Email for an espresso

Monday, June 09, 2008

By Grace Hammond

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-“There will be bagels. Toasted!”
Usually, rumors are whispered. This one was shouted.

“It’s held up the process, but it’s going to be worth it,” my neighbor called as she jogged away down the gravel road, two dogs and a can of bear spray in tow.

Kelly, Wyo., an unincorporated community bordered by Grand Teton National Park, has everything for the person who wants very little and likes it that way. The community of 242 (last time someone checked) has maintained a unique character through both the creation of the park and Jackson’s boom. Yurts, cowboys, prayer flags and stacked animal skull sculptures all have a home here, as do bison, dogs and goats.
One thing the community lost in the past decade was a general store. For seven years, the old store building had been “undergoing renovations,” and until last Monday, a cooler full of $1 soda-pops in the shuttered store’s parking lot offered the only amenities available between Jackson and Moose.

In many places, “opening soon” means in the next few weeks. But in Teton County, years can sneak by while a business owner navigates the building and planning approval process.

That was the case for Doug and Patricia Vlchek, who bought the Kelly general store site in 2001 and then spent the better part of a decade ironing out the permits with the help of daughter Heather and her husband Al, who now run the store.

The couples don’t begrudge anyone. They just want to serve some coffee, which was the first thing they did last week when “Kelly on the Gros Ventre” opened its doors.
The heart of Kelly on the Gros Ventre’s operation is espresso by Kaladi Brothers Coffee, a roasting company based in Anchorage, Alaska. The store can begin selling beer on July 2 and is stocking build-your-own sandwiches, snacks, soda, camping supplies, and “general store stuff” like milk and eggs, Al, 31, said.

“We wanted to be a neighborhood place first,” he explained. “That’s our whole goal - to serve the town, first, to be what they need.”

To minimize the store’s environmental impact, the owners use an energy-saving dishwasher, offer compostable cups and sell unwrapped firewood.

“We will not send plastic into the park,” Al said. “We want to do everything right.”
The Vlcheks had honeymooned in Jackson Hole, staying at the Gros Ventre campground, more than 30 years ago. Originally from the Cleveland area, the two were charmed by Kelly and, in particular, the general store. It just so happened that while vacationing in town in the summer of 2000, they noticed an auspicious “for sale” sign out the window of their RV. The general store was available, and the site included the building, a residence and the little log post office. They purchased it from long-time owner Betty Parks.

“The timing just worked,” Al said. “Things fell into place and they asked if any of the kids wanted to be involved. Heather and I jumped on board with her parents.”
Heather, 32, was raised in Conifer, Colo. Al grew up outside of Pittsburgh and in San Diego. The couple met as employees at Disney World, where she was a tour guide on The Great Movie Ride. He played a 1930s gangster.
“I got to hijack her vehicle every 22 minutes,” Al said.

The family considered opening a bed and breakfast in the store space. But once bikers and families began confusing the Vlchek’s home with the general store, and clamored in, desperate for water and a bathroom, “we just knew that Kelly needed services, not a B&B,” Al said.

For four years, as they renovated the buildings, the family put out the soda cooler and money jar in the parking lot each day (“take a soda, leave a dollar”). No one ever stole the money, Al said, though they did walk off with the cooler once, leaving $40 for it in the jar. A cooler will appear again every Sunday, when the store is closed.
Firewood is also available outside the store on an honor system - $10 to fill a plastic bin as full as you like, and an accompanying can for payment.
Inside, the store is impeccable, all bright white and glinting chrome. The espresso machine, a La Marzocco made for the store in Florence, Italy, takes up an entire counter.

Some of the playlists on the store’s iPod, which is hooked up to speakers on the wall, might not seem like typical Kelly fare. Last week, customers were treated to strains of The Dead Milkmen, an ’80s punk band from Philadelphia.
A sleek iMac functions as the cash register. Al, a self-declared “Apple guy,” set things up so that regulars can email their orders in for pick-up, or chat live with the store, rather than rely on the spotty cell phone reception available in the area. That way, when the store gets busy from tourists or the campground, locals still won’t have any trouble picking up a cup of joe.

The store’s unique character is slowly accumulating on the counters and the walls, though some remain bare. A colorful tile reading “Pax et Bonum” hangs by the door - “peace and goodness” in Latin. The slogan is also the name of Al and Heather’s LLC.
In the late ’90s, Al opened three Il Fornaio restaurants in Denver. Though young, he was spurred into action by a fire that consumed Heather’s apartment in Colorado, and the majority of the pair’s belongings.

“It motivated me, and I didn’t have anything left,” he said. “Not even shoes.”
Now, “it’s a dream come true for me and Heather to be able to go to work together,” he said.

Kelly on the Gros Ventre operates from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The owners plan to stay open year-round, with limited hours during the winter.
Last week, Heather’s father, Doug, who is a deacon at the Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church, conducted a blessing of the grounds and the business.

“It was like our second opening,” Al said. “Our family is just so grateful. We’re not super rich people, but there were definitely stars shining when we got this place.”

Photo by GRACE HAMMOND
The new general store beckons from Lower Gros Ventre Rd.

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