Popular Colorado bakery tries to stay in business despite zoning conflict: "We want to keep fighting"
A French bakery on Lookout Mountain, west of Denver, is in jeopardy of closing its doors after the Jefferson County Board of Adjustment denied its request to allow two temporary structures for residential purposes on the bakery's property.
With every "bonjour," Et Voilà! French Bakery is serving the community near Lookout Mountain.
"You can do (it) the French way," co-owner Rachel Defour said. "Come and have your bread and your croissant every day, and we have been surprised and so happy to see the need being fulfilled by this place where community is being built around really good food."
It's a passion project over a decade in the making.
"Yes, the bakery is a story of love and passion," said Defour.
It led Defour, her husband Eric, and sister Ruth to sell their homes in the south metro area and move into mobile trailers on the property.
"Who wants to live in a parking lot forever, but we need to build a team," said Defour. "It's difficult to start a small business."
The trio works nearly around the clock as they get established, which they say requires them to sleep on site. The living arrangements were something they also say they made sure were approved when they sought the location.
"We called zoning," said Defour. "Our realtor called zoning, so we had green lights at every single step."
However, a few months into their launch in April 2025, they say Jefferson County received an anonymous zoning complaint, prompting an investigation and eventually a vote earlier this week on whether the property's zoning regulations allow for their mobile residences.
The Board of Adjustment denied the bakery's request for a special exception to allow the structures, despite strong community support.
"We have more than 11,300 signatures on a petition we started to support the bakery, but that was not enough," said Defour.
William and Mary Gomane saw CBS News Colorado's report on the issue earlier this week and decided to stop in.
"We want all small businesses to be in business," said William. "Too many close up in the greater Denver area."
"They have so many challenges, and the last thing they need is overregulation," Mary added.
As customers continue to show up, the family that owns and operates the bakery is fighting to stay afloat.
"Our livelihood is at stake," said Defour. "We sold everything, poured everything we have, love, time, money into this. They are going to be able to start fining us. I don't know exactly what is going to happen, but we want to keep fighting."
The French bakery owners are asking the community to continue to stop in, and have set up an online fundraiser to help their mission to stay open.
