Jake and Shea met working at a Marriott in Boulder in 2012. He was the Sous Chef and she was the Banquet Manager.

In 2013, they moved from Boulder to a small town in Western New York to help open Sheas’ family's restaurant - Brazill's on Main. In that first summer, they were awarded a Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisor and the town welcomed them with open arms. Brazill’s on Main is still open today, though now under new ownership.

When Jake and Shea returned to Boulder, he went back to working for Marriott and helped open a new 150+ room hotel. Shea became the Director of Events for a very busy food truck park in Boulder called the Rayback Collective and had the honor of imagining and launching their inaugural events program. They hosted anywhere from 20 person parties to over 500 guests.

A couple years later, after visiting Durango a number of times, Shea and Jake knew they wanted to move to the four corners area so it became a race to see who could get a job first. Shea was hired as the Wedding and Events Coordinator at Purgatory Resort. The summer she worked there, she coordinated 40+ weddings, something she’s vowed to never do again, but did pull off beautifully.

Millie’s is an exciting adventure coming true. She'll primarily be a cafe and breakfast and lunch spot, which will allow Shea and Jake to also offer evening catering. Their ideal events will be for 50-60 guests or less in a beautiful location with clients who love real food! While they are open to catering for larger events, the intimacy and experience smaller events offer is something they both enjoy being a part of.

Too long, didn’t read - Jake and Shea have individually been in the hospitality, restaurant, and wedding industry for over 20 years. They immediately connected as a pair and knew Jake would primarily be the "back of the house guy" and Shea would be the "front of the house gal" for their own business someday.

The building they’re opening was a restaurant for 40 years known as the Millwood Junction and then became a dispensary in 2019. They are excited to turn her back into a restaurant. While the menu and experience will be different, they hope Millie’s will become a community gathering place people fall in love with all over again.

Cheers!