Anthony and Mollie’s Story
Anthony and Mollie Contreras, local entrepreneurs and co-founders of the Gunnison Valley’s newest plant-based food truck, Vegan AF Box, are no strangers to the difficulties of finding and securing affordable housing. For years, the couple faced an uphill battle with housing, moving between tiny homes, renovated school buses, and 500 sq ft apartments before securing a home in Gunnison’s Lazy K neighborhood.
Today, we’re honored to share their story as a testament to the struggles many locals face and the critical role local philanthropy plays in building and retaining the fabric of our community. With donations provided to VHF for housing, our nonprofit was able to make a substantial contribution to the Lazy K neighborhood to provide an affordable neighborhood for community members like Anthony and Mollie.
Short-term rentals, schoolies, and everything in between
In 2012, Anthony and Mollie packed up their lives in Denver and moved to the Gunnison Valley for a fresh start in the mountains. Within just a few days, they secured two jobs and a 4-month apartment rental at Three Rivers in Gunnison. As time went on, finding long-term housing became increasingly difficult. Mollie reflects, “It got harder and harder to find available rentals, and places we could afford got smaller and smaller.”
After a few years of renting, Mollie and Anthony decided to buy and renovate a school bus to try out a new type of living. After eight months of living in their home on wheels, Anthony and Mollie received exciting news and decided to move into a small apartment in preparation for the arrival of their son. Mollie explains, “It was a shoebox, but being three months pregnant and December in Gunnison, we decided it was a good time to move into a place with hot water and more space.”
As their growing family settled into their new apartment, Anthony, a FedEx driver, and Mollie, the owner of a beauty services business, continued saving and thinking of ways to lay down their roots more permanently in Gunnison and buy a home.
Navigating the home-buying process
In the months that followed, Anthony and Mollie started to explore their home-buying options, but the process was far from easy. Mollie shares, “We got to the point where we wanted to buy a home and live out the ‘American Dream,’ but getting a foot in the door was extremely difficult.”
In 2022, Mollie learned about the affordable housing lottery for Gunnison’s new Lazy K neighborhood development. With the help of Valley Housing Fund board member Brenda Sargent, they were able to apply for one of the Lazy K units and successfully close on their new home in November 2023. Mollie said, “Having someone who understood the process and had the knowledge to tell us how to get through it was everything. We couldn’t have done it without Brenda.”
In April 2023, the Contreras’ moved their family of four into their new home and started making big plans for their future as entrepreneurs in the Valley.
Turning restaurant dreams into reality
With extremely limited vegan dining options in Gunnison and Anthony being a long-time vegan and talented home chef, Mollie saw an opportunity to be the change she wanted to see in Gunnison’s food options. Together, they opened Vegan AF Box four months after moving into their Lazy K home in 2023.
Today, their food truck brings delicious plant-based comfort food to hundreds of locals and visitors every week. This summer, both Mollie and Anthony were able to step away from their full-time jobs to focus solely on running and growing their food truck business. Mollie explains, “We’re now at tons of local events like weekly farmer’s markets. We just love people and serving this community.” With dreams of one day expanding the business, the Contreras’ look forward to continuing to build and grow their life in the Gunnison Valley.
Photo credit: Gunnison County Times
About Lazy K
Lazy K is a 4+ acre neighborhood in West Gunnison, including homes, trails, ponds, parks, and a playground. Valley Housing Fund participated in the project’s early planning stages with the City of Gunnison and contributed $330,000 in grant funding, allowing the City to leverage an additional $1.2 million grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs. Today, the neighborhood includes 44 deed-restricted community homes along with 21 free-market homes.
