08/03/2026
I’ve always believed that the stories we tell shape the future we create.
For the past five years, River Queen Provisions and the River Queen Holdings Opportunity Zone Fund have been my attempt to help shape a different story about Bishop and the Eastern Sierra. Despite hard work, significant personal sacrifice, meaningful progress, and steadfast community support, the financing ultimately never came together in a sustainable way to bring that vision to life.
While there is certainly disappointment in this outcome, gratitude has become the feeling that remains.
I’m deeply grateful to the community leaders, friends, family, investors, collaborators, and supporters who believed in this vision long before there were public gatherings, completed plans, or a finished project to point to. Your encouragement, trust, wisdom, and generosity carried me farther than you know.
While River Queen ultimately wasn’t realized under my stewardship, I don’t measure its value solely by its outcome. We sparked important conversations about the future of Bishop and the Eastern Sierra, brought remarkable people together, challenged assumptions about what is possible, and planted seeds that I believe will continue to grow.
At its heart, River Queen was never just about restoring a historic building. It was about storytelling—an invitation for the community to imagine a future rooted in its history while embracing new possibilities. It was about honoring the land, celebrating local culture, supporting entrepreneurs, creating beautiful places for people to gather and be nourished, and demonstrating that preservation and progress can move hand in hand.
It was also an opportunity to pioneer a different model for rural economic development. Through the Opportunity Zone Fund, my hope was not simply to attract outside capital, but to create an opportunity for the community to invest in itself—to build local ownership, long-term stewardship, and shared prosperity. CONTINUED IN COMMENTS…
