AZ Daily Sun, Mountain Living, July 25, 2024
Written by Gail G. Collins
Sustainability—it’s more than a trend; it’s a culture of addressing the dynamic relationships between land, water, air, plants, animals and people, and how they coexist for the best quality of life for each situation. It is not a static goal, yet a consistent one. It includes soil conservation to maintain fertility and prevent degradation, crop diversification, water management, planning and policies to oversee land use, plus education and training to encourage adoption and implementation of traditional or new practices.
Sustainability is built on supporting small-scale farmers through credit and technology—such as efficient irrigation and organic farming to enhance production— with markets to aid the transition. Research and innovation of specific areas and needs lead to effective solutions, but the local and key factor is community. Engagement at ground level fosters stewardship and commitment to place.
For Diablo Burger, their maxim is, “All About Local.” The Arizona foods-based burger joint on Heritage Square is spatially small—round, dressed in russet and ochre with tunes blasting—but it is big on mission. Founder and principal owner Derrick Widmark estimates that 90-percent of the products on the menu are locally sourced from within a 250-mile radius. This partnership includes farmers, ranchers, bakers, cheese-makers, brewers and vintners.
“The connections to producers are because of a personal and commensurate commitment to doing things with excellence,” he shared. “We honor and respect the people who brought these foods to our door.” This ethos of transparency he fosters with producers extends to what is put into our bodies. “We should ask: Where does this food come from? By asking that question, we learn about their intentions, priorities and values.”
It starts with the beef, according to Widmark. The New York-based communications specialist burned out and sought a greener life in a green place, landing in Flagstaff to join Diablo Trust as a communications coordinator. Established in 1993, Diablo Trust is one of the oldest collaborative management groups in the West. Founded by two ranching families—the Metzgers of Flying M and Prossers of Bar T Bar Ranches—the trust is dedicated to serving local, regional and national individuals, organizations, communities and businesses. Diablo Trust had received a National Stewardship Award, but their efforts weren’t known in the neighborhood. The wide appeal of a burger made an ideal platform.
Widmark’s job was to tell the trust’s story locally. “It wasn’t the impetus for Diablo Burger, but we tell a conservation story about the trust without proselytizing, increasing awareness of what Diablo Trust does as far as conservation and economy.”
Read more: Matters of Taste: Diablo Burger keeps it all localThe genesis for Diablo Burger was Widmark’s experience and a working model. Gary Nabhan, Northern Arizona University professor and McArthur Fellow for his work on food systems, connected the trust with Lava Land & Livestock, who introduced lamb to restaurants and grew appreciation for local products. After a conversation with Nabhan, Widmark conceived the idea for Diablo Burger in 2007, wrote a small business plan, presented the idea to Diablo Trust and sought investors.
“I’d never owned a business before,” Widmark said. People advised him about structure, “but at that point in my life, I was interested in doing things differently, not to be different, but to make a difference.” That local, sustainable model served as the guiding value for all the micro-decisions, which flowed from there.
As Widmark began the venture, Blake Spalding, a previous Flagstaff resident and caterer, and now, owner of Hell’s Backbone Grill & Farm in Utah, asked him a simple question, “Why are you doing this?”
Widmark’s spontaneous answer surprised even himself. “It’s an expression of my belief in the community.”
Diablo Burger opened in 2009 and proved viable that first year. Its investors became shareholders with 10-percent of the shares owned by the business, providing employee benefits, rewards and profit sharing, creating defacto shareholders.
“Flagstaff is a beacon in the Colorado Plateau, and I could see how Diablo Burger would fit, and Flagstaff would embrace it.” A strong relationship with the ranching community and landscape developed.
The beef is 100-percent grass-fed, open-range, antibiotic- and growth hormone-free. “This is landscape conservation you can taste,” he explained of the grassy northern Arizona flavor. “The focus is taste and remaining true to place…to enhance the connections between community and ecology through gastronomy.”
It’s no accident that the best-selling burger on the menu is The Blake with Hatch chili mayo, roasted green chilies and sharp cheddar. Each six-ounce patty is 95-percent lean and cooked medium rare to be pink and juicy, unless otherwise requested. The menu lists 10 burger choices and a blackboard special plus a custom-built Ziggy Stardust.
Burgers are served on a Breadworks English muffin—“db” branded into the bun—with seasonal fixings, tomato, pickle and frites.
The frites are ridiculously good Belgian-style fries, fresh cut and never frozen, double-fried in peanut oil and tossed in herbs de Provence seasoning. Eight sidekick sauces include coffee BBQ to sriracha mayo to house thousand island.
The Big Daddy Kane boasts the addition of bacon, sharp cheddar, sliced pickles with a slather of DB special sauce.
Pride of the barrio, The Cheech holds scratch holy guacamole, pepper jack and jalapenos. Uncle Dee’s grilled cheese is a triple treat of cheeses, spread with chimichurri and stacked with grilled tomato and green chilies with an optional fried egg. The Beaut veggie offers a textural, fiber-rich patty with options for cheeses, spreads and veg tailored for ultimate accessibility.
The DB salad of McClendon select organic seasonal greens is mixed with beets, tomatoes and blue cheese and dressed with house vinaigrette or ranch on the side.
Fifteen years on, the right place at the right time with the right fit was one of those rare moments for Diablo Burger. To sell the best beef the landscape has to offer is a cooperative venture that works well, and the focus remains true. “We just do one thing as well as we can do it.”
The challenges have evolved but Widmark meets the moments and meets community, finding it rewarding, “to be present with a measure of integrity.”
And he still reflects on that impromptu answer he gave as it all began. “It comes back to me. It’s kind of a love affair between Diablo Burger and Flagstaff—the leap of faith it took, and Flagstaff rewarded that faith.” AZDailySun
June 2013
Restaurateur Paul Moir has worked to bring both Brix and Criollo to the downtown scene. While these restaurants were not the first to provide haute cuisine to the Flagstaff market, they did create a deep bench of fine dining options and a sharper focus toward local and seasonal foods. Moir’s recipe for establishing a restaurant also lent a helping hand to the success of Diablo Burger. Moir is also expanding his range with three new establishments in Tucson’s downtown—including Diablo Burger’s second location.