{"id":14116,"date":"2026-01-06T01:12:30","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T08:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/after-years-of-planning-nuchu-market-opens-in-towaoc\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:44:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:44:02","slug":"after-years-of-planning-nuchu-market-opens-in-towaoc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/after-years-of-planning-nuchu-market-opens-in-towaoc\/","title":{"rendered":"After years of planning, Nuchu Market opens in Towaoc"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ute
Ute Mountain Ute elder Floyd Morris cuts the ribbon at Nuchu Market\u2019s grand opening Monday. Ute Mountain Ute Councilwoman Marilynn House (second right), Nuchu Market general manager Chad Pearce (third right) and Councilman Alston Turtle looked on after each speaking about completing the grocery store. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

What was formerly Woody\u2019s along U.S. Highway 160\/491 has been retrofitted into a grocery store after extensive renovations, including air duct repairs and interior reworking to extend the building\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

After more than a decade of plans and funding lapses, Towaoc has a community grocery store decorated with tribal photos and art, from Russell Lopez\u2019s 40-year-old painting to the Ute Mountain Ute insignia.<\/p>\n

Nuchu Market opened at 158 U.S. Highway 160\/491 and is stocked with essentials such as eggs, diapers and more to serve a tribal community long considered a rural food desert.<\/p>\n

\"Community
Community members gather outside Nuchu Market along U.S. Highway 160\/491 during the store\u2019s grand opening. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Fresh
Fresh produce is displayed near the center of Nuchu Market. (Anna Watson)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Shoppers
Shoppers browse aisles inside Nuchu Market, which stocks canned goods, dry foods and refrigerated items. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The store will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.<\/p>\n

The grand opening marks what Ute Mountain Ute tribal leaders and economic development officials describe as just the start. While shelves are stocked with staples \u2013 fruits, breads, condiments, drinks and canned goods \u2013 the long-term vision for Nuchu Market goes beyond the traditional store model.<\/p>\n

Beth Cascaddan, director of the tribe\u2019s economic development department, said the goal has been to include tribal businesses through local food-sourcing practices.<\/p>\n

\"Interior
Interior view of Nuchu Market is decorated for opening day, with Russell Lopez\u2019s 40-year-old painting hanging above. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThis creates socioeconomic benefits and employment, as well as lowers food cost,\u201d Cascaddan said. \u201cIt brings a sense of pride and accomplishment.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said Nuchu Market is partnering with the tribe\u2019s Farm & Ranch program to source corn, wheat and alfalfa, and with the tribe\u2019s Bow & Arrow cattle operations. Sourcing meat locally is a major component of its future model, allowing the tribe to control quality and pricing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll know where it\u2019s from. We know it\u2019s from healthy animals, and it\u2019ll be hopefully cheaper than anything we can buy from third parties. We want to have a niche in the Montezuma area for more affordable meat that people can buy instead of how high prices have been,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Towaoc\u2019s food bank also plans to purchase from Nuchu Market at a good price, adding another local connection.<\/p>\n

Reaching this point took years of effort, with shifting plans and funding challenges. While the idea of a grocery store in Towaoc dates back more than a decade, Cascaddan said meaningful progress happened only recently, making the opening especially significant for residents who have heard about the project for so long.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a celebration,\u201d Cascaddan added. \u201cI feel very blessed we\u2019re able to get it up and going. It would have been a lot quicker had we not lost some of this funding. But we\u2019ve actually just started changing the pace on how we\u2019re going to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Years ago, she said, a significant financial setback involved an outside firm hired during the early planning stages. According to Cascaddan, the tribe hired a firm to handle design and engineering for the project, but that firm \u201cgot away with $1.8 million\u201d while providing \u201cdeliverables that were not usable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cascaddan said her department eventually reached out to multiple foundations, receiving more than $260,000 from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority and another $100,000 from Colorado Trust to make the store happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got another $10,000 for groceries, and we have some workforce development funds that we\u2019re able to train people with. So on a very minimal budget, less than $400,000,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Tribal leaders mark opening with speeches<\/div>\n

The grand opening unfolded Monday with a prayer, speeches and a ribbon-cutting led by tribal council members and attended by the public.<\/p>\n

Former Ute Mountain Ute Councilman Darwin Whiteman Jr. opened the event with a prayer and reflection on the long path to completion.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack in time, the ideas came about and were put in motion. God the creator makes things happen for us. We just leave it to God the creator \u2026 With that, thank you to all the people involved, and now it\u2019s just a steppingstone on the behalf of the people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Former
Former Ute Mountain Ute Councilman Darwin Whiteman Jr. speaks during the grand opening ceremony for Nuchu Market. Second from the right and on includes tribal leadership: Councilman Conrad Jacket, Councilwomen Marilynn House and Tawnie Knight, Councilman Alston Turtle, as well as tribal Economic Development director Beth Cascaddan. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Ute Mountain Ute Councilman and Treasurer Conrad Jacket emphasized the significance of the project for both the tribe and the surrounding region.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a blessing. With this administration, we said, \u2018Let\u2019s make this happen.\u2019 We had to think first, how can we make this work. Our people want to see this, they want to see results,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He closed by encouraging community members to spread the word and \u201ctell everyone to stop by.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ute Mountain Ute Councilwoman Tawnie Knight spoke to the importance of ownership and persistence.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Councilman Jacket said, there were barriers, so I want to say it\u2019s our own store, Ute Market, Nuchu Market, it\u2019s for our people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Councilman Alston Turtle thanked staff and addressed concerns raised during the long development process, encouraging communication rather than division.<\/p>\n

He also acknowledged the work done to bring the project to completion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to thank Beth. Really, the store\u2019s face-lift happened many times. We have to appreciate what we have,\u201d Turtle said.<\/p>\n

Ute Mountain Ute elder Floyd Morris was invited to cut the ribbon in recognition of his consistent presence at community events.<\/p>\n

Cascaddan spoke during the ribbon-cutting as well, crediting the multiple grants and partnerships that made the store possible, including CHFA and Colorado Trust funds, support from other foundations, workforce development assistance and help from Region 9 Economic Development District.<\/p>\n

\"Elder
Elder Floyd Morris cuts the ribbon while everyone claps.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sonya
Sonya Cuthair checks out at the register inside Nuchu Market during the store\u2019s opening day. Cuthair, in charge of visual communications for the tribe, designed the store logo. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

grocery aims to address food access, affordability and local sourcing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-14116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14116"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19336,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14116\/revisions\/19336"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14116"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=14116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}