Stars Are Born at HELLOFOOD, Meow Wolf's Rest Stop for Weary Space Travelers

Amid the magical chaos that is Meow Wolf Denver's Convergence Station, the immersive art experience at 1338 First Street, visitors have taken interest in an unexpected place: the cafe and its well-curated offerings. Called HELLOFOOD, the cafe sticks out from the vibrant interplanetary play palace around it with its pastel-yellow walls. Its name, capitalized, smushed together and otherwise grammatically incorrect, flows off the tongue like peanut butter.

"We're run by aliens that took a fifteen-minute course of humans and kind of made some assumptions," Aaron VandenBroeke, HELLOFOOD's food and beverage manager, says only half-jokingly. However, in the grand scheme of Convergence Station's 90,000 square feet and more than seventy quantum-travel-themed immersive installations, HELLOFOOD serves an important role.

"It was supposed to be like a palate cleanser. ... This is supposed to be the part of the exhibit-slash-narrative that isn't screaming at you," VandenBroeke adds. While the interior design is toned down compared to the nearby art installations, the food and drink share the same cosmic feel.
With menu items coming from over forty Colorado-based vendors, HELLOFOOD offers a wide selection. VandenBroeke and others on the food and beverage team have had the unique opportunity to craft the HELLOFOOD menu since Meow Wolf Denver's opening last September, often looking for vendors that are LGBTQ-, women- or minority-owned. "We had a pretty strict criteria — you know, a lot of the B Corp criteria," he adds. (Meow Wolf is also a B Corporation, meaning it meets high standards of inclusivity, environmental impact and other areas.)

Through the process of curation, HELLOFOOD has managed to build enduring partnerships with many of the vendors that have proved mutually beneficial to its network of creative innovators in the local food and drink scene.

"I don't think that Meow Wolf will be the only inclusive, transparent place for people to work. I think there are many. I just think that for people who want to move up in the industry, it could be tough. Some operate in very much in a good old boys' club still, and it's hard to break through that," VandenBroeke notes. "The magic that Meow Wolf creates in the art industry and the immersion category, it very much also touches the food and beverage area. ... If there's an art, it's through the food. If there's an immersion, it's through the food. I just feel the story of Meow Wolf affecting the community that they're in is very much alive here," he concludes, gesturing to HELLOFOOD's walls.

Here are some of the HELLOFOOD vendors that are shining brightly in the Meow Wolf multiverse:
Combi Taco
Alejandro Flores-Muñoz, who sells three flavors of his aguas frescas at HELLOFOOD, opened a brick-and-mortar location called Combi Cafe at 8012 West Long Drive in Littleton this February. HELLOFOOD provided, "not only consistent income selling my aguas frescas, but I was also able to model my cafe structure in a similar fashion," Flores-Muñoz says.

Flores-Muñoz also tries to hire minority and LGBTQ-owned and local vendors for his own cafe now. Business structures like Meow Wolf and the new Combi Cafe ensure that marginalized businesses are being highlighted, helping to build generational wealth among those communities, he adds.

At Combi, which he calls a "contemporary Mexican cafe," Flores-Muñoz gives classic Mexican flavors a new twist with items like horchata lattes and concha bread French toast alongside tamales, breakfast burritos and — of course — tacos. "Being Mexican, I'm surrounded by these flavors all the time, and being able to experiment and incorporate them is very cool."

Osage Cafe
This nonprofit cafe, which provides training and internships for at-risk and other youth, supplies a number of grab-and-go items at HELLOFOOD. Founded by the Denver Housing Authority (DHA), it's also got expansion plans. "Through our partnerships with Meow Wolf and other vendors, we've outgrown our space," says Lori Laurita, operations manager for social enterprises within DHA.

The new Osage Cafe will be just a half block from the current one at 1035 Osage Street and will open in late spring or early summer. The current location will transform into Osage Cafe Kitchen, a training ground for the youth going through Osage's internships. "That's where all of our learning will happen, and the restaurant will be our bread and butter. ... We work with individuals in all walks of life, and we're here to be taught as well," Laurita says.

As part of Osage's training, students make the grab-and-go items sold at HELLOFOOD, prepare items for other vendors, and work in front-of-house or wholesale roles. The team behind Osage also opened Decatur Fresh Market last year, providing affordable and culturally relevant grocery items to the Sun Valley neighborhood that Meow Wolf calls home.
Motherchip
HELLOFOOD employees Josh Porter and JR Mulroney partnered with Raquelita's Tortillas to create a series of brightly colored, distinctly flavored chips. The chips are available at HELLOFOOD, and the pair also plans to distribute the product through Shamrock Foods in the near future. "We're trying to nail down a par of what the demand will be," Porter says.

Customers should be warned, though: The chips — chili lime, salt, jalapeño ranch and barbecue — might not seem as they appear. "The colors don't necessarily match the flavor," Porter explains. "Kind of like that green ketchup in the ’90s. It's more natural, but still had that angle. ... It'll catch eyes, but is good for you."

Like Meow Wolf and HELLOFOOD, Motherchip will follow the B Corporation philosophy; Raquelita's is entirely wind-powered, and Porter and Mulroney are testing out different recyclable and compostable packaging options. "We want to have this be healthy enough. The using of Colorado farmers is amazing for us," Mulroney notes.

For the two partners, it's all about being able to "express ourselves through the untapped medium of corn chips. ... The stars have aligned on more than a few occasions through this process," Porter jokes. Motherchips are now being served with several items at HELLOFOOD, including sandwiches from Osage Cafe.

HELLOFOOD is located inside Meow Wolf Denver, at 1338 First Street, and is open only to guests with tickets to Convergence Station. For more information, visit meowwolf.com/visit/denver.