T-Box Concession serving up creative vegan food and meaningful dialogue

The recent resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement has inspired two Regina food truck owners to connect on an even deeper level with their community, using food, their openness and their contagious positive energy.

"It's lit a fire in me. It really has," said Thabo Mthembu, one of the brothers behind T-Box Concession. "And it's been exciting seeing people come forward and seeing people learn. We've had amazing conversations with people coming to the trailer."

Thabo and Tiro Mthembu hail from Maple Creek, Sask., and come by their passion for food and community honestly. Their mom, who still lives there, is a school principal at a nearby Hutterite colony. Every week, pre-pandemic, she would put on a big meal at her church, serving ingredients she grows on her acreage, or that were donated by the colony and other businesses. She only charged two dollars a plate. Their dad, who has moved back to his native South Africa, came to Saskatchewan as a refugee and worked as a baker at Co-op grocery stores for many years.

"Our whole family, we're all about having laughs and eating," Tiro said.

T-Box Concession specializes in what the brothers call vegan fusion street food. It's located on 15th Avenue, one block south of the General Hospital, in a back alley adjacent to the microbrewery Malty National. Tiro, who works at the brewery in the off-season, credits Malty National not only with supporting his vision, but also for developing the area into a community hub.

"You say 'our community' it's our family. I mean, literally, we've made this [neighbourhood] our home," he said. The two brothers live nearby.

They came up with the name T-Box Concession because their original concept was to be the food truck located at the Douglas Park disc golf course. There is some nostalgia for them. They grew up playing sports of all kinds: basketball, baseball (their logo is two baseball bats, making a "T"), volleyball

"It's sort of like a high school volleyball tournament concession stand in Maple Creek," said Tiro. "We're just chillin' and talkin' sports."

Tiro, the elder brother with the experience working in kitchens, went vegan first, alongside his wife. Their initial intention was to reduce their carbon footprint. Eventually his motivations grew to include animal welfare, fitness and health. Thabo then became vegan, too.

"I have to give my wife, Erica, a lot of credit," said Tiro. "I've cooked a lot of meat in my day and when we went vegan, she looked up a lot of vegan recipes and she fuelled my drive to get back into the kitchen. You have to rethink and deconstruct the ingredients in a different way."

It was Tiro, two years into his political science degree, who called up his brother to say they should launch a food truck.

They're now in their second season -- albeit one delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I'd say it's been therapeutic," Tiro said of reopening the business. "We watch Black murder porn every day in the morning, and we are frustrated. But when we come to work and get to engage and then also see that we're having meaningful dialogue with our neighbours, with our community ... let's have fun, let's eat and laugh, and that gives us healing."

• Read other Regina Bites pieces here

So, while they didn't open their business as a way to fight racism, Tiro and Thabo are most definitely using food as activism. What it means to be Black in Saskatchewan, though, was difficult for Tiro to articulate.

"I think it means to be isolated and vulnerable at times and feed into stereotypes. Being a Black youth, it was very difficult in rural communities. I think it's getting easier, especially in our urban centres, however I still know that kids in the Prairies suffer in trying to find their own Black identity. So it's difficult to speak on what it means to be Black in Saskatchewan. I'm 30 and I'm still trying to figure it out myself."

He stressed that this moment is not only about contemplating how to better support Black people.

"It's time for our white allies, us people of colour that have privilege in Saskatchewan, to take the reins and support our Indigenous brothers and sisters that have been far too long oppressed," he said.

"It's not one or the other," added Thabo. "We're all together in this."