Vail psychic finds snag in her future

VAIL — Vail’s new soothsayer apparently did not portend her own violation of the town’s zoning rules.

But that is no reflection of the clairvoyance of the psychic, Michelle Marks, said her husband, Tom Merino.

“It’s like a doctor,” Merino said. “You can’t do anything for yourself or your family.”

Vail Psychic — tucked among fur shops and art galleries on Gore Creek Drive in Vail Village — closed about two months ago after town officials discovered that services like palm readings don’t jibe with what’s allowed there, said George Ruther, head of the town’s community development department.

Vail Psychic’s offerings — including palm readings and tarot-card readings — are considered “personal services.”

“We do not allow personal services to be located on the first floor in our commercial core area,” Ruther said.

Vail Psychic, with its window display of a mannequin peering into a crystal ball, has been closed for the last two months.

Books displayed in the window include “Spiritual Bathing” and “The Heart of Listening: A Visionary Approach to Craniosacral Work.” There’s a back room with a curtained door, a waiting room with Us Magazines on a coffee table and shelves full of crystal balls and other products.

It would have closed, anyway, for the offseason, Merino said.

Will sell oils

Vail Psychic was open earlier this year, but after a few months, town officials told them they weren’t following the zoning rules.

The business has been asked to submit a new business plan to the town that would make it a “retail” business. That means a “vast majority” of their business would have to come from selling things, Ruther said.

Merino said they’ve straightened things out with the town and will sell “metaphysical supplies” like candles, oils, books, incense and crystals.

“Everything is copacetic now,” he said.

But the town says everything’s not copacetic quite yet because Vail hasn’t gotten a business plan from the psychic.

“It appears that we’ll be able to come to an agreeable solution down the road here,” Ruther said.

In the meantime, Merino said, Vail Psychic is planning to reopen for the summer later this month.

The business was really successful when it was open over the winter, from January till April, Merino said. It offers something different for visitors to do here after a day of skiing or hiking, he said.

“They do the same thing over and over,” he said. “Now that they have extra entertainment, they love it.”

‘They love her’

Merino said his wife is no fly-by-night impostor.

“My wife is a natural-born psychic,” he said.

She has brought customers to tears with her extrasensory perception, he said.

They have other offices in Frisco, Breckenridge and San Diego, where they now live. They also have a home in Summit County and hope to move soon to Vail full-time, Merino said.

“We love Vail,” he said.

They get about eight to 10 clients a day, a combination of walk-ins and appointments, Merino said.

Ramsey Cotter, who works next door at W Couture, said she’s heard good things about the psychic’s abilities.

“They love her,” she said. “They can’t believe what she knows about them.”

Diversity among stores in Vail is a good thing, she said.

“I don’t know why (the business) shouldn’t be there,” she said.

Jason Hoff, director of Gore Creek Gallery two doors down, said he gets asked about the psychic a lot.

“It’s different,” he said. “It’s unique.”

But not exactly his thing — he said he’s not planning on getting his palm read anytime soon.

Staff Writer Edward Stoner can be reached at 748-2929 or estoner@vaildaily.com.