Lovers of Italian food fear not: Most of the space previously occupied by Guido’s Pizza Pasta Panini will remain focused on the cuisine from the peninsula, and a small section will be split off to house a financial advisement firm.
John Hansen, owner of Investment Center Advisor Group, purchased the space at 1201 Main Ave. from previous owner Susan Devereaux and plans to use about 900 square feet of the 3,155 feet to house his firm, which will move from an office in the Bank of Colorado.
Hansen and his partner, Jonathan Donnaway, plan to move their financial advisement firm to the new space sometime in October. Investment Center Advisor Group has been housed in Durango’s Bank of Colorado branch for 24 years.
Jarrod and Tracy Regan, who operated the Raider Ridge Café from 2006 through February 2018, plan to open Primi Pasta and Wine Bar in January 2020 in the remaining space.
Primi is expected to be open for lunch and dinner, but the first week, it will be open only for dinner as a kind of soft opening, Jarrod said.
Italian food and wine, Tracy said, “are a joint passion of Jarrod and mine.”
Working as a bicycle tour guide on the back roads of Italy provided her with a thick catalog of recipes and further piqued her curiosity about wine, Tracy said.
She has a Level 2 sommelier license, and she said her time in Italy increased her curiosity about wine and its pairings with food.
“I’m geeky about wine, but I hate that it can be intimidating and pretentious,” she said.
With an aim of removing the intimidation of wine selection from the diner, the Regans opted for a casual restaurant, with diners ordering at the counter, where staff members are able to encourage a variety of wine and food pairings.
“We want people to experiment and be playful,” Tracy said.
The Regans expect to have 12 to 16 wines available by the glass for food pairings.
The price point for food will range from $8 to $15 per plate.
The menu will include house-made pastas, salads, panini, charcuterie and gelato.
Pasta selections at Primi are expected to include pesto Genovese, Bolognese, bucatini all’amatriciana, ragu d’agnello, cacio e pepe and several other selections.
For salads, the Regans plan offerings of rustico, caprese, grilled Caesar, Toscana cavolo nero and more.
“We worked with local farmers when we had Raider Ridge, and we’re excited to rekindle those relationships that we’ve built over the years,” Jarrod said.
parmijo@durangoherald.com
