D I N I N G
Fresh food and flavors at Okie Pokie.
Flavor Central Tons of tastes come together at The Collective BY G R E G H O R T O N P H O T O S BY L E X I H O E B I N G
TH E COLLECTI V E FOOD H A LL opened in July 2019 with a mix of local and Texas-based concepts. A full bar with patio and rooftop seating rounded out what promised to be a successful experiment as OKC’s first proper food hall. 100
AUGUST 2022
“There was a huge learning curve when we first opened,” said Krystal Pacheco. She and her husband Ruben own The Fried Taco — one of the original concepts — and pizza option Mozz & Mari’s. “We just weren’t prepared for the volume. We were lucky we had great people with a ton of industry experience to help us as we refined processes.” The Pachecos started in a food truck in 2016, and this year they opened an Edmond location, and it’s full-service. “Now that we have a full-service restaurant, I’m realizing how amazing it is not to have to deal with front of house at The Collective,” Pacheco said. “It takes at least double the number of staff we’ve needed up to now.” The business model behind The Collective was and is pretty straightforward: Concepts
provide their own food from a leased kitchen outfitted by Collective owners — except for specialty equipment — and each concept benefits from the common bar, seating, patio and beverage area. “We’re really trying to get back to what we were when it all started,” said operating partner-DOO Sarah Zubair. “The goal is be as much of an incubator as possible, and to facilitate that, we tailor the kitchens to suit the concepts’ needs. We take care of things like hood vent cleaning, grease disposal — everything that would normally accompany building ownership for a restaurant.” Ideally, that allows owners to focus on their food and customer service. The Fried Taco has been a definite success story, given that its business grew enough to warrant a second location, and Chef Vuong Nguyen’s Cafe de L’asie “graduated” to a brick-and-mortar version in the Century Center. The appeal of The Fried Taco is in the name; it’s a fried taco. Anyone familiar with tacos dorados de papas — the fried mashed-potato tacos famous in Mexican cuisine — already understands how irresistible a fried tortilla wrapped around taco fillings can be. Finding a combination of concepts that works, where one concept doesn’t compete directly cuisine-wise with a neighbor, is not necessarily an easy task. Slow food also doesn’t work great in the context of a food hall. A group of friends needs all their food to arrive at close to the same time, especially if they have plans afterward. Plus, a food hall needs to offer options unique enough to pull people in the door in the first place. That last bit is what The Collective has nailed, and why it’s now one of the best destinations in the city for local food. Edie Ngwese moved to Dallas from his native Cameroon in 2008. He had a master’s in cultural anthropology, and while in Texas, he completed his nursing degree. He’s not a chef by training, but anyone tasting the fare at Edie’s Grill will believe a chef is behind it. The West African grill specializes in smoked meats, jollof, ribs and plantains. The focus on smoked meats means that the “slow” process is complete before lunch service even
