Meet Sara Cox | Owner- The Crown

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sara Cox and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sara, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
In the beginning, my husband and I used to work 24/7. We were newly married and able to give ourselves fully to the success of The Crown. One thing we adopted from the previous owner (that saved our sanity) was seasonal closures. We would close 2-3 weeks, twice a year during the shoulder seasons. I’m not sure if an option like this would be available outside of a ski town, but it allowed us and our staff to reset. During that time we traveled a ton, bought a house, and got to take a break from the hustle of owning your own business. To this day, we still implement these seasonal closures. It’s an important part of our work/life balance and something we and the staff look forward too.

Over time, our balance has changed significantly. We were able to give ourselves fully to The Crown for 5 years before starting a family. Since then, we’ve added 3 children in 4 years. We now work 3-4 days a week and try to sneak a day or an afternoon a week for ourselves. Until recently, we never scheduled in this me-time. It’s now something we do weekly and something that is so important to our balance.

I see balance as ever changing. Our circumstances and needs change over time, being a business owner has given us the flexibility to define it. Sometimes you hit the mark and have a balanced week, and other times you feel out of sync. However, as business owners we get to make the decisions that affect our balance.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
First thing, owning a business in a tourist destination requires playing by a different set of rules. Business is all about seasonality, you have lots of employee turnover, the balance of regulars and tourists swing wildly depending on the time of year. You also get the freedom of failing and learning. Regardless of what we do, we have 1 million people walking by our front door every year. It gave us the opportunity to play with our product and find out what worked and what didn’t, without risking the loss of customers.

The Crown is my dream coffee shop. It has everything I wanted as a customer, and I am so happy and excited to be able to share my vision with others. We have a cozy atmosphere, great made to order food, really great coffee, cocktails & craft beer, and ice cream for the kiddos. Match that with good music and a fun, energetic staff and we have created a place that people really want to spend time at and support.

Breckenridge is a small town and community engagement and support to integral to our success. I love seeing locals conduct business here AND bring in their families. We truly have a vibe and space for all different types of community interaction. Our tourists recognize that and in turn have created their own space, many come back year over year telling us The Crown is their favorite spot.

How did we get here today- lots of trial and error. I learned in my previous career to try new things and don’t be afraid to fail, just fail fast. We have tried lots of products and operation protocols over the years that have been reworked or thrown out.
For example, when we first opened we wanted to move away from ice cream and decided to not offer it for a winter season, the feedback we got was overwhelming and now we serve it year round. Another example, during COVID liquor laws loosened and we were able to serve alcohol to go, that summer we added boozy slushies to our offerings and added an additional 35K to our bottom line. I’m never afraid to try new things.

I have to thank our past and current staff for getting us where we are today. Their previous experience and feedback working here is what has formed many policies and quality standards we have in place today. My husband and I didn’t have any experience in the food industry so we surrounded ourselves with quality workers (now friends) that helped us develop the food and drink at The Crown. Don’t be afraid to open your business because you aren’t an expert. Surround yourself with quality people, be open to failure, and work really hard and it’ll work out.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Yes I love playing tourist here. My favorite way to start a fun weekend would be take my guest skiing or mountain biking. Morning is usually best for weather and crowds. Then we’d hit up the crown for some coffee and lunch, preferably the back patio. Then peruse town being sure to hit the following shops: The Mountain Goat, Marigolds, and Vintage sweet and chic. We’d round out with an early Happy Hour/Dinner at either of the following restaurants: Aurum, Rootstalk, or Briar Rose.

Depending on timing and the season, I’d also do the following:
– Raft in Buena Vista with Echo Canyon
– Dog sled with Good Time Adventures
– Hit up a hot spring in either Princeton or Steamboat (strawberry springs).
– With kids I’d take them to Old country boy goldmine and visit Isak the Breckenridge troll

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
100% my family and husband! When I had the romantic idea of owning my own coffee shop, my husband gave me the emotional support needed to have the confidence to do it. In addition, he gave up his career to work and support my dream and to this day we still work side by side. My dad had a successful career as CEO of an international company and he gave me so much insight and thoughtful discussion around how to make a business financially successful. My mom and sister were cheerleaders from the beginning, my mom was our first part time employee! She helped us out while we got our feet on the ground. The first few months owning The Crown was a real team effort.

Website: www.thecrownbreckenridge.com

Instagram: @thecrownbreckenridge

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecrownbreckenridge/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-crown-breckenridge

Image Credits
@rosscolephotography