It\u2019s a bittersweet moment for the one-man operation, named after Allison-Godfrey\u2019s German shepherd mix.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing really felt right and (Mable) does this thing, especially in the winter, where she basically bagels, because she tucks herself into a perfect circle and like has her nose under her leg and she\u2019s got a little hole in the middle,\u201d he said about naming the business after his dog.<\/p>\n
Allison-Godfrey started making bagels while attending Colorado College.<\/p>\n
He recalls his distaste for the bagels in the college\u2019s cafeteria. Growing up outside New York City, he said he developed a high standard for how bagels should taste. This inspired him to start making bagels for himself.<\/p>\n
He later moved to Jackson, Wyoming, where he worked at Persephone Bakery. He later moved back to Colorado and started selling his bagels on the Front Range before moving to Durango in 2020.<\/p>\n
Allison-Godfrey started the Mable\u2019s Bagels website in 2020 and has celebrated a modicum of success as the underground bagel maker of Durango. He serves about 150 Durango-area families, with 50 to 60 people who order on a more consistent basis.<\/p>\n Although 150 families may not sound like a large number, his audience could be considered remarkable because Allison-Godfrey did not want to focus on advertising his business.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t do a lot of advertising. It was definitely, like, word-of-mouth conversations,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople like losing their mind over my bagels, which sounds really conceited to say, but I\u2019m gonna say it anyways. And then they tell all their friends, and that\u2019s the majority of the way I received business.\u201d<\/p>\n That side of Mable\u2019s Bagles never really interested Allison-Godfrey. Instead, he focused his energy on trying to create the perfect New York-style bagel. He considers himself a bagel purist and wanted to solely focus on his product.<\/p>\n It was never his intent to grow the business to a substantial size for quality control purposes. Allison-Godfrey was not willing to settle for less than the standard he set for himself.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you scale up, there is some sacrificing of quality and obviously, if you have enough people who are good at it, then it\u2019s not an issue, but I just couldn\u2019t see myself like trusting someone else right off the bat,\u201d he said. \u201cI realized that if this is like if it\u2019s something that\u2019s going to be successful, you need to enjoy both sides of it, or at least be passionate about both sides of it. And I wasn\u2019t really passionate about the business side of things.\u201d<\/p>\n The announcement of the business\u2019 closure was met with joy from customers who are happy for Allison-Godfrey, but also sadness because they will be losing their favorite bagel guy.<\/p>\n He will be giving up his 4 a.m. bagel baking sessions to focus on his education. He currently works in the inclusion department at Animas High School, but decided to pursue a master\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n He\u2019s always had a passion for helping people, but discovered that he enjoyed working with high schoolers through his experience at Animas.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always enjoyed like talking to people about their problems and helping them figure out solutions to them, and then my wife is a teacher and they were looking for someone and I wasn\u2019t sure if I wanted to do school counseling or clinical mental health,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Allison-Godfrey said in the email that those interested in his recipe should reach out to him directly.<\/p>\n