PRESS

ZACHARY THOMAS, GENERAL MANAGER

Zachary Thomas believes that to truly understand an industry, you need to explore every aspect of it. So as a restaurant manager, it's important to him that he's worked everything from dishwasher to bartender. He began his path as a teenager in kitchens in the capital of Indiana, cooking anything he could get his hands on for anyone who would eat it. In his teens, he washed dishes at a camp, bussed tables at a restaurant and worked the deli at a grocery store.

By the time he graduated from Purdue University in 2002, with a degree in hospitality tourism management, he had a new passion for wine and a resume filled with food experience. He had yet to realize where these dual interests might lead him, but he knew he wanted to start by moving to Colorado to ski. After a year serving food at Sullivan's Steak House in Indianapolis, he saved enough cash to move to Durango, where he attended a job fair in search of a position at the ski area. Thomas spent the winter of 2003/2004 as the assistant unit manager to the three mountain-top restaurants at Durango Mountain Resort (then called Purgatory). He spent the following years in waiting tables and bartending at Ken & Sue's, which was followed by a brief stint at East by Southwest.

His native state called him home in 2006, and he returned to double duty in Indianapolis, tending bar at Sullivan's and managing Kahn's Fine Wines, which shipped bottles around the country and provided him ample opportunity to taste a broad selection of wines. In 2008, he returned to the mountains and walked into the Durango Cosmopolitan to apply for a cooking position. His experience in the front of the house, however, was more extensive, so he was offered a part-time spot behind the bar and on the floor as a server. He quickly rose to assistant manager and is now responsible for the wine list and entire front of the house operations.

Thomas' philosophy about learning an industry through hands-on experience has served him well. With his varied background and amiable nature, he creates an ambiance at the Cosmopolitan where visitors feel comfortable, and locals feel compelled to return.