Last year on the solstice, Nicole Tribble and her husband, Christian, decided to go into the restaurant business. On Wednesday, exactly a year later, their vision
“I have been to places where you get to design your own salad, and I really like that concept, and I thought that Durango would enjoy that,” owner Nicole Tribble said.
So Tribble and her husband renovated the space formerly occupied by Giddy-Up 409 near Seventh Street – putting in a kitchen, salad bar and an airy seating area, with a view of the Strater Hotel.
In addition to the build-your-own salad, the restaurant offers four standards, the Vietnamese, Cobb, Taco and Classic Caesar. All but the Caesar includes a meat.
“If I keep it really simple, it’s really fresh,” she said.
Live foods, those cultured and fermented, are also a core part of the menu, and Tribble wants these options to promote digestive health.
“I know that I have benefited from that, and I want to share that with others and have everyone improve their health by eating cultured foods,” she said.
Kombucha, a fermented tea, is on draft and carbonated. The restaurant offers two flavors, an apple ginger and a jun, which is made locally with honey.
Tribble also plans to keep three fermented vegetables as part of the salad bar at all times. She started with kimchi, dilly beets and fennel carrots. But she expects to rotate them regularly. The dressings are also cultured.
All of these items help counteract the effects of living in an over-sterilized environment, she said.
“What happens is the bad bacteria wins, you need the good stuff to keep that balance,” Tribble said.
Tribble started working in restaurants when she was 14, and she has continued to work in restaurants on-and-off since. She also taught holistic nutrition for five years in California, and she is passionate about being connected to her food.
Tribble buys beef from James Ranch. She also expects to buy from local farmers during the growing season.
She uses reverse osmosis on the restaurant’s water and then remineralizes it, leaving it with a sweet and soft taste.
Salad prices range from $7.50 to $12, and the restaurant hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
