When Katie Heaton Elkins and her sister Melody were growing up, they often traveled to Lake City, Colorado, where their parents lived part-time and owned a restaurant. Now, the entire family has relocated permanently to Lake City, and Elkins is enjoying running the family restaurant with her husband and raising her children in the beautiful mountain town.
Elkins graduated from Dublin High School in 2004. After high school, Elkins got married and, after her husband graduated from Tarleton, the couple moved to Lake City, where Elkins’ parents owned Southern Vittles, a local restaurant serving up catfish, fried okra, burgers and other southern staples.
The restaurant was founded 30 years ago by Paula and Leroy Davis, and Elkins remembers eating there as a child when she and her family would visit. Her parents offered to sell the business to Elkins and her husband. “We are still running that business today,” she said.
Elkins parents Jeff and Shari Heaton, now live fulltime in Lake City as well, and own another local business, Chillin Coffee Shop. “It was not a hard decision for them to relocate closer to us once we started having kids,” she said.
In March of 2021, Elkins and her sister Melody bought a liquor store and now run that business together. Elkins also runs a bookkeeping/ accounting side gig. “It has kind of fallen into my lap from owning our own business,” she said.
An average day for Elkins is quite busy. “I usually start the day getting my kids out the door and then decide which hat to put on first,” she said. “Owning my own business means that I can set my schedule for how it best serves me, so it does fluctuate.”
In her free time, Elkins volunteers for the local clinic as a board director-treasurer, and her sister works as an EMT. “Mel is the hands on medical professional, I prefer the behind the scenes position,” she said.
Elkins is also quite active. “I love being out on my paddleboard on our lake and you will almost always find me in the gym,” she said. “We have also been blessed to be able to do some traveling. We have been to Ireland three times and will leave for Italy at the end of this month.”
Elkins and her husband Kelly Elkins have three children. Their oldest, Mace, is 15, Brylee is 14 and Dax is 13. “Raising them in Lake City has given them a beautiful childhood,” said Elkins. “They get to daily swim in the river and run around town with their friends. Usually in the summer, I won’t see them for several hours and I don’t have to worry. They will come back when they are hungry! One day they will realize how good they have it.”
Elkins’ greatest source of inspiration comes from her family. “I would say it’s definitely my kids and the desire to give them all the best — not stuff but experiences,” she said. “We work hard to show them that life takes work, but then we rest well and soak up the moments to show them that it’s worth it. Kelly and I try to live in a way that makes them see worth in every aspect of life, good and bad.”
Elkins family has been there for each other through thick and thin. In 2019 and 2020, they lost several family members. “2019 and 2020 felt like one heartbreak after another, and raising our kids through that was so hard,” she said. “At one point we told the kids that we were taking a vacation to Texas and their response was “who died?” My heart sank.”
So Elkins and her husband prayed about it. “We really felt the Lord calling us to a season of adventure,” she said. “We decided to homeschool our kids and do some out of the book learning. We took trips. We made memories. We took time to heal. And in the end, I wouldn’t trade any of it. It was a beautiful time with our kids that I now cherish.”
Elkins’ advice to Dublin graduates is to follow their own path — not feel pressured to conform to the life plans that others suggest. “Just find your way,” she said. “Don’t be forced into a box of college if it’s not what you want. Find what makes you happy, if it requires college then go. If it doesn’t then don’t. You absolutely can live a happy and full life regardless of a college education. My husband and I are a perfect example of that. Kelly has his degrees in manufacturing engineering from TSU and doesn’t use it. I never went to college and now own 2 brick and mortar stores and an accounting business. Find your way and you will do just fine!”
Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other grads, email publisher@dublincitizen. com.