WHITE CENTER, Wash — They may be puffy and light but fry bread actually has a dark history dating back to when Native Americans were put on reservations and given government rations for food.

"They gave them lard," said Debra LeComb of the S'klallam tribe. "They gave them salt. They gave them flour and yeast and fry bread is what they learned to do with it."

LeComb learned to make fry bread from her grandmother.

"We would make fry bread and she would make cowboy soup she called it, out of all the leftovers from the week and we'd have cowboy soup and fry bread every morning," she remembered with a smile.

Along with fry bread, Nacho Mama's Fry Bread Cafe offers a nacho dish (of course!) with two kids of cheeses. There's a Philly cheese steak on fry bread and native tacos.

"Every native tribe has a version of the native taco," LeComb said.

This is a story of hard work and long hours in the kitchen, but it's also a story about good fortune. When Los Angeles-based influencer Janie Devours told her 400-thousand followers about Nacho Mama's in November, business went up on an upswing. 

"Fry bread tastes like a savory doughnut to me," said Devours. "So this combo with the creamy egg and the fresh jam was a 10."

"And the next thing I know I'm getting blown up and my daughter's calling me up 'Mom, you're famous' and I've been super busy ever since," LeComb said.

Her tables really are full, busy with customers getting a taste of life on the rez. 

"I want them to feel at home," said LeComb. "I want them to feel comfortable. I want them to feel the love that's in the food."

Nacho Mama's Fry Bread Cafe is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 p.m. to 8 p.m.

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