A year ago, I unlocked the doors to our current Farm To Summit facility.
And while it might look like a well-oiled machine now, this space—and honestly, this entire company—only exists because a whole lot of people showed up for me and for Farm To Summit, again and again.
This didn’t start in a fancy building. It started in the back of my house—late nights, making food, then hauling it to the Durango Farmers Market the next morning.
From there, we moved into a 1,200-square-foot space just down the street. It was a fully carpeted photography studio… which, as you can imagine, is not ideal for food production. But commercial kitchen space in Durango is nearly impossible to find, so with a small bank loan and a lot of DIY grit, we made it work.
That became our first real kitchen.
Our first two dehydrators came from a food bank in Grand Junction—found through word of mouth, like most good things around here. The only problem was getting them back to Durango. Then, somehow, it all lined up: a local farmer was already heading that way to sell a tractor and was driving back with an empty box truck. Perfect timing.
That pretty much sums up how this business got off the ground—neighbors helping neighbors, things lining up just enough, and me learning to trust both the process and myself.
Not long after, we outgrew that space. To keep growing, we needed something bigger. Something that could actually support what Farm To Summit was becoming.
In the fall of 2024, I found it. Nearly three times the space. A real warehouse. Room to breathe, to build, to scale. It felt exciting—and honestly, a little terrifying—but mostly it just felt right. There was just one problem: it needed a full renovation. Again.
For the next few months, I worked alongside our team and a handful of contractors to bring it to life. We knocked down walls, sanded and finished floors, installed a hood vent (which is way more complicated than it should be), added plumbing and floor drains, and figured out electrical along the way.
At the same time, our team was in there every day—scrubbing walls, painting everything, installing kitchen-grade panels, building tables and pallet racks, organizing inventory, and slowly turning an empty warehouse into a real food production space. Then it was time to move.
I called in the crew, recruited a handful of friends, rented a 26-foot U-Haul, and we got after it. My mom showed up with pizza and beer (thanks mom!). There was a lot of heavy lifting, a lot of laughing, and plenty of “wait—where does this go?” moments.
By the end of the day, we were in.
And the community kept showing up.
Farmer Max somehow took apart and moved our outdoor walk-in cooler—during a snowstorm, because of course it was snowing on his only free day. Our team kept coming back day after day, dialing in the space, improving workflows, and making it better.
Piece by piece, it turned into what it is now.
Now, nearly one year in, I’m beyond proud of what we’ve built. A beautiful facility where real food is made with care, where farmers are supported, where waste is reduced, and where a small but mighty team does big things every day… while having a whole lot of fun.
And yes—our shop dogs, Agnes and Banana, are not mad that we just happen to be directly next to the dog park.
As we celebrate one year in this space, the biggest takeaway is simple: Farm to Summit has never been built alone. It’s been built by friends, farmers, family, neighbors, and a community that believes in doing things the right way—even when it’s harder.
Here’s to one year in our new home—and to everyone who helped us get here. I truly couldn’t have done it without you.