CITY DECLARES MAIN STREET BUILDING DANGEROUS
Action means Watecha Bowl cannot open until issues are fixed
The future of a restaurant specializing in traditional Native American food that had been scheduled to open in downtown Freeman this summer remains in question following action by the Freeman City Council — acting as the Board of Appeals — last week.
Meeting Tuesday evening, Aug. 19, following a walk-through of the building located at 231 S. Main, the board voted unanimously to declare the structure “dangerous,” per a recommendation by the city’s building inspector, Joel Johnson. The action came with a list of repairs that must be completed before the building can be occupied.
For a detailed account of what that looks like, see the public notice on page 3B.
The property is owned by Josue “Sway” Torres, who operated a short-lived drinking establishment called “Doc’s Bar” out of the same Main Street property from the spring of 2019 through 2020.
The board’s Aug. 19 action is having a direct impact on Lawrence West, a Sioux Falls restaurant owner who in March announced new plans to bring his Watecha Bowl to Freeman after closing the location in South Dakota’s largest city. Not long after, a sign went up on the façade of the building featuring a caricaturized image of an Indian taco above the words, “Indian taco express.”
West — who was in Freeman last week for the walk-through and subsequent discussion and action — told the Sioux Falls Business Journal in March he planned to open the restaurant in Freeman in May.
But May came and went, and the city of Freeman — which grants or denies beer and liquor licenses — has had no request from West for a hearing since the city denied him a liquor license in 2021, when he was planning to open a new restaurant called The Whiskey House at the same location as the planned Watecha Bowl.
The Whiskey House never opened, although he briefly operated a casino in the back portion of the building in early October of 2021 before leaving town altogether.
City officials said they did not grant the request for a liquor license four years ago because all four available were spoken for. West then threatened to sue the city, although no lawsuit was ever filed.
But West has shared his grievances with the Mitchell Republic in a story written by Jennifer Leither and published on Aug. 22, where West said he believed this is personal.
“The problem is the mayor and City Hall doesn’t want to issue the permits properly,” he told the Republic. “The issue is that man there has a personal problem with this man right here and he wants to hinder good business.”
The Republic also reported the following:
“The chef has since returned to his roots — reviving the original Watecha Bowl food truck and focusing on catering and events throughout South Dakota. His menu — Indian tacos, wojapi, bison burgers, and fry bread — continues to draw fans. “But the fight for Freeman, West says, isn’t over.
“I’ve been paying taxes on this building for five years and can’t get it open,” he said. “I’ve got a couple hundred grand into this. Every turn I take, I hit a roadblock. I’m not going to stop now.”
