Dana Jevarjian and the complexities of boutique management

Dana Jevarjian and her dog, Benji, on the porch swing outside The Exchange Coffee + Conversation in The Canyons development in the City of Castle Pines.

Her Linkedin profile says “Club Manager / Director of Lifestyle & Events at BlueStar Resort & Golf. However, that doesn’t seem to fully cover the many complexities of Dana Jevarjian, who is the manager of The Exchange Coffee + Conversation in The Canyons development on the east side of the City of Castle Pines.

BlueStar is a boutique management firm based out of Scottsdale, Arizona, focused on supporting developers and community boards in the successful operation of their resort and golf amenities. The Canyons is the first development in the state of Colorado using BlueStar’s expertise to operate a public coffee shop as part of its development. Jevarjian works for BlueStar on behalf of the Canyons residents, not as an HOA but as a privately operated resort management company. The Exchange is open to the general public, not just residents of The Canyons neighborhood.

Jevarjian, a graduate of Johnson & Wales University with a bachelor’s degree in business management and marketing, originally started off as a sports management major. A professor convinced her she should go into hospitality, the perfect fit for her personality. Fifteen years and many jobs later – everything from managing a quintessential Vermont inn to an antique shop in Florida – Jevarjian got the call from BlueStar asking her if she’d ever thought about moving to Colorado. As it turns out, as an 8-year-old girl Jevarjian had seen a picture of Red Rocks and thought, “I will live there someday.” Not a hard sell, Jevarjian met with Shea Homes. She reflected, “I saw the plans and fell in love with the demographics and the open space.”

Jevarjian moved to Colorado in January of last year and quickly fell in love with the people, she said. “Our guests don’t even feel like customers.” With three older siblings and a twin brother, Jevarjian grew up in Connecticut as part of a big entertaining family. Hospitality and entertaining are her passion.

Residents in The Canyons neighborhood recently joined community manager Dana Jevarjian (far right) in a DIY project for their new homes.

Jevarjian has a curious nature and was even nicknamed “curious Georgia” when she was young. She learns by being hands-on. Jevarjian reflected, “Having dyslexia, I had to train myself to focus. I am a very visual person and learned how to create mental images in order to comprehend what I read. Still today, it’s hard but the best part is that I stopped being so hard on myself, and I urge others to do the same. I know that I have other talents, it just took me awhile to breakthrough.” She has a very creative side and adds a special touch to all she does, which is evident in her programming at The Exchange.

“I would say, one of the greatest struggles for me is that I can’t write fast enough. Being an idea-person, I have all these ideas and things that I want to put down, but I can never get them down. And when eventually I do, it’s never the same. So as my ‘operating manual’ says, you’re better off calling me than writing!”

Jevarjian remarked, “I love what I do! I get to do it all – food, retail, curating. Our residents deserve the best treatment. In the past year, there haven’t been many events, but we did what we could when we could, from new babies and birthdays to Easter baskets for the kids and virtual cooking classes and tastings. We focused on quality versus quantity. We strive for a resort-type experience.”

A resident of Centennial, Jevarjian enjoys the outdoors in her spare time, including golf and tennis and anything that involves her dog, Benji who resembles his namesake from the movies. Jevarjian also likes to grow vegetables, loves to cook, play Scrabble or cards, and just use her hands to create things.