The Yellow Carrot is calling it quits after 17 years in Durango.
Owner and self-taught chef Sari Suzanne said the business is evolving into a new venture outside Durango. Specifics are still under wraps, but she said the new brand will combine the various elements she’s explored before.
“It is still all in the works, so I'm kind of confined to silence,” Suzanne told The Durango Herald. “But people that know me well know that I have lots going on behind the scenes. It’s just the recreation of everything that’s been created, and I’m letting it unfold as it comes my way.”
The Yellow Carrot began its journey in 2006 as a “bold, heart-driven” catering company, according to the business’ website. It later evolved into an eclectic restaurant and bakery known for its eye-catching dishes and eclectic atmosphere. The restaurant was featured on the webshow “America’s Best Restaurant” in 2024 but closed shortly after, citing economic challenges. It had operated for seven years.
Since then, the Yellow Carrot has operated as a hub for catering, snack services and private events.
The business’ website alluded to the next big step – a national hospitality brand Suzanne described as “everything that (she’s) been cultivating for years” – that will operate in “new cities.”
Signs of the Yellow Carrot’s whimsy and eclectic charm still filled the storefront in early October, even as the space sat quiet with boxes and for-sale items stacked inside.
The Yellow Carrot is hosting farewell inventory sales through October until all stock is sold. Nearly everything in the storefront is available, including large and small equipment, appliances, cookware and bakeware, utensils and smallware.
Yellow Carrot sale
Sales for all stock in the storefront will take place 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays through the end of the month.
One of the main goals of the sales, Suzanne said, is to give back to the community that watched the Yellow Carrot evolve over the years – what she describes as “a story about (her) soul.”
“That’s the thing about Durango: I have been gifted the opportunity to meet the most amazing people and clients and friends and guests,” Suzanne said.
A couple from Texas who dined at Yellow Carrot a year ago returned this month hoping for another meal, Suzanne said. They told her it was the best food they’d ever had. Instead, they left with some storefront supplies.
Suzanne said she hopes the community remembers the Yellow Carrot as the wonder and joy it embodied.
“I think when people think of the Yellow Carrot, they think of Willy Wonka, Walt Disney – because it was just so colorful and it was just so whimsical and delicious, you know?” Suzanne said. “Being a business owner in a small town ... there's always challenges, and not everybody is born to love what you do, and I understand that.”
For Suzanne, the Yellow Carrot was about more than food; it was about sharing joy and purpose.
“My commodity was food, but my product was happiness,” she said.
The Yellow Carrot plans to host a farewell party at the end of October, with a date to be announced.
epond@durangoherald.com
