we were lucky to spend a saturday morning at city park farmers’ market getting to know jakke and whitney of two rootz tacos. not only do they make incredible and unique tacos, but they’re also really cool people. jakke and whitney own two rootz tacos in denver, colorado, a local taco joint they started in maui, hawaii, before bringing it to denver. though both were born in denver, they grew up all over the united states. they spent years working in hospitality, including at local denver favorites snooze and linger, and jakke also holds an mba in finance.
their business is rooted in a desire to make healthy food accessible. working in hospitality, they learned how the food system works and how difficult it can be to find clean, healthy food.
so why tacos? when they lived in maui, they farmed, and the local farmers’ market didn’t have a taco concept yet. they began cooking together and realized how much fun it was to share that experience while getting to know the people around them. they saw it as a way to get clean food from farmers to people, something there aren’t many avenues for.
speaking with jakke and whitney was so much fun because they’re so proud of the business they’ve worked hard to build together. making it in the food industry is challenging, especially with high costs, and they’ve shown how powerful it can be to grow a community around high-quality local food. they have a huge following in denver, with regulars who come back week after week at the city park farmers’ market on saturdays and the pearl street farmers’ market on sundays. it’s one thing to have good food; it’s another to have people who keep coming back! that’s something very special to them.
one of the most interesting things is that they use taro tortillas! the idea came about in hawaii, when they were doing the whole30 diet and growing a lot of taro (a root vegetable that grows underground and looks a bit like a potato). taro worked extremely well, so they made it part of their business.
they use local ingredients, including plenty from their own garden! they have a 40-by-40-foot garden in their front yard and plan what they grow around what the market needs. some of the many things they grow include cabbage, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, onions, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, dill, lettuce, cucumbers, squash, and melons. when you try their tacos, you can really taste the time and energy they put into fresh food!
some favorite menu items:
- smash burger taco - every single one of their tacos is incredible, and the star of the show to me is their smash burger taco, which includes colorado grassfed beef patty, cabbage slaw, special sauce, and pickles. i love smash burgers, i love pickles, i love tacos, and i had never experienced the special and creative combination of all 3.
- side of street corn - we could not stop eating the corn, nor could we stop talking about it, and i'm still thinking about it...
- seasonal limeade - whitney mixed their watermelon limeade with mango, and i've never had that flavor combination. both beautiful and refreshing!
as denver’s farmers’ markets wrap up for the season next month, jakke and whitney are planning to focus more on catering. they also just launched a new instagram! find them on instagram here: @tworootztacos