Exactly a year after opening at American Eat Co., Coop by Cowpig is packing their bags and moving into a brick-and-mortar of their own.
Home to some of the best chicken tenders in town, Coop opened at the beloved south-side food hall on April 20, 2023. Coop closed up shop two weeks ago as they get ready to open their brick-and-mortar in the former home of The Low Down, 429 N. Fourth Ave., with a grand opening set for their 1-year anniversary: April 20.
"It was a really good opportunity for us. It was a dream come true to be on the avenue, the heart of Tucson," says owner Thomas Castro, who also credits his fiancee Sarah Castro for being part of Coop since day 1.
American Eat Co. patrons came to know and love the menu at Coop, which will stay mostly the same at the new brick-and-mortar: chicken tendies both spicy and not, chicken and waffles, chicken sandwiches and fries.
Coop is known for their delicious chicken tendies. The eatery has moved out of American Eat Co. and is moving into their own brick-and-mortar.
Castro also plans to include a double bacon cheeseburger on the menu, plus beer, cocktails and desserts like fried Oreos.
"Fried Oreos were an original thing we used to do on Cowpig," Castro says of the food truck his dad owns. "It means a lot to me to incorporate things we always wanted to do."
Sundays at Coop's brick-and-mortar will also have a twist: they'll be dubbed Sunday Supper, featuring a preset menu with prime rib and traditional fried chicken legs and thighs.
"Prime rib is a staple. My dad knows how to cook the best prime rib," Castro says.
His dad, Javier Castro, has worked in the food industry his whole life and is the man behind the very popular Cowpig food truck, which is a delicious ode to burgers and bacon.
"His career started in Las Vegas and he started washing dishes in the casino. He literally started from the bottom as a dishwasher," Castro says of his dad.
When his dad started a family, he decided to move out of Vegas and headed for Tucson. He got a job at the Starr Pass resort and then worked as a banquet chef at Casino del Sol for at least a decade. When the pandemic struck, Javier Castro purchased a food truck.
"I definitely ate a lot of good food growing up that my dad would cook," Castro says. "But I never thought that I was going to become a chef and run a restaurant."
That all changed when Castro got a job at McDonalds in high school. He fell in love with food service and started learning all the ins and outs of running a McDonalds franchise. Within four years, he worked his way up to department manager at the chain, eventually landing a job at a steakhouse.
"While it was slow when the summertime came around, that's when Cowpig was out and my dad needed help running it," he says. "I started helping out and I was just like, I love this."
Angel Bachelief, left, and Andrea Prieto prepare food orders at Coop at American Eat Co., 1439 S. Fourth Ave. Coop spun off of the popular food truck Cowpig.
Coop was a pivot from Cowpig, focusing on chicken tenders instead of burgers.
"The tenders came to life originally on the (Cowpig) food truck. It was when Cowpig first opened when we were still trying to create the menu. We know people love chicken tenders," Castro says. "Once we got the opportunity to open inside American Eats, that's when we were like, let's bring this straight chicken concept to life. That's when I got to dial in and perfect the recipe."
Both Coop and Cowpig use old cookbooks from Castro's grandma. When he was gearing up to open Coop, his dad had solidified a recipe for the base of the chicken tenders — and Castro started to make tweaks.
"It took me a lot of chicken ... like 500 pounds of chicken," he says. "It was through multiple weeks and I was doing a lot to figure it out."
He turned on old cooking shows, read through cookbooks, watched videos of Anthony Bourdain.
Coop serves chicken tenders, chicken sandwiches and chicken and waffles.
"Since I only do chicken, I wanted to perfect it. I took what a lot of other chicken restaurants do, but I realized what other chicken chains do is they'll have a specialty in one way but then they'll take shortcuts. I wanted to do it right."
Castro's go-to Coop order is a bunch of tendies and fries — a side of buffalo sauce is crucial.
"When people eat chicken elsewhere after they eat Coop, I want them to always think of Coop," Castro says. "Like, 'Man, this chicken doesn't compare to the one I had in Tucson at this place called Coop.'"
