Inspired By These Mountains

Four homegrown entrepreneurs create successful local businesses

BY JESSE JAMES McTIGUE

Do Telluride and its stunning surrounds inspire entrepreneurship? Take Ashley Story, Sheila Phinny Pekkala, Hallie Coulter Conlin and Macy Pryor, for instance —four women who grew up in Telluride, left the valley for different pastures, then returned to use their experiences, passion and intimate knowledge of the area to build successful businesses in their hometown.

ASHLEY STORY TELLURIDE SLEIGHS & WAGONS

Story is a multi-generation Tellurider. Her grandmother’s family were miners, and her grandfather was a sheep rancher from the Basque region of Spain who found his way to the San Juan Mountains and acquired 12 homesteads (roughly 5,000 acres of land) on a mesa west of Telluride for his sheep to graze. Over the years, most of the original land was sold for development, but the family still has 740 acres.

On a corner of this land, with the backdrop of the Sneffels Range and a front row seat to the Wilsons, sits a yurt and rustic hut with a small kitchen. This is Golden Ledge, the dinner site for Telluride Sleighs and Wagons. Story brings clients here via horse-drawn wagon or sleigh, depending on the season, all the while regaling them with family lore. Then, with her team, she serves a gourmet dinner in the intimate yurt accompanied by the flickers of an outdoor fire, the setting sun and, later, the star- and moon-lit mountains.

Says Story, “When I travel, I want to interact with the locals and understand the place in an intimate way. I created an authentic way to experience Telluride. You get to feel like it’s your ranch for the night.”

MACY PRYOR CROSSBOW LEATHER & HATS

“It’s a blessing and curse to be raised in Telluride,” says Pryor, “because you want to leave, but you always have a desire to come back to the mountains.” It’s a conundrum that Pryor has experienced firsthand. After high school, she left Telluride to study art and sculpture, then landed in Santa Barbara where she began dabbling in leather work. Soon, according to Pryor, she found a profound satisfaction in producing quality, thoughtful leather products.

After the mountains drew Pryor home, she opened Crossbow Leather & Hats in 2018. It was a unique space with a workshop in the back and retail in the front. “It was sort of confusing at first, because people didn’t know if it was a workshop or a store,” Pryor says. “But they loved the concept of seeing the product and the artist.” Now ensconced at a new location at 101 W. Colorado Ave., but still with the same layout, Pryor adds, “Customers can spend four hours in the store and learn about production, manufacturing and design. They experience the craft and see the product as something two hands build.”

SHEILA PHINNY PEKKALA LUNCH MONEY

The Phinny family moved to Telluride in 1993 to run a company that manufactured boutique, handcrafted flyrods when Sheila was in fourth grade. She spent her formative years in Telluride, then attended Auburn University before moving to New York City then Los Angeles. While living a fast-paced life in the big city, Phinny Pekkala began to appreciate options for healthy to-go food. “Every time I came back to visit, I was dumbfounded that didn’t exist here,” she says.

In 2016, Phinny Pekkala moved back to Telluride permanently and those thoughts of a takeout eatery that focused on healthy, clean options persisted. Five years later, Lunch Money opened. A hit from the outset, Lunch Money prepares fresh and healthy meals, sandwiches, salads, grains bowls and more, all from its location at 126 W. Colorado Ave. The kale Caesar salad, mushroom banh mi, southwest chicken wrap, niçoise salad and harvest bowl are fan favorites. Lunch Money also has a Thursday Supper Club where customers order and pick-up pre-set dinners.

“This is what I can do for Telluride,” says Phinny Pekkala. “It’s been my favorite place my whole life.”

HALLIE COULTER CONLIN OVER THE MOON

Drawn to the skiing, Coulter Conlin’s mother, Maura, moved from Massachusetts to Telluride with her husband and kids in the early 1990s. He was an electrical contractor, she worked for the Telluride Ski Resort. Maura was also a keen foodie who kept a cheese diary and dreamed of owning a gourmet food shop. Coulter Conlin was childhood best friends with Sheila Phinny and, like her, left Telluride for college and young adulthood.

During a visit back home, Coulter Conlin recalls looking in vain for real parmesan cheese. She called her mom and told her she wanted to move back to Telluride to start a gourmet food shop. It got Maura thinking and this entrepreneurial mother and daughter opened their store, Over the Moon, in 2012.

It was an instant hit and to this day customers flock to Over the Moon for the specialty cheeses and meats — Ossau-Iraty, camembert, cured meats and more. Once inside the beautiful space located at 223 S. Pine St., they stay to browse the assorted gourmet pantry and freezer items, eclectic housewares and exquisite handcrafted jewelry and clothes. “We like shopping, and we like pretty things,” Coulter Conlin says.