Western Daughters Butcher Shoppe will maintain its shop in LoHi and launch a second location in North Denver – Western Daughters Kitchen – in CSU Spur’s new Hydro building when it opens on Jan. 6.
“We are focused on transparency in both sourcing ingredients and in our recipes, reflecting the transparency that the CSU Spur campus is heralding in with its programming,” said Kate Kavanaugh, founder of Western Daughters.
Western Daughters’ presence in the Hydro building will offer an opportunity to explore Colorado’s ecosystem and what it means to bring food from regenerative farms to table with an emphasis on looking at water inputs, sustainability, raising practices, impacts on health, and beyond. The café will flip from breakfast items and coffee in the morning, to healthy grab-and-go items for lunch, to drinks and happy hour offerings. All items will reflect the regenerative agriculture approach of the company.
“When we founded Western Daughters in 2013 it was with a mission to build a bridge between urban and rural communities by bringing in 100% grass-fed and grass-finished beef and lamb and pasture-raised pork and chicken from small local regenerative farms,” said Kavanaugh. “The National Western Complex historically embodied that connection between urban and rural, a bygone time when livestock meant for the food chain entered the city, strengthening our connection to our food, where it comes from, and the people who raise it.”
CSU Spur is a first-of-its-kind campus that is free and open to the public and meant to connect visitors to educational experiences and careers in food, water, and health. Western Daughters commitment to sustainable, regenerative agricultural practices made partnering with this local storefront a perfect fit for CSU Spur, said Jocelyn Hittle, associate vice chancellor of the Spur campus.
“Western Daughters’ commitment to educating and training is a critical part of their contribution to the Spur community. We are excited to welcome them as a partner engaged in all steps of the food journey,” Hittle said.
The final touches are being made in the new Western Daughters Kitchen in the CSU Spur Hydro building. Hydro and the Kitchen both open to the public following a ribbon cutting ceremony on Jan. 6.
Like CSU Spur, Western Daughters has proven commitment to outreach and inclusion efforts with its neighboring communities, and plans for local hiring, supporting local catering companies, offering paid externship opportunities, and offering complimentary workshops and training courses to local entrepreneurs.
Focus Points Family Resource Center, which operates in the local 80216 zip code in the Elyria-Swansea neighborhood, will connect people in its social enterprise offerings, such as Comal, with Western Daughters and CSU Spur.
“We are excited for our partners at CSU Spur on their new initiative with Western Daughters,” said Jules Kelty, executive director of Focus Points Family Resource Center. “Locally owned family businesses align with and support our mission. We hope this partnership expands opportunities for families and the GES community in the future.”
During the National Western Stock Show, Jan. 7-22, Western Daughters will operate at CSU Spur from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., daily. For the remainder of the year, the location will operate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
About Western Daughters
Western Daughters is a whole animal butcher shop specializing in 100% grass-fed and grass-finished beef and lamb and pasture raised pork and chicken. All its meat comes from within 200 miles of its doorstep and is antibiotic and hormone-free. Western Daughters believes in working closely with farmers and ranchers to support local ecosystems and economies alike – which is why fifty cents of every dollar spent at Western Daughters goes back to the rancher.
About CSU Spur
CSU Spur is a new, free educational year-round public life-long learning destination in Denver focused on engaging PreK-12 students, families, and visitors around food, water, and health. CSU Spur showcases the work of the CSU System campuses: CSU, CSU Pueblo, and CSU Global, and offers degree programs that originate from the campus offerings. Spur is built upon the land-grant mission of access to education and the belief that students can be anything they want to be. To inspire learners of all ages to engage in important world issues, CSU Spur brings together scientists to collaborate, puts science on-display, and showcases career paths. The CSU Spur campus provides immersive learning experiences and cutting-edge research across three buildings: Vida, Terra, and Hydro. Learn more at CSUSpur.org.
