Cooking Up Success at DGO Artisan Foods

100:00:00,500 –> 00:00:03,510- Sometimes it really doestake a rocket scientist200:00:03,510 –> 00:00:07,390to whip up a great salsaor a Habanero Hot Sauce300:00:07,390 –> 00:00:09,490or beer flavored mustard400:00:09,490 –> 00:00:11,990or any kind of condiment, spice mix,500:00:11,990 –> 00:00:14,580or marinade you can imagine.600:00:14,580 –> 00:00:16,340You’re watching the local news network700:00:16,340 –> 00:00:18,570brought to you by Kroegers Ace Hardware,800:00:18,570 –> 00:00:19,983I’m Wendy Graham Settle.900:00:20,900 –> 00:00:23,240Durango residents, Mark and Kara Grubis1000:00:23,240 –> 00:00:26,870are engineers who moved toDurango about 10 years ago1100:00:26,870 –> 00:00:30,010to work for an aerospacecompany in Farmington.1200:00:30,010 –> 00:00:31,460When they weren’t at the lab,1300:00:31,460 –> 00:00:34,210they were either travelingor cooking in the kitchen,1400:00:34,210 –> 00:00:35,870trying to recreate the foods1500:00:35,870 –> 00:00:38,520they’d tasted on their adventures.1600:00:38,520 –> 00:00:41,420In fact, their travels became the catalyst1700:00:41,420 –> 00:00:44,790to start Durango ArtisanFoods, a commercial kitchen,1800:00:44,790 –> 00:00:47,960and small batch foodmanufacturer that specializes1900:00:47,960 –> 00:00:50,983in making and marketinglocal food products.2000:00:52,260 –> 00:00:54,913- Always enjoyed cooking. And then we,2100:00:56,270 –> 00:00:59,930pre-COVID, we traveled a lot (laughing)2200:00:59,930 –> 00:01:02,763and just enjoying differentfoods from around the world.2300:01:05,400 –> 00:01:07,930Finding dishes that you really enjoyed2400:01:07,930 –> 00:01:10,260in different locationsand then coming back home2500:01:10,260 –> 00:01:11,760and try to replicate ’em.2600:01:11,760 –> 00:01:14,840So that’s always a funthing that we’ve done.2700:01:14,840 –> 00:01:16,900And that’s how we got intohot sauce in the first place2800:01:16,900 –> 00:01:19,080was traveling down to the Caribbean,2900:01:19,080 –> 00:01:20,900found a hot sauce we really liked,3000:01:20,900 –> 00:01:23,990and back then you couldn’t get it here.3100:01:23,990 –> 00:01:27,290So we just kind of replicatedit the best we could,3200:01:27,290 –> 00:01:30,110and then sort of grew into a business.3300:01:30,110 –> 00:01:31,970- Yep, and now you’veput ’em side by side,3400:01:31,970 –> 00:01:34,973and I like ours better. (laughing)3500:01:35,860 –> 00:01:37,800- They started out mixing and bottling3600:01:37,800 –> 00:01:40,320their batches of Habanero Hot Sauce3700:01:40,320 –> 00:01:42,640in the La Plata CountyFairgrounds kitchen,3800:01:42,640 –> 00:01:47,180and released their firstcommercial batch in April, 2018.3900:01:47,180 –> 00:01:49,920They soon expanded theirartisanal food line4000:01:49,920 –> 00:01:53,780to include a series offlavored hot sauces, salsas,4100:01:53,780 –> 00:01:55,710a variety of spice mixes,4200:01:55,710 –> 00:01:58,810and a Ska True Blond Honey Mustard4300:01:58,810 –> 00:02:00,650in what would become the first4400:02:00,650 –> 00:02:03,760of many collaborations withthe local brewing company.4500:02:03,760 –> 00:02:07,040Then came a pivotal movein the company’s growth.4600:02:07,040 –> 00:02:10,530They purchased the O’HaraJam and Jellies Company4700:02:10,530 –> 00:02:13,010and with a well-established customer base,4800:02:13,010 –> 00:02:15,160they were able to expand and purchase4900:02:15,160 –> 00:02:17,020their own commercial kitchen5000:02:17,020 –> 00:02:20,770along with the 81301Coffee Company next door5100:02:20,770 –> 00:02:23,610at 31st Street and Main Avenue.5200:02:23,610 –> 00:02:25,180All of its products are for sale5300:02:25,180 –> 00:02:28,640in the retail shop outfront, along with ready to go5400:02:28,640 –> 00:02:30,060heat and serve meals5500:02:30,060 –> 00:02:33,380that highlight theirspice mixes and marinades.5600:02:33,380 –> 00:02:34,570Durango Artisan Foods5700:02:34,570 –> 00:02:37,060also features other locally made foods,5800:02:37,060 –> 00:02:40,980teas, and consumables intheir shop, and online.5900:02:40,980 –> 00:02:44,173- It’s all interwoven with the shop local,6000:02:45,200 –> 00:02:47,840supporting local jobs,supporting the local community.6100:02:47,840 –> 00:02:49,610We all support each other.6200:02:49,610 –> 00:02:53,500Like Kara mentioned,we support local foods.6300:02:53,500 –> 00:02:55,710So if someone comes up with a product6400:02:55,710 –> 00:02:57,760and they’ve got all their ducks in a row,6500:02:59,170 –> 00:03:00,790I don’t think we’veever turned down anyone6600:03:00,790 –> 00:03:05,280to sell their product in thestore, if they’re from here.6700:03:05,280 –> 00:03:09,120We’re not looking to go carryproducts from New Hampshire.6800:03:09,120 –> 00:03:13,650If they’re from Durango inparticular, even in the region,6900:03:13,650 –> 00:03:16,713that’s what we want to do issupport that local economy.7000:03:18,400 –> 00:03:20,740- As the Grubises continued to experiment7100:03:20,740 –> 00:03:22,390and create new products,7200:03:22,390 –> 00:03:24,710they’re helping otherstartup food producers7300:03:24,710 –> 00:03:27,300bring their favorite recipes to market.7400:03:27,300 –> 00:03:29,280They’ve collaborated with other businesses7500:03:29,280 –> 00:03:31,660to develop recipes for their brands7600:03:31,660 –> 00:03:34,360like Ska Brewing’s Pinstripe Salsa,7700:03:34,360 –> 00:03:37,550or Mexican Logger, Jalapeno Hot Sauce,7800:03:37,550 –> 00:03:40,140or they’ll mix and manufacture products7900:03:40,140 –> 00:03:43,760using recipes they’re providedlike The Billy Goat Saloon’s8000:03:43,760 –> 00:03:46,470Hair of the Goat, Bloody Mary Mix.8100:03:46,470 –> 00:03:48,980Want to manufacture your own products?8200:03:48,980 –> 00:03:51,523The commercial kitchenis available for rent.8300:03:53,340 –> 00:03:56,500- So for us, that was part of the mission8400:03:56,500 –> 00:03:59,820was to create the space forpeople like us when we started,8500:03:59,820 –> 00:04:01,660’cause we knew how hard it was.8600:04:01,660 –> 00:04:04,820And if this had existed,when we had started,8700:04:04,820 –> 00:04:07,703that would have made ourlives so much easier.8800:04:07,703 –> 00:04:10,620And having even just beingable to talk to someone8900:04:10,620 –> 00:04:14,040who’s been through it alland what all those steps are,9000:04:14,040 –> 00:04:16,130what the pitfalls are, thethings to look out for,9100:04:16,130 –> 00:04:17,150even how to price a product.9200:04:17,150 –> 00:04:19,210How do you go sell it to the first store?9300:04:19,210 –> 00:04:20,993How do you go approach them?9400:04:22,500 –> 00:04:25,230- If you’d like to know moreabout Durango Artisan Foods9500:04:25,230 –> 00:04:27,520or purchase any of its products online,9600:04:27,520 –> 00:04:30,660visit Durangoartisanfoods.com9700:04:30,660 –> 00:04:33,400Thanks for watching this editionof the Local News Network.9800:04:33,400 –> 00:04:34,853I’m Wendy Graham Settle.