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The massive warehouse that a group calling itself Tribal Roots just took over south of Kellogg is more than just the new permanent home of the popular Kind Kravings vegan food trolley.
It’s also a burgeoning event venue that its founders hope can lead to the establishment of a south-side arts district.
The 11,000-square-foot warehouse next to Hephner TV at 707 S. Washington has, over the past couple of months, become a hub for food, art, music and expression as it’s been filled with First Friday events, a vegan pop-up market, even a music video shoot.
Shea West and Rochelle Collins, the owners of Kind Kravings vegan food trolley, recently partnered with some other artist friends to take over the warehouse, which over the past 100 years has been home to a lumber yard, a flea market and a medical supply business.
The partners, who call themselves Tribal Roots, share the space and are basing their individual businesses out of it. But already, they’ve staged several high-profile events there.
“We have all kind of plans for it,” West said. “We don’t know what direction we’re going to go in. It’s just kind of growing organically based on a lot of art concepts.”
The cavernous space is a blank slate, with concrete floors and an exposed beam ceiling, and it’s an ideal space for various vendors to set up booths, like at the Vegan Pop-Up Market, West said.
West and Collins also are now parking their food trolley, which they were previously setting up at the ICT Pop Up Urban Park on Douglas, there permanently, and the warehouse has a garage door on the north side that can be lifted so that diners can go inside and sit under cover while they eat.
The couple plans to keep opening the trolley there for brunch from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through the end of December.
They’ll also serve dinner during First Fridays events, which they plan to continue putting on year round. The space is not conventionally heated but has a wood-powered furnace that takes some of the chill out of the air on winter days.
At the November First Friday, West said, the warehouse hosted 12 artists with booths and two live artists. There was also food and music, and the atmosphere was family friendly. The next First Friday event will be from 7 to 11 p.m. on Dec. 6 and will feature a local DJ showcase.
The owners are still trying to decide what other type of events to put on in the space but are open to markets based around sustainable products.
One goal, though, is to make the area just south of Kellogg a place where people think to go to enjoy art.
“We want it to become a destination for everyone in town on First Fridays,” West said.
Denise Neil has covered restaurants and entertainment since 1997. Her Dining with Denise Facebook page is the go-to place for diners to get information about local restaurants. She’s a regular judge at local food competitions and speaks to groups all over Wichita about dining.
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