A new Native-owned restaurant officially opens in Old Town Scottsdale at noon Saturday, Aug. 31. The Frybread Lounge is taking traditional Indigenous ingredients and refining them into modern dishes in the heart of the West’s Most Western Town.
Darryl Montana is the head chef and a member of Tohono O’odham Nation. He returned to Arizona to lend his talents in helping launch this new eatery after leaving Owamni, an award-winning Indigenous restaurant in Minneapolis founded by Sean Sherman, an Oglala Lakota chef.
“I only use traditional meats, bison, elk, venison, quails, rabbits, ducks, turkeys,” Montana said. “We do not have any white granulated sugar in-house. We sweeten everything, either with agave or maple.”
His favorite item on the menu is the bison asada taco. But his Navajo boss, Denise Rosales, shared how “the bison ribeye is amazing.” She not only owns the new restaurant, but also the Native Art Market next door.
Despite not having any culinary experience before, Rosales expressed that she has always wanted to start her own food business, and apologized to those who came to their soft-open last Saturday.
Service was admittedly a bit slow, but she promised that her staff spent this entire week making improvements for guests ahead of the anticipated grand opening.
“I think what saved us that night was the food was incredible, and that’s what everybody raved about,” Rosales said. “So we’ll be better, give us a second chance. But I’m excited to open up the concept.”
