmon’s pricing can make the restaurant feel less approachable to some customers, something he hopes to address without sacrificing the quality of the dining experience.
The goal, he said, is to create an atmosphere where guests feel comfortable, valued and genuinely cared for.
“We don’t just want to feed the community,” Read said.
That philosophy extends to how employees approach their work.
Before each shift, restaurant staff participate in a briefing during which they are encouraged to share examples of positive guest experiences from previous shifts.
The company celebrates those moments, whether they involve small gestures or more elaborate efforts to make an occasion memorable.
Read said those interactions are at the heart of what hospitality should be.
Hotel project remains in the works
While the restaurants have occupied much of Typhoon Hospitality’s attention, the company remains committed to its planned boutique hotel and restaurant development in the former City Hall and fire station buildings, adjacent to Centennial Plaza.
The project has taken longer than initially anticipated, and Read acknowledged that several steps remain before construction can begin.
Among the next priorities are finalizing design concepts and preparing for capital fundraising.
He said the company’s relatively small size, combined with the demands of opening its existing restaurants, has contributed to the slower pace.
Persimmon, for example, had originally been targeted for a 2025 opening. Finding skilled tradespeople and completing the restaurant’s custom interior work took longer than expected.
Much of the restaurant’s woodwork, including its booths, partitions and bar, was handmade.
The company wanted to maintain a high standard of craftsmanship, Read said, even if that meant extending the construction schedule.
With both restaurants now operating and Read on the ground in Montrose, Typhoon is better positioned to devote attention to its next development.
“Now that I’m here, I’m able to kind of spearhead those projects,” he said.
Read emphasized that the development remains a priority, even if the timeline has shifted.
“We’re committed to the project,” he said.
Looking five years ahead, Read hopes the hotel will be operating or nearing its opening, with the possibility of another restaurant joining the company’s portfolio.
A different kind of hospitality
The company’s ambitions are rooted in what Read calls a philosophy of “radical hospitality.”
Having spent his career in luxury hotels with established service standards, Read is particularly interested in developing a hospitality philosophy tailored to Montrose and Western Colorado.
He doesn’t envision just transplanting the experience of a five-star Asian hotel into a small Colorado community.
Rather, he wants to incorporate the region’s character, outdoor recreation opportunities and sense of place into an experience that feels distinctive.
“We want the hotel to have its own DNA,” Read said.
That commitment is also a driving force behind the decision to redevelop historic downtown buildings rather than construct a new hotel on undeveloped land elsewhere in Montrose.
Read acknowledged that renovating older buildings is more complicated and costly than starting from scratch.
But he said Typhoon’s owners are committed to downtown revitalization, even if that requires additional time and investment.
Part of the company’s vision is to capture a portion of the tourism traffic that already passes through Montrose, particularly visitors traveling to Telluride.
Many travelers fly into Montrose Regional Airport, stop briefly for supplies and continue to their destinations without spending much time in the city.
Read believes the right combination of restaurants, lodging and attractions could encourage more of those visitors to stay.
“We want people to stay here for a few nights and go to the Black Canyon and enjoy the restaurant and everything else that we have here,” he said.
He believes boutique accommodations with a distinct personality could appeal to travelers who might otherwise overlook Montrose.
The company also hopes its investment will complement other efforts to bring more activity to Main Street.
Read pointed to the recent openings of several downtown restaurants, like PRUF Pizza, The Rye and the Rose, and Eatery 66 North, as evidence of growing momentum.
He has developed relationships with other downtown business owners, including those associated with The Fox and The Association, and sees their success as mutually beneficial.
“For us, we’re not competition,” Read said. “We’re a support.”
The goal, he said, is to create the kind of lively downtown environment found in neighboring mountain communities, where visitors and residents walk between shops, restaurants and cafes.
Partnership with CMU in development
Another component of Typhoon Hospitality’s plans involves a potential partnership with Colorado Mesa University’s Montrose campus to provide hands-on training opportunities for students interested in hospitality careers.
Read said the company is working with university representatives to establish a paid apprenticeship program that could begin in early 2027.
The initial focus would be on culinary students, who would rotate through restaurant operations in approximately two-week training periods, with opportunities to continue working with the company.
The program would provide students with experience in a higher-end restaurant environment while helping Typhoon develop a pipeline of potential employees.
Read said the company hopes to eventually expand the program beyond culinary training to include restaurant service and, once the boutique hotel opens, positions in housekeeping, front desk operations and other hospitality functions.
The idea is to establish the program through the existing restaurants, refine it and eventually apply the model to the hotel.
Read emphasized that students would be compensated for their work and that the company views the program as an investment in training rather than a source of free labor.
“I think it’s a win-win,” he said.
Looking ahead
Although much of Read’s professional focus is on the company’s future, he said his family’s move to Montrose has already met one of his most important measures of success.
His children have settled into school, the family has embraced its new surroundings and the transition has been smoother than he anticipated.
“I think it’s already been a success, to be honest,” Read said.
Professionally, he hopes to establish Typhoon Hospitality as a lasting part of the community while helping create more reasons for residents and visitors to spend time downtown.
That means improving the restaurants already in operation, moving the hotel development forward and supporting the growth of other local businesses.
Read said he recognizes that transforming downtown Montrose into a destination will require more than one company’s investment.
But he believes the pieces are beginning to come together.
“I hope it’s not just us growing, but everyone growing,” he said.
Justin Tubbs is the Montrose Business Times editor. He can be reached by email at justin@montrosebusinesstimes.com or by phone at 970-765-0915 or mobile at 254-246-2260.
