Tocabe, a Native American restaurant with two locations in Denver, Colorado, is closing its Greenwood Village area restaurant and converting it into a fulfillment center for indigenous products and meals.
“We’ve already been using the restaurant as a fulfillment center a couple of days a week, and the kitchen is currently designed and set up for our purposes,” Ben Jacobs, co-founder of Tocabe, told SFA News Daily. “Rather than starting from scratch or utilizing a commissary, the space is already ours and perfect to convert into the home base for our Direct-to-Tribe Ready Meal Program and Indigenous Marketplace.”
Plans for the location include adding 1,000 square feet of refrigeration and freezer space, he said.
Tocabe recently launched the Direct-to-Tribe Ready Meal Program in partnership with Spirit Lake Nation and has been growing its Indigenous Marketplace since it began in 2021.
Jacobs, a member of the Osage Nation, said the Greenwood Village location had been performing well, which made the decision to convert it to a fulfillment center difficult.
“We were struggling with which direction to go, but the mission of Tocabe has always been to benefit Indian Country and native producers,” he said. “It's an amazing opportunity for us to expand on some of our other projects.”
The company is expanding direct-to-consumer sales with butcher boxes and packaged dry goods and is planning the launch of its Seed to Soul nonprofit operation later this year. The space conversion will allow Tocabe to quadruple its current production, Jacobs said.
“We’re going from two to three days of production a week to five full shifts and up to six or seven if needed,” he said. “The increase allows for more direct-to-consumer meals and the capacity to add more direct-to-tribe partners.”
The company already has a 2,500-square-foot warehouse for its Indigenous Marketplace dry goods. Still, the additional space from the converted restaurant will allow it to launch more direct-to-consumer initiatives such as the butcher boxes containing bison, fish and sausages, and family side dishes of wild rice and vegetables, Jacobs explained.
“Ultimately, the conversion allows us to grow our other programs, get more of our food into Indian Country and provide more support to the native farmers and producers that we directly source our ingredients from,” he said.
Jacobs said he and his business partner, co-founder Matthew Chandra, have been having conversations with other tribal communities about bringing in prepared meals through Tocabe’s Direct to Tribe Ready Meal Program, which has already provided more than 5,500 meals, Jacobs said.
Meals offered through the program include Bison Red Chili with roasted root vegetables, Lake Harvest Wild Rice Jambalaya, Wheatberry Pumpkin Risotto, Red Quinoa Grain Bowls, Blue Corn Mush with wojapi (a Northern Plains style berry jam), and Iko’s Green Chili Stew, which is a staple at the Tocabe restaurants and Jacobs’ personal favorite, he said.
Tocabe is also in the process of developing its own bison and elk sausage for its direct-to-consumer butcher boxes. Recipes that Tocabe has been working on include green chili, wild rice and blueberry, and persimmon and apricot.
The company is also expanding to provide shelf-stable items to more Native American communities, Jacobs said. Retail items currently available through the Indigenous Marketplace include sauces, rubs, grains, beans, and other products.
Tocabe currently promotes its retail offerings primarily through social media, but Jacobs said the company is looking to hire an in-house marketing specialist as part of its expansion.
The last day of business as a restaurant for Tocabe’s Greenwood Village location will be Saturday, May 27. The original Tocabe—An American Indian Eatery, with a menu focused on plates and bowls featuring indigenous ingredients, will continue to operate at its West Highlands location in the North Denver area.
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