Set on a picturesque property amid the pine trees on top of Lookout Mountain near Golden, Et Voilà French Bakery has become a welcome sight and gathering spot for local residents and tourists — not to mention cyclists looking for a rest stop — since it opened in April.
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The shelves inside boast an array of bread loaves, croissants, tarts and other treats. Customers rave in online reviews about the baked goods, and the bakery has been known to completely sell out of everything, sometimes hours before closing for the day.
There aren’t many other businesses on the stretch of road, and those who make the trip will find a breathtaking aerial view of metro Denver just around the bend.
But the bakery’s owners — the husband-and-wife duo of Eric Dufour and Rachel Miquel Dufour, along with Rachel’s sister, Ruth Miquel — could be forced to close by Monday if they can’t work out an agreement with Jefferson County, which has cited them for a zoning violation.
“We are at risk of losing everything,” Rachel said. “We invested everything, every single penny.”
The zoning violation stems from two trailers parked on the property. Rachel, Eric and Ruth, who are all originally from France, sold their homes and invested their savings into the business. As a result, they live in the trailers, which double as a test kitchen and employee break room.
But the property is zoned commercial and doesn’t allow residential uses. An anonymous zoning complaint was filed last September with the county, while the bakery was still under construction.
“(The trailers) simply are not allowed and cannot be permitted on this property,” Jeremy Cohen, a zoning inspector supervisor for the county, wrote in an email to The Denver Post, adding that the trailers haven’t been approved or reviewed for code compliance, and they also haven’t been approved to connect to the property’s water and sewer lines.
Still, the county had previously granted the bakery time extensions for coming into compliance as Et Voilà’s sought a temporary use permit, saying they needed to keep the trailers until the business became more successful. But that time has now come to an end.
To help, the family has started an $18,000 GoFundMe campaign that would enable them to hire a lawyer. They also created a change.org petition; it is filled with testimonials from community members who don’t want to see the bakery go.
“Et Voilà is such a gem at the top of Lookout Mountain and is the perfect place to rest and enjoy coffee and pastries after a ride,” one wrote.
“Please, let’s work something out,” said another. “(Closing the bakery) would be devastating to the locals and cycling community.”