The dynamic father and daughter duo

As of October 15, 2023, we are closed for business. Thank you for your support!

Doug Pierce and Bonnie Lehman

Doug moved to Colorado in 1977 fresh out of the Culinary Institute of America to start work at Keystone Resort. He climbed the ladder accepting positions from sous chef to executive chef to corporate executive chef of Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, and Breckenridge, and then finally accepted the position of Director of Food and Beverage. After 28 years with Keystone, his position was eliminated after Vail Resorts was restructured. With two daughters still in school, Doug and his wife Deb decided to stop talking about opening their own restaurant and do it. A trip to the dentist’s office led him to the Arapahoe Cafe. He was told that the previous owner had walked out on his lease and Doug, Deb, and their daughters Kelsey and Bonnie jumped right in. They wanted to create a family-friendly local spot with really good food, and after several years of hard work, early mornings, and late nights the Arapahoe Cafe finally turned the corner from a run-down watering hole to the successful business it is today. The cafe is still family-owned and operated today. You can find Doug and Bonnie there every day still striving to make the A-Cafe experience better than it was the day before!

Bonnie, born and raised in Dillon, graduated from Summit High School in 2008. She attended the University of Northern Colorado to pursue a degree in broadcast journalism in hopes of landing her dream job of working for ESPN. She graduated a year early in 2011 double majoring in telecommunications and Spanish. After graduation, she moved back to Summit County for the summer and she never left.

After working at the cafe for the summer she discovered her passion for hospitality and food and beverage and decided what she really wanted to do was be in the restaurant. Her first job at the cafe at 12 years old was washing dishes and learning prep. She worked every summer and school break eventually working every job in the restaurant. Now as general manager she works alongside her dad and they work together to continuously make the A-cafe even better than it is today.