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Upscale Thai restaurant to open
East by Southwest owners expanding
Herald Staff Writer
Photo by STEVE LEWIS/Herald
Hydi and Sergio Verduzco, owners of East By Southwest, are shown in Ariano’s Italian Restaurant on Tuesday morning. The Verduzcos bought Ariano’s, next door to East By Southwest, and are remodeling it for a Southeast Asian grill they’ll call Golden Triangle. Below:
Click image to enlarge
This image showing proposed facade changes of the Golden Triangle entrance has been submitted to the city’s Design Review Board for consideration.
East By Southwest owners Sergio and Hydi Verduzco will bring a Southeast Asian grill to Durango, next door to their popular sushi restaurant.
I wanted to bring something to Durango that wasn't already here.
- Sergio Verduzco, restaurant owner
The Verduzcos have purchased the business next to East By Southwest. Ariano’s Northern Italian Restaurant long has occupied the space at 150 College Drive.
The new restaurant, Golden Triangle, will feature cooking from Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The Verduzcos aim to open Golden Triangle in January.
“I wanted to bring something to Durango that wasn’t here already,” said Sergio Verduzco.
Durango’s only current Thai restaurant, Sizzling Siam, 519½ Main Ave., primarily is a take-out eatery. It was closed temporarily last week, and its owners could not be reached for comment.
Verduzco plans to extensively remodel the space to create a contemporary look for Golden Triangle. A redesigned façade will relate the Thai theme, pending approval from city regulators.
The restaurant will feature a wood-burning satay grill framed by two refrigerated glass cases on either side. Diners will be able to choose what they want from the case, and then watch as it is grilled on skewers.
“The satay grill concept is actually something new that is becoming all the rage in places like L.A. or New York,” Verduzco said. “We’re the first to bring that to Colorado. There’s nothing like it, even in Denver.”
Verduzco has hired a Thai man, Ray Srisamer, to serve as assistant executive chef. Verduzco will be executive chef.
The impending opening marks the end of Ariano’s, a local Italian restaurant that has been in business since 1984. The restaurant will close Saturday.
Owner Vincent Ferraro said he was “just ready to retire and get out of it.”
Ferraro became Ariano’s sole owner a decade ago when he bought out his partners, Bill Abshagen, Jim Arias and Bob Ariano.
Ariano’s 14 employees are moving on.
“The majority of them have a second job, and those who don’t have secured other restaurant work,” Ferraro said.
Ferraro said running a restaurant in Durango has been “very challenging” because of the resort economy. Ferraro said Ariano’s would honor gift certificates until Saturday.
Neither side would disclose the
purchase price.
Ferraro predicted the Verduzcos would find success with Golden
Triangle.
“It should be a home run,” he said. “They’re good operators.”
Golden Triangle will include a lounge anchored by an onyx bar. A wall separating the restaurant from East By Southwest will be torn down and replaced by a water curtain, Verduzco said. “It’s going to have a very upscale city feel to it,” Verduzco said.
Verduzco will hire 20 to 25 employees for Golden Triangle.
“These are all jobs that are going to be paying in the top tier of our industry,” he said.
The jobs will provide health insurance, paid vacation and a corporate ski pass.
The Verduzcos’ expansion comes after years of success at East By Southwest, which opened in 2002 and employs 35.
Golden Triangle and East By Southwest will maintain separate menus with the exception of a bar menu that will include food from both restaurants. The restaurants will share ownership, but they will be physically and thematically separate.
“We don’t want to dilute what we’re doing at East by Southwest,” Verduzco said.
East By Southwest will undergo minor remodeling. The bar will become an area where diners can watch the hot kitchen, which has been hidden from view, unlike the sushi bar. Bar operations will be consolidated at Golden Triangle.
Verduzco hopes Golden Triangle’s bar will attract professionals who want to avoid the college crowd.
“We’re targeting – for lack of a better word – the Durango yuppie crowd,” he said.
College students are welcome, but they must follow the restaurant’s dress code – nice pants and a collared shirt.
“If they want to come in, they’re welcome to, but they’re going to have to dress up,” Verduzco said.
Menu prices will not exceed $20, he said.
Restaurants have not been immune to the local economic downturn. Sales-tax revenues collected from restaurants and taverns declined 4 percent for the first nine months of the year, compared to the same period in 2008. East By Southwest has experienced only a “slight decline” in sales, Verduzco said.
He said he is confident in his plans for the new restaurant despite the tough economy.
“I have a lot of faith in Durango,” Verduzco said. “It’s got a bright future.”
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