any idea how steep it [the mountain] was. I thought, “This place just has to blow anything else away.” Q: Did you think the move would stick? A: I didn’t come here thinking I would stay or go; I came here pretty open. After two years, I decided I would make this my home and build a career. Q: How’d you go from selling snowboards to, in 2000, buying and running the Village Café? A: I worked in restaurants starting at fifteen. When I realized I wanted to create a life here, I went to the library every day to study what successful business owners did. I created a business plan for a small cafe and started looking for a place to rent. I found out the Village Café owner might be interested in selling to the right person. Q: The VC’s building has been torn down. Will it be back? A: Our last day open in the old space was September 3. The hardest part of having a business is changing with the times; the ski industry is moving toward catering to middle and upper classes. But if we shun customers who can only afford $4 slices of pizza, we are not who we should be as a community. [Ed note: The VC is open daily in the Inn at Jackson Hole this winter.] Q: You expanded from the VC, founding a music production company and a high-end cocktail lounge, and buying a theater. Why? A: The goal was to make a life for myself in a place that has no industry outside of tourism. All my businesses play off of each other. People can get up, ski the best mountain in North America, go out for drinks and then see live music. Everything feeds off of each other. Q: Did you expect to become so involved in this community? A: I’m definitely proud of what I’ve accomplished here so far. I didn’t think I was going to dig in as deep as I have, but I am happy that I did. I got to be a part of so many things here from the beginning. Now I vacation in cities and live in the mountains.
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Interview by allison arthur
WINTER 2014 JACKSON HOLE MAGAZINE
35