Doug and Bonnie talk 17 years of Arapahoe Cafe Ownership: Highs, Lows, and Everything Inbetween

After owning the Arapahoe Cafe in Dillon, CO in the heart of the mountains of Summit County, Doug and Bonnie reflect on the early days and share some of their stories.

How It Began

17 years ago, two things were happening simultaneously.

The then owners of the Arapahoe Cafe were struggling and decided to leave their restaurant vacant. 

And, Doug Pierce, was let go as Director of Food and Beverage at Keystone after 28 years due to restructuring.

Little did Doug and his family know, but it was the start of a wonderful adventure and life-changing decision to run their own business.

Being let go from his job was a struggle, but the family wanted to stop talking about doing their own thing and open a restaurant. They didn't want to move their family and wanted to stay in the county they know and love.

No less than 2 weeks after Doug was let go, did a solution appear. At his yearly checkup, an amazing lady at the dentist's office (Dillon Family Dental) gave Doug the information that the previous owner had walked out on their lease 2 weeks before Doug got to let go, and the restaurant was vacant.

This was just the kick in the pants the Pierce's needed. They agreed with the owners of the Best Western who also own the historical building of the Arapahoe Cafe, the Stazel's, on December 1, to take over the restaurant.

FUN FACT: Did you know that the Arapahoe Cafe is the on-premise restaurant for the Best Western?

In just 3 weeks, the Pierce's got licenses, permits, cleaned a neglected kitchen and restaurant, hired staff, wrote and created menus, opening for Christmas in 2002. 

And this is how it started.

At first, they couldn't afford a cook, so Doug was the opening breakfast cook for the first year at 5 am every day. 

The entire family would celebrate Christmas at the restaurant and work and then open presents in the afternoon. It was always a family affair at the Cafe. Even then, Doug's daughters and wife were a part of the team. Bonnie was a dishwasher, and Kelsey was a hostess/busser. Deb and Kelsey managed out front, and Doug and Bonnie were in the back, cooking up a storm.

Back then, Bonnie would only eat chicken Ceasar salad and chicken fingers. Now, a lot has changed, and the Cafe has grown immensely.

In memory of Deb Pierce 

The Pierce family lost Deb in 2006 when she lost her fight to breast cancer. She is missed dearly, and the Cafe wouldn't be what is it without her. 

More Flashbacks:

Let's take a look at some other interesting facts and anecdotes about the past 17 years of Arapahoe Cafe as we know it. 

First menu items

Quite a few items have been on the Arapahoe Cafe menu since the beginning! 

• Dillon & Taos omelet

• Chicken Fried Steak

•  The Arapahoe

• Roadhouse hash

• Biscuits & Homemade Sausage Pepper Gravy 

• Trout & Eggs 

• Trout Spinach Salad

• ALL of the homemade BBQ (ribs, Carolina pulled pork, beef brisket!)

• Eggs Benedict

Another fun fact is that Bryant's Bacon Cheeseburger (a favorite local cheeseburger and an original menu item) was named after Faye Bryant, the original owner of the Cafe. Faye and her family owned the Cafe when it was in the original Dillon before the lake was filled in and after it moved to its current location.

FUN FACT: If you hang around long enough, you may get your name on the menu!

The Pub

The pub didn't use to have the character, amount of light, or friendly feel it does now. The Pierce family goal was to create a Cheers like atmosphere. It took years to update the space to its current glory.

When they first re-opened the Cafe, the pub used to be carpeted, and smelled like cigarettes and stale beer. Burger night started at $4.

The Kitchen

After numerous updates over the years, the kitchen at the Arapahoe cafe went from a very dark, dingy place to a now brightly painted yet still small place that cranks out delicious and consistent food.

FUN FACT: Did you know that Duane is the Cafe's longest current employee? He has been here for 16 years! Thanks to Duane and our staff, the Cafe continues to feel like home.

Best of Summit

From the mouth of Doug: "We took over a dirty restaurant with a terrible reputation, and the previous owners had run it into the ground." 

It took years for Doug and family to make the Cafe what it is today. They started with no money and a big project ahead of them. 

Now, their hard work has gotten them a lot of best-ofs and a tremendous local Summit County reputation.

Bonnie Q BBQ

Doug started making barbeque on 2-weber grills in the tiny kitchen at the Cafe. Now the Dillon restaurant has a satellite location with a commercial bbq prep kitchen located in Dillon below Sun and Ski.

After 27 years in the Frisco BBQ Challenge, Doug has retired from competing as well. But not after winning people's choice multiple times, 1st place for brisket, and 3rd place for burnt ends brisket.

Also, led by Julie Willing Pierce, the Arapahoe Cafe team had an incredible 5 years of catering as Bonnie Q BBQ. They won the best caterer for years, which is an honor.

Now, Julie, Doug, and Bonnie have decided to keep their focus on the restaurant and serve more and more people delicious food here in the home atmosphere.

The Future of the

Arapahoe Cafe

Bonnie and Doug are so excited for 17+ more years of owning the Arapahoe Cafe in Dillon. As Doug heads toward retirement, Bonnie will take more and more of an ownership role in the restaurant. But don't worry, the restaurant will stay in the family! The values and the quality of the food will remain. 

Thank you to everyone for their support for the past 17 years-- here's to 17 more!