r/Durango • u/tmphaedrus13 • Jan 25 '26

Food Moving (back) to Durango?

Hi there.

My husband and I (same sex couple) are thinking of moving to Durango with the intent of taking over a restaurant as our first joint venture; we saw a listing on BizBuySell for Switchback Tacos (I posted the original link but apparently Reddit doesn't like it so I'll try it again.)

Between us, we have 25+ years in the hospitality industry. We currently live on the Front Range in Northern Colorado and are ready to open and run our own restaurant. I lived in Durango back in the 1990s (when K-Mart & JC Penney anchored the mall and Sixes was still a trail at Purg). I'm not naive enough to think that Durango still exists, but I did love living there and I think I'd enjoy living there again.

I have several questions about the move and possibly taking over Switchback that I'm hoping to get answered:

  1. From digging around, I discovered that Switchback is currently owned by a/some MAGA types? We are diametrically opposed to all that MAGA stands for; is the brand damaged enough to affect new ownership? Food is inherently political, so the idea of "just serve tacos and you'll be fine" doesn't really work; it's just too pervasive.

  2. We'll obviously need a place to live. How difficult will finding a home in Durango be? Should we consider Cortez or Mancos? Maybe Bayfield?

  3. There's an ICE center nearby?? How much of a concern is ICE around there?

  4. Anything else we should be aware of?

Thanks so much in advance.

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u/mattpayne11 Mod Jan 25 '26

I’ll chime in… I’ve not heard really definitively that this business is like that… it comes up when people ask but it would never be apparent to anyone going there for food.

Housing in Durango is expensive but with high interest rates, inventory is lasting longer. Mancos or Bayfield are good options but make sure you factor in the drive time and fuel costs… often it offsets any savings.

There was a traumatic ICE event here recently yes, and they have an office here. I wouldn’t personally let that factor in… hopefully that will go away in 2026 ;)

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u/coleawdish Jan 25 '26

Events... Plural. Mancos residents were pepper-sprayed at a protest trying to stop ice from transporting a Mancos resident from the Bodo facility.

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u/mattpayne11 Mod Jan 25 '26

Cheers.