Watecha Bowl returns as food truck
July 23, 2025
Watecha Bowl has returned to its roots as a food truck.
Lawrence West started the business in early 2020 selling Indian tacos, bison burgers and wojapi with fry bread outside his store that sold urban apparel, beadwork, star quilts and more on West Madison Street. West, an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, renovated the store into a restaurant the following year and eventually quit operating the food truck.
Earlier this year, West closed the restaurant and planned to reopen as Watecha Bowl Grille in Freeman, where he has owned a building for a few years. He operated The Whiskey House there in 2021 but closed it after a few months, realizing, he said, that it wasn’t feasible to be in two locations. Plans to renovate the building for Watecha Bowl Grille have been held up because it has been “deemed uninhabitable” by the city, he said.
“I still plan to go forward with the bar and casino,” he said, noting that he has sought legal help ahead of a public hearing next month.
In the meantime, West bought the former Big Orange Food Truck and made his return to the food truck scene last weekend at a powwow in Flandreau.
Thursday, Watecha Bowl will be selling food from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the parking lot of Ace Hardware in Tea.
The menu typically will include Indian tacos, a bison burger, wojapi and fry bread, loaded french fries, with items like hot dogs and chicken strips that will appeal to kids.
“It’s just me. I’m keeping it small and simple. I just want to focus on selling Indian tacos. That’s it.”
West said he plans to focus on events and catering with occasional pop-ups like the one in Tea.
“I’m trying to do it differently this time,” he said. Before, he was pursuing multiple locations, trying to franchise the concept and expand fry bread mix sales to grocery stores, and seeking a deal for a children’s book he wrote and published.
“If you’re only one person responsible for 17 irons in the fire, you get burned a lot,” West said. “I just had to take some time to be realistic and prioritize and figure out the actual value in my brand that had ultimately always been when I started.”
