In this week’s roundup: One Durango business has changed hands, another is for sale and a third is filing for bankruptcy.
Patti Zink has handed over Mountain Bike Specialists to bike enthusiast Elliott Saslow after 32 years of ownership.
Before taking over Mountain Bike Specialists in February, Saslow was involved in enterprise solutions and development at Allora Labs and worked as an account executive with Multiverse in New York, New York. He also worked as a principal solutions architect for artificial intelligence and a teams product owner at global for-profit online education provider Udacity, as a computational neuroscientist at Donaldson Lab and as an artificial intelligence data scientist at Galvanize, Inc.
Saslow was in the first graduating class at Animas High School and earned an Engineering Physics degree from the University of Colorado Boulder.
He was a part of the Durango Nordic Ski Club as a teenager, and was involved with Durango Devo throughout middle and high school, which he said was “massively impactful” to his choice to return to Durango and take over ownership of Mountain Bike Specialists.
Saslow said Mountain Bike Specialists “continues under new ownership with a focus on growth, sustainability, expanding access to bikes and engaging the community around upcoming events in Durango.”
Zink did not respond to a request for comment.
Longtime caterer and restaurateur Chuck Norton was ready to transfer Highway 3 Roadhouse to new owners – but the sale fell through.
The restaurant’s Facebook page announced May 9 that two new owners, couple Danica and Zach Frost, would be taking over – but the deal collapsed in late May.
“Thought we had the right buyer, but it wasn't to be,” the Roadhouse wrote in the comment section of a Facebook post on the would-be sale.
The Frosts previously owned Happy Apple Orchard on County Road 513, north of Oxford.
“I’m 81 and it’s time (to sell) when I find the right ppl (sic) to take over!!” Norton wrote in an email to the Herald. “Nobody that I can turn it over to yet!!”
Serafina’s Steakhouse, which opened at 144 E. Ninth St. Unit 1 in July, has filed for bankruptcy less than a year after opening.
Co-owner Bobby Middleton said despite the “financial tightness” the fine-dining spot has experienced, he does not foresee a closure in its future.
“When the word bankruptcy, bankruptcy court, (comes up), they assume that, 'Oh, they're dead, done, gone,’” he said. “... We're not planning to shut down ... and it doesn't look like we're going to be forced to shut down. I'm at 95% (certainty) at least (on that.)”
More will be known about the future of the restaurant after a bankruptcy court date that is scheduled for late June, he said.
Rumors that Serafina’s Steakhouse had already closed began circulating in recent months, Middleton said, which caused customers to cancel reservations and choose other dining spots.
The restaurant has not closed or missed a day of operating, no payroll payments have been missed and no staff have been let go as a result of the financial struggles, he said.
Some changes have taken place, however. The executive chef who worked at both Chimayo Stone Fired Kitchen and Serafina’s left the role Sunday, Middleton said, and the hours at Serafina’s will be changing from Thursday through Monday to Wednesday through Sunday in an effort to increase customer foot traffic.
Mondays have consistently been the eatery’s slowest days, Middleton said.
Middleton, along with wife Serafina, also own Chimayo Stone Fired Kitchen on Main Avenue. The restaurant recently began operating seven days per week rather than five, Middleton said, and there are no plans in place to close the more casual Southwestern and Mediterranean eatery either.
epond@durangoherald.com
Business roundup suggestions
The Durango Herald welcomes suggestions for the business roundup feature. Items will be considered based on news value and community relevance. Businesses play an important role in our community. They are major employers, help shape the economy and are part of the social fabric. These criteria will be considered when determining whether an item is included in this feature. Some topics may be better served through briefs.
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