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Gracie Rounds: From Shed to Coffee Shop
Gracie Rounds, at just 20 years old, opened her first business, Gracie’s Coffee, in Gypsum in November 2022. Born with coffee in her blood, Rounds comes from a family of coffee enthusiasts, with her dad currently running a café and roastery in upstate New York. After attending the University of Vermont for a year and a half, Rounds decided to explore her options outside of the traditional college path and settled on Gypsum as her starting point.
Rounds quickly realized that there was no coffee in Gypsum, which led to her decision to open Gracie’s Coffee. With the help of her mom, she purchased a shed and transformed it into a drive-through and walk-up coffee shop. Located across from Eagle Valley High School, Gracie’s Coffee offers a variety of coffee beverages, including single-origin coffee beans from Peru, as well as non-coffee options. Rounds plans to launch a Vail Valley cold brew at the shop in the near future.
While serving great coffee is important to Rounds, what she values most is the customer service relationship she has built with the Gypsum community. Seeing the appreciation and joy in the moms’ eyes as they drop off their kids at school in the morning is what makes her job worthwhile.
In addition to serving the community through her coffee shop, Rounds has started to host events at the space outside the shop and has joined the Gypsum Chamber of Commerce board. As a member of the chamber, Rounds is preparing to host a job fair at Gracie’s Coffee on August 12. The fair aims to connect Gypsum employers with job seekers in the area. Rounds understands the challenge that businesses face in finding employees and hopes that the job fair will provide a platform for local businesses to meet high-quality candidates. She believes that building confidence in the employee pool will help businesses overcome the current employee crisis.
Several local businesses, including ECO Transit, Vail Health, and the Eagle County School District, have already signed up for the job fair. Job seekers are encouraged to bring their resumes and can also enjoy coffee coupons, food from a taco truck, and giveaways during the event. Rounds hopes that the job fair will not only serve as a platform for connecting employers and candidates but also as a fun community event.
Overall, Gracie Rounds’ journey from shed to coffee shop exemplifies her passion for the coffee industry and her commitment to serving the Gypsum community. Through her business and involvement in local organizations, Rounds is creating new opportunities for herself and others, while also making a positive impact on her community.
