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Stokes Poké are Bringing Hawaiian Zest to Denverites

Stokes Poké are Bringing Hawaiian Zest to Denverites

Stokes

As Denver bars and restaurants have immediately shifted their serving practices to take-out- and delivery-only due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a surge of closures have followed. The entire city, from service industry employees to small business owners focused on service, are forced to sit back and wait. However, many are now wondering, how long can we wait?

With so much unknown, and updates changing on a daily basis as to where the future of the service industry is headed, there is one form of food service that stands apart: food trucks. As they thrive on a to-go and take-away style of dining, the casual benefit of the mobile food delivery system is now the essence of food acquisition.

Luckily for queer-owned, Hawaiian truck Stokes Poké, they are still holding on and continue to serve up their same great flavors in a safe and reliable form.

“Our food truck business has ramped up tenfold from how we were a week ago,” said Will Cook, Stokes Poké founder and chef. He explained the business, that once provided large, group catering services and served at pop-up spots has immediately shifted their focus to the food-truck-only model.

No longer able to go to the masses and meet customers where they are, Stokes Poké have permanently set up their beach-inspired, 1978 Volkswagen bus at 2748 Walnut St. Offering carryout bowls of their signature variety, from tamari-marinated ahi tuna and Hawaiian BBQ chicken to tofu tossed in spicy mayo, the island treat brought to the landlocked state hasn’t lost any of its allure amid all the chaos.

Possibly best known for their incorporation of the traditional Hawaiian delicacy, Spam Musubi (grilled Spam on top of a bed of rice, wrapped in nori), as well as the creamy, homestyle Hawaiian macaroni salad, the sides have garnered the attention of University of Denver andmany Denver-based, large, coworking spaces.

Poké has been trending for some time across the country, with its fusion of raw seafood served in a much-easier-to-eat delivery system. Bringing fresh and healthy options alongside speedy service and convenience, Stokes Poké fit right into the culture of Colorado. That is, until everything closed.

Related article: Third Culture Bakery are Still Open for Mochi Muffins

“I mean, literally, I can’t believe that an entire industry changed overnight,” Cook said.

It’s true. The way that Coloradans were allowed to dine completely changed overnight, which then meant that the entire food service industry had to close their doors or change models. For Cook, this wasn’t the first time he had to switch gears and think on his feet.

“I started working with food after I left nursing; I was an LPN. I was doing hospice, working with the dying in long-term care. It was really stressful, and it was really depressing, so I went back to school for Hospitality Tourism,” Cook explained.

Living in California at the time, Cook’s friend Libby was moving to Colorado to start a food truck concept. He joined, moving to Denver and opening up the successful truck Chicken Rebel. After working together for a couple years, Cook was at a food truck pod and noticed another truck had a for-sale sign on it.

“My boss, Libby, expressed that she wanted to buy it. And at first, she called around to some friends to see if they all wanted to invest some capital to go in together because she didn’t have enough money to buy it by herself. And I said, ‘Well, what if I could come up with money?’

“I think she thought I was joking, but I was just so serious. I don’t really know why,” Cook explained.

Cook quickly made some phone calls to friends asking them to pitch in whatever they could if they believed in him and this opportunity. He had come up with $5,000, just enough to put down on the truck.

After coming up with his own concept, poké bowls, Cook opened up shop in the middle of winter 2018 and began selling the fresh meals out of the 1978 Volkswagen bus. Working solo with a space heater and a goal of just trying to keep the business alive, Cook brought in a business partner, and he said it was the best thing he could have ever done. With the help of Alejandro Flores-Munoz, Stokes Poké closed out the 2019 fiscal year with a quarter-million dollars in sales.

After a successful first year, Cook and Flores-Munoz have looked at expanding their business in 2020 and reaching outside the Colorado market. Same great flavors, same food truck and catering concept, new ventures. That was, until coronavirus began to spread like wildfire before spring had even begun. Now, it’s a matter of sustaining the business long enough to see the world shift out of social distancing and mandated quarantine.

“Owning a restaurant in this time, you either had to evolve or you lose it,” Cook explained just days after the city of Denver executed the public health order limiting public gatherings to 10 people or less.

With pop-up events off the calendar and catering events considered non-essential services, the walk-up and delivery-only food truck option is the only legal option Stokes Poké has to survive the pandemic.

“We experienced basically 100 percent loss of sales in, I think, a week. We lost everything, and we don’t have any new orders. So, everything changed,” Cook said. “Just last Thursday, everything fell off a cliff. And then, by Monday, it just hadn’t gotten any better, and it seems it’s not going to be on any better trajectory.”

In addition to the radically instantaneous impact in sales, Cook also noted that folks hoarding items at home due to the city-wide lock down has severely limited the inventory of the Hawaiian-style cuisine business.

Related article: Can Queer Spaces Survive the Coronavirus? An Industry, Dismantled

“Another problem with keeping the business alive during this time is the availability of products. We haven’t been able to keep rice in our kitchen, which is our main ingredient. We can’t keep the ingredients; we can’t keep the employees because of the quarantine, and then the government shuts down the kitchen. I mean, we were getting hit from every angle,” Cook explained.

Cook thanks his business partner, Flores-Munoz, for sticking through it with him during this tough time, as they are both riding the wave of uncertainty together. As for Stokes Poké, and many other small businesses focused on food service and community, it’s too soon to tell what the future holds. All Cook knows is that they will keep fighting as long as they are able.

“I mean, there were some days I woke up, and I was like, ‘Well, this is just it; I’m gonna lose my business,’” Cook said, nearing tears. “But then it was like, ‘Let’s try; let’s fight.’”

Photos by Heather Smith

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