{"id":16194,"date":"2025-10-09T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/gazpacho-restaurant-in-durango-faces-possible-closure\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:55:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:55:07","slug":"gazpacho-restaurant-in-durango-faces-possible-closure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/gazpacho-restaurant-in-durango-faces-possible-closure\/","title":{"rendered":"Gazpacho Restaurant in Durango faces possible closure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Gazpacho
Gazpacho Restaurant located at 431 East Second Ave. is in danger of shutting down after 34 years in business due to missed sales tax payments and the impacts of nearby construction, according to a co-owner. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Gazpacho Restaurant, a longtime fixture in downtown Durango, owes the city more than $14,000 in sales taxes and is at risk of closing, according to a co-owner.<\/p>\n

Construction on a dual-branded hotel<\/a> and the city\u2019s unwillingness to compromise on a payment plan are partly to blame, said Gazpacho President Brennan McManamon.<\/p>\n

The restaurant, located at 431 East Second Ave., has been bringing the flavors of New Mexico to Durango since 1991.<\/p>\n

But recent financial struggles may mark the restaurant\u2019s end unless a large, upfront payment can be made to the city.<\/p>\n

Email correspondence in late September between McManamon and the city\u2019s financial department indicated the restaurant must pay a $7,271.25 down payment \u2013 half of its total outstanding sales tax bill \u2013 to retain its liquor license and continue operating.<\/p>\n

Gazpacho doesn\u2019t have the funds to pay the down payment in full, McManamon said, largely because of declining sales and out-of-pocket repair costs he attributes to the nearby hotel construction, which has impacted the area for six years.<\/p>\n

McManamon hopes to reach a deal with the city that would allow the restaurant to pay the outstanding balance in smaller increments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve incurred thousands of dollars in repairs for issues like a damaged grease trap and sewage backups directly caused by the new construction,\u201d McManamon said. \u201cWe\u2019ve also experienced a massive decline in business leading to temporary closures, and we\u2019ve been unable to get any meaningful response from the city on these matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Gazpacho
Gazpacho Restaurant is dwarfed by the dual-branded Lamont Cos. Hampton and Marriott hotel project across the street on East Second Avenue in Durango. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

He said trash and debris from the construction site frequently end up on the restaurant\u2019s property, and that the constant backing in and out of cement trucks and other construction vehicles has damaged the restaurant\u2019s parking lot.<\/p>\n

The restaurant asked the city and developers to repave the parking lot and Gazpacho\u2019s side of East Second Avenue. The developers also asked the city to repave that side of the street, but the city refused, McManamon said.<\/p>\n

\"The
The dual-branded AC Hotel by Marriott and Hampton Inn and Suites by Hilton in June 21, 2023. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

City spokesperson Tom Sluis said the city has received only one complaint related to debris from the construction sit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen City staff inspected the site in response to this complaint, there was no debris to be found,\u201d Sluis said. \u201cCommunity Development staff have been to the site regularly for inspections and have not noticed an unsightly condition of the project site or debris.\u201d<\/p>\n

He did not respond to questions about whether the city denied a request to repave Gazpacho\u2019s side of the street.<\/p>\n

Sluis said sales taxes collected by businesses is not their revenue; rather, it is public money and withholding it is a breach of public trust.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a felony to collect sales taxes from customers and not remit them,\u201d he said. \u201cIt would also be unfair to law-abiding businesses that play by the rules if the city starts carving out exemptions for other businesses that decide to divert public funds for private use.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pagosa Springs resident Cindy Libertion said she has watched much of the hotel construction unfold from Gazpacho\u2019s patio.<\/p>\n

Libertion visits Durango for medical appointments and always makes time to stop at Gazpacho\u2019s \u2013 her favorite restaurant in town. She said the construction noise used to be worse, but it has lessened now that the hotels\u2019 exteriors are complete.<\/p>\n

Libertion said the recent lack of heavy foot traffic at the restaurant is one reason she enjoys eating at Gazpacho\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not real crowded \u2013 maybe from this,\u201d she said, nodding toward the construction across the street.<\/p>\n

\"Gazpacho
Gazpacho Restaurant is dwarfed by the dual-branded Lamont Cos. Hampton and Marriott hotel project across the street on East Second Avenue in Durango. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

McManamon said he was able to negotiate an incremental payment plan with the state for the outstanding sales tax, but the city has been less forgiving.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe state has worked with us on similar issues, but the city has refused, and now they\u2019re denying our liquor license renewal until the entire amount is paid,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sluis declined to discuss specifics related to Gazpacho\u2019s sales tax payments, citing confidentiality rules designed to protect business owners.<\/p>\n

McManamon said the city hasn\u2019t prioritized the restaurant as highly as it has the new hotel chain.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a small local business, we feel overlooked in favor of a large corporate entity that seems to receive preferential treatment,\u201d he said. \u201cAll we\u2019re asking for is a flexible payment plan that allows us to continue our regular payments while addressing the outstanding balance \u2013 without requiring the full 50% upfront.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sluis said multiple projects are always underway across the city, and a focus on other projects \u201cdoes not mean the city has been ignoring the hotel project and its impact on neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n

As of early October, McManamon was still attempting to negotiate a payment plan with the city to keep the restaurant open \u2013 so far, without success.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re deeply concerned that we won\u2019t survive long enough to benefit from the potential long-term advantages of the 10-year hotel build, and instead, we\u2019ll be forced out due to the financial strain and damages caused,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

epond@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

construction, unpaid tax bill to blame, co-owner says<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[507,28,450,1762],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-16194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-durango-city-officials","tag-headlines","tag-restaurant-and-catering","tag-sales-tax"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16194"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20066,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16194\/revisions\/20066"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16194"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=16194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}