After a year and half of success in Durango, Grassburger has opened a second location in Albuquerque.
The restaurant on the 700 block of Main Avenue in Durango focuses on locally sourced ingredients and grass-fed beef, and it is bringing that philosophy to its new location, said co-owner Jessie Kileen.
Rather than truck Colorado produce to New Mexico, Jessie and her husband, Ed Kileen, want to develop a network of farmers near Albuquerque.
They already have found local suppliers in New Mexico for potatoes and green chile to make sure produce isn’t being trucked farther than necessarily.
“That’s a big part of the ethos behind Grassburger,” Jessie said.
She has found the area has a burgeoning farm-to-table culture.
“We would like to tap into that like we tapped into it here,” she said.
The couple decided to launch the store in Albuquerque because it is a larger city within a manageable distance of Durango.
“Our plan was to open to a second location and grow in some way,” she said.
The new shop opened March 14, and it drew quite a few customers over the weekend.
Even though they have expanded, the Kileens plan to stay in Durango, and they have hired a general manager to handle the day-to-day business in Albuquerque, she said.
The owners are also trying out some menu changes at the new store that will be coming to Durango soon.
The store is introducing a green chile stew, chicken hot dogs and cheese melts. These melts are similar to grilled cheese sandwiches with several variations, including a bacon-green-chile cheese melt.
The restaurant also added a list of burgers to the menu such as the green chile jackburger, made with green chile and pepper jack cheese, and the Durango burger, made with one beef patty and one black bean patty.
The new options are meant to simplify ordering and reflect public demand, she said.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
