Changes are in store for Durango Coffee Company now that the Main Avenue business is in new hands, but owner Marcos Wisner assures neither jobs nor coffee are going anywhere.
A Durango native who’s tested his culinary skills in New York City, Wisner purchased the business on Jan. 4 with two investors from Tucson, Arizona, Scott Biaggi and Matt Pobloske. Wisner declined to disclose the price.
Because of a “third wave” of coffee connoisseurs who know their roasts, Wisner said he saw great potential in the coffee retail industry. The business name will not change, though customers can expect a remodel of the interior space and facade.
The scale of the changes are uncertain, but there will be a new coffee bar and kitchen, with plans to introduce a grab-and-go breakfast menu.
With an added kitchen, Durango Coffee Co. will grow staff, not cut it.
“It’s been a great business. Every decade or so, a business needs an update,” Wisner said. “We purchased Durango Coffee Company with the hopes of utilizing this prime real estate and giving it a newer, fresher start.”
He quashed rumors that the coffee shop will be converted to a distillery; he has plans to open one as a separate project but has not found an appropriate and affordable location.
The purchase includes the retail section in the back of the coffee shop, which Wisner said will remain in operation.
Wisner, who operates The Box at Main Avenue and 11th Street on his father’s property, said the popular food truck won’t return this summer as he navigates a new business model with the coffee shop.
Durango Coffee Co.’s founder, Carl Rand, still owns the building. A professional chef, Rand began brewing out of his backyard shed in 1984 and opened the shop at 730 Main Ave. in 1990. Tim Wheeler purchased the retail operations in 2004. He declined to comment to The Durango Herald on why he sold the business.
jpace@durangoherald.com
