Omni Bagel and Durango Sustainable Goods are teaming up to promote sustainable business practices through their new cafe at 1259 Main Ave.

Durango Sustainable Goods is a new “solution” store where shoppers can find plastic-free and nature-positive home and kitchen goods and gifts, plus scratch-made bagels and organic coffee in the new Omni Cafe.

Together, Durango Sustainable Goods and Omni Cafe are creating what they call a “next gen” shopping experience and eatery, exposing customers to new sustainable home and kitchen products and a zero waste restaurant model complete with food composting, bring your own to-go containers and local ingredients.

The business celebrated its grand opening on Friday with a block party that shut down the 1200 block of Main Avenue.

“We’re really trying to create a community of sustainable businesses,” Durango Sustainable Goods owner Claire Attkisson said.

Attkisson finds that often businesses will claim they are sustainable but don’t fully commit to the idea. That is why Durango Sustainable Goods is selling products made by 20 different local makers. All of the products are made from upcycled material or without the use of plastic. For example, there are bags made from military tents, dog poop bags made from reused bike inner tubes and chewable toothpaste.

For Omni Bagel, it’s been a little over a year since the business started and entered the grocery store wholesale market. It had always been the plan for Lazarus Omni to open a storefront location for the business but finding commercial rental space at an affordable price was an obstacle.

Omni met Attkisson through the Durango Sustainable Business Guide, and the two decided to go into business together to not only promote green practices but to also help cover the expense of having a storefront business on Main Avenue.

Omni sees sustainability as an issue in the food and beverage business. She said most food service businesses are only looking at how they can profit rather than how much waste they are producing.

A study published by the National Library of Medicine in 2021 says that globally $2.6 trillion is lost on wasted food. But from an environmental perspective, the typical restaurant creates from 25,000 to 75,000 pounds of waste per year, according to the Green Restaurant Association.

“We have this model of repurposing every day,” Omni said.

The cafe will not feature paper napkins or paper coffee cups. Customers who do not bring their own reusable coffee mug may purchase a reusable mason jar from the cafe.

Furthermore, Omni repurposes flower bags and uses them as totes as well as composts waste material, which is picked up by Table to Farm.

Even the furniture in the cafe comes from upcycled material. Attkisson said the material people use to build accounts for nearly a third of the carbon emissions released into the atmosphere.

“This isn’t just a niche. Every business needs to look at its operation,” Attkisson said.

She said the prices of products sold in the cafe will be on par with other retailers and that the business is trying to keep its price point lower in order to promote sustainability to all demographics.

“For the most part, sustainability is always built into wealthier populations, and so we’re trying to really open it up to everyone,” Omni said.

Attkisson said one of the other objectives of the business is to help other self-starters and makers develop their business. She hopes that the makers who create these products can use the cafe as a way to find their own shop location if their products garner enough attention.

Local artists also painted the interior of the cafe. When entering, there is a large mural of a person rafting on a bagel. In addition, the business will be creating merchandise out of clothing from the Humane Society Thrift Store, further promoting the idea of reusing materials.

tbrown@durangoherlad.com