It was the depth of winter, a slow season for the trucking and construction industries. Concrete contractor Brian Wilson, Jr, and trucking company owner Jeremiah Danforth had some time on their hands, and an itch for a new venture. Both members of the Oneida Nation, they had an idea: a laundromat on or near the reservation.
While scoping out a location, they came across a spot next to the Oneida Nation’s One-Stop at the corner of South Packerland Drive and Waube Street in Green Bay. It wasn’t quite right for a laundromat, but had a commercial kitchen … which gave them an idea.
The two sat down with Wilson’s partner Apache Danforth (no relation to Jeremiah) and her best friend Jamie Betters, also both members of the Oneida Nation. Apache Danforth is a public relations consultant and owns Good Words Travel, which arranges group tours of Indigenous cultural sites. Betters has worked in food sovereignty and food systems with the Oneida Nation for years.
“We literally just sat down at my kitchen table. We started brainstorming,” Apache Danforth said.
What came out of that brainstorm is Off the Trail, a brunch and lunch cafe with Indigenous-inpsired cuisine that will open tomorrow at 3120 S Packerland Drive in Green Bay.
“It’s breakfast and lunch. It’s gourmet sandwiches, wraps, soups, salads,” Apache Danforth said. “Fast food, good food, for families, for business people, people on the go.”
She said she wouldn’t characterize the menu as strictly Native American food, but everything they do will remain rooted in their heritage.
“Our white corn is going to be a staple in many of our products,” Apache Danforth said. “We recently put out a call for Indigenous producers (of) wild rice, white corn, maple syrup… We want to tell their stories.”
“Seed to plate is absolutely what we want to accomplish,” Betters said.
While the menu is geared toward diners on the go, they’ve also outfitted a comfortable dining room.
“You can grab and go, but you can also grab and hang out,’ Betters said. “We really wanted to make our dining room atmosphere just as it would be within our own homes.”
It’s also no coincidence that Off the Trail is opening just weeks before thousands of people descend on Green Bay for the NFL Draft.
Looking ahead, though, they plan to have a grand opening after the draft, and then ramp up programs and activities beyond serving brunch and lunch.
“We’re also going to be doing a lot of cooking workshops, food preservation workshops, canning workshops,” Betters said, allowing community members to use their 1,700-square-foot kitchen. They’ll also invite Native American chefs in for evening demonstrations and programs.
Off the Trail will open at 8 am Saturday and be open 7 am to 2 pm every day going forward.
