Eagle location of Yeti’s Grind is ready to re-open its doors after remodel

EAGLE — When Larry and Marcie Leith decided the Yeti’s Grind coffee shop needed a thorough redo, they got a surprise: The building on Broadway has a basement.

That basement, once home to little more than spider webs, is now a community room. That’s part of the Leiths’ dedication to making the longtime downtown coffee shop even more of a community gathering spot than it already was.

The process has taken some time, but the shop is expected to open this week, possibly as early as Wednesday.

‘A coffee shop with really good food’

That opening seems eagerly awaited. On a recent morning talking with the Leiths inside the shop, a number of people peered into the street-facing windows, angling for a glimpse inside.

What’s inside is in many ways familiar, but there’s a lot new. The old floor has been pulled up, refinished and put back. There’s a lot less on the walls, the better to show off the original brick walls. And there will be patio seating with a new surface that doesn’t make tables and chairs wobble.

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And, instead of a drink-preparation area, there’s now a full kitchen. But, Larry said, that doesn’t mean Yeti’s is becoming a restaurant.

“We want to be a coffee shop with really good food,” Larry said. The idea is to supply both the Eagle and Vail locations from the kitchen in Eagle.

“Coffee is our priority,” Larry said. Besides the coffee, though, the Leiths plan to have a fully stocked freezer with ice cream treats. That way, parents and kids can stop in — so can the scads of kids riding their bikes through town on any given day.

‘We want to help create greatness here’

The Leiths have been involved with Yeti’s Grind for a few years — and have been the sole owners for a couple of years now — but are familiar with the restaurant business. The family founded the Tokyo Joe’s chain, which now has more than 50 locations around the state.

There are plans to expand Yeti’s from its two current locations. But, Larry said, those new Yeti’s locations will be in the Vail Valley.

For the Leiths, Yeti’s has become about home. The family has lived in Vail for a number of years, and Larry and Marcie’s kids have all attended local schools. The Leiths just extended the lease on the Solaris location.

But renovating the Eagle location has really given the couple a chance to get better acquainted with that community.  

“We’re kind of falling in love with Eagle,” Larry said. That goes from the team — Larry jokes that the renovation was done for them — to the people in town.

“We’re looking forward to being re-opened and celebrating with the community,” Marcie said.

Connecting with the community includes more than just being open for business. Marcie said the shop will soon do some kind of community fundraiser. At the Vail location, a fundraiser for Scott Bridges, the Vail firefighter injured in a March 1 accident on Interstate 70, raised several thousand dollars.

In Eagle, fundraising days could go toward local nonprofit groups.

“We want to help create greatness here,” she said.

Vail Daily Business Editor Scott Miller can be reached at smiller@vaildaily.com or 970-748-2930.