Catch Santa Fe Poke bringing "sushi in a bowl" to town

May 16—Restaurant couple Rich Becker and Dakota Weiss plan to open a midtown poke establishment called Catch Santa Fe Poke in mid- to late summer.

They hope to have a lease signed in the next month or two and potentially open a month or so later, said Becker, not disclosing the location at this time.

In the meantime, they will give a sneak peak and taste of their Catch Santa Fe Poke "sushi in a bowl" — as Becker likes to describe the poke concept — as a pop-up Friday and Saturday at the Chomp food hall, 505 Cerrillos Road. Catch Santa Fe Poke will be at Chomp from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday.

"This town needs and wants something different, something new," Becker said.

Weiss is executive chef at Coyote Cafe & Cantina, a position she will retain, and Becker recently was general manager at Izanami. They met at Sweetfin, a 14-location poke chain based in Santa Monica, Calif., where Weiss was executive chef and part owner since it opened in 2015 until selling her share earlier this year, and Becker was general manager until arriving in Santa Fe in July 2021.

"It's more my thing," Becker said about Catch Santa Fe Poke. "It's her recipes, but she's staying with Coyote."

Poke is a Hawaiian bowl with raw fish, vegetables plus rice and sauces. Catch will have four choices at Chomp, each costing $15, with 5 percent of sales donated to the American Red Cross to assist fire victims, Becker said.