Inspired by the casual elegance of European cafes, the Kennebec offers a unique dining experience in an atmosphere of casual elegance, gracious hospitality and warm comfortable surroundings.  With gorgeous mountain scenery as the backdrop, your meal at the Kennebec is a special dining experience.  

The Kennebec prides itself in putting its own distinctive touch into the creation and preparation of each menu.  Offering a wide range of dining experiences, from fresh seafood, top quality meats housemade desserts, savory vegetarian selections and house made pasta, there is something to please all palates.  The Kennebec features a selection of seasonal specials and small plate menu items for lighter appetites.

True to the European café flavor, Chef/Owners Barbara Helmer and Miguel Carrillo are “hands-on” and available for their guests.  Customers are welcomed in the evening by Barbara, after spending her days baking her signature desserts, always enough for two and finish each meal with a flourish.  Miguel, the warm caring Chef, shows his love for food through the flavorful dishes he creates every night.

The ambitious and hospitable staff, many of whom have been with Barbara and Miguel since the restaurant opened, reflect the friendly atmosphere of The Kennebec.  Adding to the flavor are its regulars, those guests who have supported Barbara and Miguel’s efforts throughout the years.  And of course, all the new faces that come to experience that special and delicious time at the Kennebec!


Barbara Helmer:
It seems Barbara Helmer has always been baking or cooking or creating.  With a culinary career spanning over 30 years, Barbara Helmer has excited palates from Colorado to California.  Barbara is self-taught and it is her curiosity and love of food that has led her to explore different avenues in which to practice her art.  She embarked on this life-long career in her early 20’s.  She ran her own baking business in California, providing her delicious delicacies to local restaurants.  After California, she headed to the Colorado mountains and raised two children.  In 1981 she opened her own restaurant on Durango’s Main Street called the Upper Crust.  She sold that business after three years but maintained her catering clients.  She then “freelanced” baked for various fine restaurants in Durango, Colorado.  One of these establishments hired her for its own and she was employed at The Palace restaurant for 6 years (1985-1991) as its pastry chef and head chef for its busy lunch business.  During this time Barbara continued to serve her loyal catering clientele.  After taking a year off in 1991, Barbara determined to open her new business, Anything Goes Cuisine.  In order to finance her venture, she baked breads and desserts at Seasons, as upscale restaurant in Durango, Colorado, 1993 was the turning point.  Having built her catering client base, Barbara was able to dedicate herself full-time to Anything Goes Cuisine.  She is still President of Anything Goes Cuisine.  After seven successful years Barbara and Miguel opened The Kennebec Café and Bakery in March, 2000.  She continues to cater to her ever-increasing clientele in the Four Corners area and now her clients can enjoy their delicious food every night!

During its first year of operation, The Kennebec Café and Bakery was voted one of the top three fine dining establishments by the Four Corners Business Journal.

Miguel Carrillo:
Miguel hails from Mexico, where he grew up among a large family.  He remembers spending time in his grandfather's gardens and going to the market daily with his grandmother, where they picked up fresh produce.  He also recalls poking around her kitchen, telling her what foods he like and didn’t  - sometimes to her annoyance.  He later moved to America, and experienced trials of an immigrant in a foreign country where he didn’t speak the language.  He tried to obtain work as a carpenter, but when he realized he needed his own tools, he looked elsewhere and found a job washing dishes in a restaurant.  The chef, he recalls, fit the stereotype of the screaming task-master. Carrillo dutifully washed the dishes on his first day, and when he finished, nosed around the rest of the kitchen, checking out different stations.  That evening, the chef called Carrillo to his office, and Carrillo, convinced his first day would be his last, went.  But to his surprise, the chef asked if he would like to work in the kitchen.  He told the chef he had no experience with knives, and the chef agreed to teach him.  Thus began Carrillo’s career in restaurants.  He went on to work in five star restaurants in California, where he later met Barbara, and has since settled in Colorado, a place he loves for its friendly people.

Although The Kennebec offers Mediterranean-American cuisine, Miguel showcases his authentic Mexican food in addition to the regular menu on Tuesday nights.  Life running The Kennebec is busy, and although Miguel would enjoy spending more time outdoors, at the Grand Canyon or on rivers, playing or coaching soccer, he loves his work.  “If you do something nice, or something good, and a lot of people appreciate it, and tell you good job, it feels really good,” he said.  “I am glad I can cook food that makes people happy.”