TAHLEQUAH – Cherokee Nation citizens William and Annette Luethje own and operate Frybread Factory, a popular food truck that sells frybread specialties.
Inspired by his mom who made and sold Indian tacos at powwows and festivals, William decided to open a small business doing the same thing.
Frybread consists of frying kneaded dough in grease until it is fluffy and golden brown. Frybread Factory serves several items using frybread as the base item.
While Frybread Factory initially operated out of a canopy, only selling Indian tacos and frybread, it has since grown to a food truck and with a menu full of frybread items.
“We call our Indian taco a Cherokee Taco. Then we got a Southwest Taco. Here recently we’ve added different sizes of taco that you can get – a small or a regular-sized one,” William said.
The Cherokee Taco consists of an eight-inch by eight-inch piece of frybread topped with slow-cooked pinto beans, seasoned ground beef, fresh lettuce, diced tomatoes and shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
In addition to the tacos, Frybread Factory also serves meat pies, known as pockets, fried pies, Cherokee Sweets and keto and vegetarian options.
The Cherokee Taco consists of an eight-inch by eight-inch piece of frybread topped with slow cooked pinto beans, seasoned ground beef, fresh lettuce, diced tomatoes and shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
“We cut the bread up into slices like a pizza, so you can easily dip them. We do bean juice, which everybody loves. That’s our popular thing. And honey, of course,” he said.
Another popular item, inspired by the television show “Reservation Dogs” is the “Flaming Flamer Taco,” which has all the ingredients of a Cherokee Taco with the addition of hot Dorito crumbs.
The “Flaming Flamer Taco” is topped with ground beef, pinto beans, lettuce, cheese and hot Dorito crumbs. It was inspired by the “Reservations Dogs” television show.
“We’ve served on the ‘Reservation Dogs’ (set) twice. This is all because of Sterlin Harjo,” William said. “We just thought it would be neat to do a taco with these chips on there and then call it the Flaming Flamer like on ‘Reservation Dogs.’ I messaged Sterlin and asked him if we could use that name.”
In addition to catering on the set of ‘Reservation Dogs,’ William said his food trailer will serve as set dressing for an upcoming Sterlin Harjo show featuring Ethan Hawke called “The Lowdown,” where they also catered to cast members.
In 2023, they became a Cherokee Tribal Employment Rights Office vendor (TERO), which has really helped their business expand to new locations and gain business from the tribe.
Cherokee Sweets on the Frybread Factory menu consist of a piece of frybread cut into pieces with a dipping sauce such as honey or bean juice.
“We have received contracts through the Nation for dinners and the Native Games,” he said. “There’s one thing that we did get to do that was probably at the top of our things that we have done. We got to serve at the chief’s inauguration (in 2023). They called us and wanted us to do the frybread. That was the biggest honor we’ve had to date, because not everybody gets to do that. That was 2,500 (pieces of) frybread.”
Frybread Factory has accumulated a committed clientele, nearly selling them out of food every time they set up.
“We’ve really been blessed with having the best customers. Every year it’s grown,” William said. “It’s really this town of Tahlequah and just northeast Oklahoma. They’ve really embraced us and showed us a lot of love over the years.”
William said he could not do what he does without the support of friends and family who step in to help from time to time.
“All of this started way back when I was a kid because of my mom,” he said. “Everybody’s contributed to us making it as a small business. That’s where everything starts, with your family. I would be wrong if I didn’t include them in our success because they’re one of the driving factors.”
Frybread Factory information can be found on Facebook at Frybread Factory, LLC.
