Pueblo’s vegan and vegetarian food lovers can do a little happy dance knowing the Cutting Board is set to open for business in March at the Fuel & Iron Food Hall, featuring Pueblo’s only all plant-based menu.

“We have narrowed down our menu to accommodate the food hall. We’ve got a mix of sandwiches, a couple of healthy options, a couple of entrees, some pasta, and our version of the slopper, of course,” Hankins said, referring to Pueblo’s signature dish of a green-chile slathered open-faced burger complete with French fries.

The Cutting Board initially was slated to open at the food hall last April, but when owners Chad and Nako Hankins got the opportunity to launch their very own brick-and-mortar restaurant at 130 S. Union, they jumped at the chance. Now, nearly a year later, the building for the permanent site is still undergoing renovations, so the Cutting Board will be starting off in the food hall after all.

Hankins anticipates the restaurant should be open by March 20 at the food hall’s 400 S. Union Ave. location and “will be at the food hall at least a couple of months until our forever home is ready,” he explained.

“When you are renovating an old building, there are lots of moving parts we did not bargain for. The good news is it is just three blocks away, so it will be easier for the transition when it happens and we are in the home stretch,” Hankins said.

In the meantime, the couple has been making their signature vegan food for pop-up events at places like The Sacred Bean, The Ethos and at a booth in front of their planned brick-and-mortar during the Pueblo Chile & Frijoles Fest.

What is “kind of” surprising is the fact that Pueblo’s meat eaters also are finding joy in their culinary delights.

“For the events we’ve been doing, 80 to 90% of the turnout have been meat eaters,” Hankins said. “So we are getting a really good response from the carnivorous crowd.”

“We just make it accessible for everybody and we are not trying to convert people (to become vegan) we just make good, solid food that people enjoy. This is the food we are passionate about with quality ingredients and the feedback has been fantastic so far,” Hankins explained.

Offering employment to kids leaving foster care

The couple plans to provide employment opportunities at the restaurant, especially for those who need a leg up transitioning into the working world.

“We’ve got a pretty solid team (of employees) who have been working with us on events, so we’ve got them to draw on once we figure out what our staffing needs are going to be. We have been working with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) so we can do priority hiring for kids who are aging out of foster care,” Hankins explained.

The couple will focus on teaching soft skills for employment, from conflict resolution to effective communication. The skills can translate to any work environment.

“So even if they find they don’t have a passion for the restaurant business, they will have this good base of soft skills they can take out into the workforce with a little bit of a leg up. That is a tough enough age for anybody, so this is something we have done a lot with teams we’ve had before in other restaurants,” Hankins explained.

“We are super proud about that,” he said.

Hours at the food hall will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. To view a complete Cutting Board menu and more, visit the Cutting Board’s Facebook page.

More on the Cutting Board:Plant-based restaurant set to establish roots at Pueblo’s upcoming Fuel & Iron Food Hall

Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at [email protected] or via X, formerly Twitter, at twitter.com/tracywumps. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.