(Press Release)
DURANGO, CO—Patrons of the Ska Brewing Tasting Room, located at Ska’s World Headquarters building in Bodo Park, will soon have a new menu to consider while sampling Ska’s craft beer fresh from the source. The Container Restaurant, made from two repurposed shipping containers, is scheduled to open August 5. The restaurant will feature a year-round menu–with food made from scratch and many ingredients sourced locally or in-state—to complement and enhance the beer tasting experience.
Matt Vincent, Ska co-founder and Vice-President, has had his eye on using shipping containers since before the World Headquarters was built in 2008. “Maybe because our old location had such limited space, we were always fascinated with the idea of creating more usable space with shipping containers,” said Vincent. “The idea of being able to repurpose things fits with our focus on sustainability. We already have solar tubes to light the warehouse, recycled denim for insulation, former bowling lanes for tables… creating a restaurant space by repurposing shipping containers was another way to reduce our footprint. And it’ll look badass.”
The restaurant also represents the evolution of eating at Ska Brewing World Headquarters. In recent years, Zia Taqueria had operated out of an Airstream trailer in Ska’s beer garden during the warmer months, but Zia recently opened its own location in Bodo Park, and was no longer able to feed the brewery’s hungry customers on site. According to Ska President and co-founder Dave Thibodeau, the food void simply had to be filled. “Our customers are here sampling world-class beers, and food has to be part of that experience.”
The food is made from scratch, and as many of the ingredients as possible are sourced from the local region and state according to Chef Jeremy Storm, The Container’s Manager and Head Chef. “With The Container I have the chance to do things the way I think they should be done: fresh, local as possible, and from scratch. Not only that, but I get to create a menu that complements and draws from these amazing beers.”
Storm has followed food for most of his life, from a dishwashing job at 13 to formal training at the Culinary Institute of America in his twenties, followed by a seven year stint as a chef in Washington, D.C., and several years as an instructor at the New England Culinary Institute. Eventually, Storm followed food all the way to Alaska, where he worked on commercial fishing boats and guided multi-day river trips on the famous Copper River—deepening his understanding of people and the food on which we depend.
The menu features several items made with Ska beer, including a sandwich made with Sunnyside Farms pork shoulder and Steel Toe Stout barbecue sauce, and a Steel Toe Stout brownie. The restaurant’s local, house-ground beef—finished on spent grain from the brewery—highlights the rewards of cooperation between local food producers.
The restaurant will also serve hand-crafted pizzas from a brick pizza oven, along with sandwiches, soups and salads, appetizers, sweets and kids options.