Prior to the pandemic, Whitton said, people gathered at the Friendship Centre to connect with their culture and to celebrate everything from Christmas to Hoobiyee, the Nisga’a New Year.
So, this spring, she decided to start running a takeout service every Friday, dishing out beef stew and bannock, salmon chowder and fry bread, and a dish Whitton calls “Indian nachos”: bite-sized fry bread covered in braised short rib beef, nacho cheese, salsa, chipotle aioli and fresh lettuce. Meal prices range from $8 to $10.
When Whitton posted about the takeout service on Facebook, the response was immediate: a long lineup down East Hastings Street on March 23, the first Friday her team tried out the idea.