The Barstool Fund - Durango Diner
Up next: Durango Diner (Durango, CO)
The Durango Diner is “where locals have been going to eat and talk for 55 years” and has endured as one of the town's few landmark eateries. It is well known for the nostalgic no-frills meals, local buzz, and the Green Chili and Southwest Salsa sold throughout the country.
Reader Email
Durango, a picturesque mountain town in southern Colorado, has earned its reputation as a travel destination with its beautiful summer weather, extended fall leaf-peeping season and superb winter skiing. No matter your reason for visiting, no trip to Durango is complete without a stop at the Durango Diner.
We have owned the landmark eatery on historic Main Avenue since 1980 and still pride ourselves on cooking everything from scratch, from huevos rancheros to the “biggest and best in the West” hotcakes. The green chili and the Southwest salsa are so popular that they’ve been permanent fixtures at local grocery stores for more than 20 years, and we ship out at least a case a day.
We were closed for 2 1/2 months in March and now closed to in person dining since November 20th. We opened for take out dining but we are losing money. January, February, March are typically our slowest months and we are freaking out about employing our people and paying our bills. We have no idea when they are going to "let" us open for in person dining, they are trying to initiate a variance that basically lets us open if our "application" is approved and we let a committee check and make sure we are following their rules. The variance essentially makes you clean everything anybody touches once, mask up 100% (even behind the 104 degree grill) and write down every customers name and number. Since we don't have HVAC, they insist we keep our doors open and use fans for air flow (average temperature here is 10 degrees at night, 35 during the day). I'm not sure how we can abide by these rules and survive. We would need utility help, payroll and tax help, rent help, insurance and food cost help and supplies to comply with the variance.
Thank You