Back in the day of bumper stickers, the tip to parents was pretty clear: “Be nice to your kids. After all, they will be choosing your nursing home.”
In 2017, the kids might even be signing your pay check. That is, if you are lucky enough to get one.
For Durango parents Doug and Theresa Lashley, Silverton’s Avalanche Brewery has been an “all in the family” experience working for and with their son, Austin – who bakes and brews and gets lots of clues from mom and dad.
“He turns to me for recipe advice and for staffing issues. He talks to his father when things need fixing,” said Theresa Lashley, retired nurse and operating room manager.
About 10 years ago, Theresa and her husband, Doug, an entrepreneur and former Durango City Council member, purchased a run-down Silverton restaurant that had seen better times. Austin was living in Alaska. It took a phone call to convince the beer-brewer-in-training that it was time to return to the lower 48 to make a go at a 15-seat bakery, coffee shop and brewery.
Two remodels and eight years later, Austin walked away with top honors at Telluride’s Blues and Brews, and was named Best Brewer in the 2016 competition.
Austin’s younger brother, Zach, also pitches in when needed, but Austin credits his mom and dad for much of his success. Theresa returns the compliment to her son:
“Austin makes the decisions. When we disagree, we talk things out. Doug is finally becoming less of a Mr. Fix It.”
Austin has picked up on construction solutions, such as simple plumbing repairs, thanks to his dad’s know-how, but he admits that hardly a week goes by without a consultation with dad.
Theresa Lashley’s reputation as a top-notch home cook got put to the test eight years ago when she started baking at Avalanche’s 9,300-foot altitude. It was more than just increasing amounts of flour and cutting back on the leavening. It was about taking orders from her son.
“He told me to start wearing closed-toe shoes,” she said.
Both parents still work Silverton’s high holidays – skijoring, bike races and the Fourth of July. Austin still makes everything from scratch, but mom’s influence regarding menu choices occasionally gets vetoed. Austin recognizes that recipes need to be simple and employee training needs to be quick and clear. The food and beverage industry sees high employee turnover and the Avalanche is no exception.
Durango’s Father’s Daughters Pizza celebrated its first birthday last month and is gearing up for a facelift. David “Pops” Lenamond was on the job at 5:30 one Wednesday morning, he said, ripping up sheetrock and pushing a broom.
He and daughter, Crystal English, teamed up to buy the restaurant when life events prompted the need for a change.
English, a 33-year-old mother of two, was ready to return to work when her husband, Dru English, launched his career as a real estate broker.
Lenamond, a former long distance truck driver, moved to Durango to be with family.
He had no direct restaurant experience but spent years eating two to three meals a day on the road.
“I am a world-class expert on what’s bad. What I know is how to get rid of bad practices,” he said.
Lenamond said his goal was to bring a consumer-driven perspective to the food business. He wanted affordable, fast food and decent service in a comfortable setting.
His daughter said she wanted to give back to the community and improve the quality of life for families in Durango.
The two meshed their dreams and are working their way in the trenches of their pizza business. They have each other’s backs and the support of Crystal’s mother-in-law and Durango City Councilor, Sweetie Marbury.
Marbury is a big help, English said. She has no problem busing tables and washing dishes when necessary. Even 8-year-old son, Presley, a second grader at Needham Elementary gets in the act after school, putting cleaned dishes back on the shelf.
Crystal said the father and daughter team has different styles of management, but both are learning from each other and moving more toward the middle. Lenamond said the two are more alike than different, giving a solid thumbs up to their working relationship.
“It’s the best opportunity I’ve ever had in my lifetime,” he said.
Native Silvertonian Tiffany deKay knows all about working with family. She’s the owner of High Noon Hamburger, where she started scooping ice cream by the time she was 12 for her father, the late Otto Smith, who was co-owner of High Noon Hamburger from 1964 until his death in 1985.
Now it’s her 17-year-old daughter, Hannah, who has a front-row seat every day the Durango and Silverton train chugs its way into town, disgorging hordes of hungry tourists at High Noon’s front door. Like mom, Hannah, too, graduated from scooping ice cream to running the front counter.
This year, the ice cream scoop has been passed down to Emelie deKay, Hannah’s 13-year-old sister.
Being the boss’s daughter is not all it’s cracked up to be, Hannah said.
“She’s harder on me than anyone else.”
Hannah recalls her first time closing out the register with a cash drawer $11 short. Her mother patiently reminded her how to count change. Every young employee is expected to count back change to customers rather than depend on the cash register to calculate.
“We’re not allowed to press those buttons,” Hannah deKay said.
Being able to accurately count change – in a world that doesn’t require it – is a work place skill Tiffany deKay requires of her staff. It impresses customers.
Tiffany remembers her own teen years when she needed to “test the waters,” she said. Rather than knock heads with her father, who was her direct supervisor, she told dad “Adios” and sauntered across the street to work for the competition.
It didn’t take too long for her to return to High Noon, the Silverton landmark that got a Time magazine salute for its chili con carne when Tiffany was barely as tall as the banked snow on Greene Street.
The senior deKay is now an admired boss and business leader in Silverton, but memories of her early days flipping burgers before being free to go horseback riding remain precious. History is repeating itself: Hannah, too, has a love for horseback riding. The Silverton High School senior manages to put in a few hours each week as a wrangler with Rapp Corral near Haviland Lake.
The senior deKay says stepping back and “putting a little distance, when necessary” helps preserve the good working relationship she has with her daughters.
Theresa and Doug Lashley are retirement age and expect to step back from the many hours they have under their belt at Avalanche.
“Pop” Lenamond, while younger than the Lashleys, will soon be stepping over the threshold that separates middle age from senior citizen status.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that employees 55 and older will make up 25 percent of the workforce by 2022. That’s up from 14 percent in 2002.
For whom will all these seniors be working? In many instances, for family. Family who appreciates all that these seasoned veterans have to offer.
Contact Karen Anesi at karenanesi@gmail.com.
