Jason Neal of Metal Chicken Kitchen in Mills Park on June 16.
Photo by Scott Neuffer.
In American mythos, the road evokes freedom. If one adds food to the equation, the dynamic changes. People stop, eat, congregate. But for certain people supplying food — the food truckers — a sense of freedom still characterizes their endeavor.
“Nobody but yourself to answer to,” Candace Sanders of Candy Burger said of being self-employed.
Sanders started the Candy Burger food truck a year ago with her partner and has since opened a brick-and-mortar café in the Richard Bryan Building on Stewart Street in Carson City. The progeny of restaurateurs (all the way back to her great grandfather), Sanders was ready to try something new.
“So my name being Candace and being born on Christmas and being called candy and candy cane, we thought Candy Burger was catchy,” Sanders said.
“Catchy” is a good word for food on the move. A quick scroll through Candy Burger’s Yelp page catches the attention. A candy-striped food trailer. A tall, teetering pastrami burger. Sanders said she creates food she loves, and she’s not alone. As of June 13, Carson City had 28 locally licensed food trucks, according to city officials. That number hit 39 when counting those from out of town licensed to do business in the city.
Rather than cutthroat competition — another American trope — a cooperative ecosystem has emerged among the food trucks.
“So we all have a group text,” said Billy Lavelle of The Bus Boy. “And that’s all we do. If I’m booked for something and I get somebody requesting, I send out the flyer to all the other food trucks.”
How many food truck operators are in this text chain?
“It’s getting bigger every week,” said Lavelle. “I would say about 25.”
Having opened in 2019 with a Leyland Olympian double-decker British Bus (now using a trailer as the bus is repaired), Lavelle coordinates with other food trucks and offers advice for those starting out.
Eclectic Americana is his brand. Chili, hot dogs, chicken salad croissant sandwiches. Concerts, sporting events, state offices and farmers markets are some of his venues. And he’s developed his own economics: how many people are needed at an event to make it worth the setup and teardown. He said he will support a new event if it’s promising.
“My rule of thumb is 300 people per truck,” Lavelle said. “You’re not going to get 300 people that I’m serving to, but out of that, if I get 25 percent, I can handle that, no problem. And that’s enough to make it worthwhile for me to go do the event. Because there is a basic cost that gets me through the day and then becomes profit after a certain amount.”
License and registration, please
Despite their mobility, food trucks must be licensed by the state and city. Lavelle pointed out the term “roach coach” came from bad operators. Unlicensed food trucks hurt the industry and pose a health risk, he maintained.
What does someone in Carson City have to do to operate a food truck legally?
They need a business license, number one. Number two, they need a health permit for what Carson City Health and Human Services calls a “mobile food unit.”
The application is available at gethealthycarsoncity.org/home/showpublisheddocument/91154/638827475679870000.
Supplemental materials are needed for the health permit like route, vehicle layout and equipment details. A health official will inspect the food truck for compliance with state and city code.
“The health inspector will list all deficiencies that need to be resolved in order to be approved,” CCHHS said in a statement. “Once deficiencies are resolved and permit fees are paid through the Community Development office, Carson City Environmental Health Division will sign off on the business license. Once all city departments sign off (environmental control, fire department, etc.), the annual health permit will be sent to the applicant.”
Mobile food units receive at least two inspections per year, and “notification of participation in temporary or special events must take place prior to five days before the event,” according to CCHHS.
How does the city handle an unlicensed food truck?
“If a food truck comes into Carson City to conduct business without a business license, it is a code violation,” said Community Development Director Hope Sullivan. “We start with a courtesy notice and tell them to obtain a business license. If they continue to conduct business in Carson City without a business license, we would issue a notice of violation.”
Variety, a party
Food trucks have become a mainstay of the Brewery Arts Center’s Levitt AMP summer concerts. Slated for June 21 through Aug 23, the series uses at least four food trucks per show, not counting dessert trucks. That number has proven beneficial to the food truckers and the concertgoers.
“Variety — that’s the number one thing I appreciate from food trucks,” said Michael Wiencek, operations director at BAC. “When we first started all our big events our here, it was really tough because we couldn’t get food trucks. There were hardly any around. And anybody that was outside of Carson didn’t want to come here for an event because they would have to pay for a temporary health permit and a temporary business license just to do a one-night event here.”
Now, Wiencek said, each show averages 1,500 to 2,500 people generating plenty of foot traffic for the food trucks. And BAC has a deep roster of trucks to choose from.
Food, like music, like art, can bring people together, Wiencek reasoned.
“The best times I’ve had personally in Carson City were around music or food,” he said.
The Bus Boy, Apuna’s Kitchen, Nayami Tacos and Bubbly’s Kitchen, along with Kona Ice and Scoups Ice Cream, were scheduled for the BAC concert June 21. Metal Chicken Kitchen, Lady Griller Catering, Fun with Food and Hot Rodz were slated for the June 28th concert.
“I just like trying new things that new people are trying to create,” said Wiencek.
Lavelle put it this way: “In a food truck world, one truck is fine. More than one truck — and the bigger variety of trucks you get — now it’s a party.”
Living the dream
While food trucks offer culinary freedom, they can provide economic freedom to their owner-operators.
The week summer officially started, the Appeal met Jason Neal at Mills Park. His food truck, Metal Chicken Kitchen, was parked in the shade of a tree, radiating retro vibes.
“My goal is to elevate the quality of food here and hopefully be recognized for it, so I can keep doing it,” he said.
Neal comes from a bread background in Sonoma County. Mixing, baking, driving trucks, selling. He said he bores easily, sometimes stays up to three or four in the morning cooking, “to try something new.”
His menu reflects his efforts. Ground chicken smash burgers. No fryer. He cooks everything to order. His love of heavy metal bands (Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath were his top three) informs his offerings, as does the chicken-with-guitar logo on the side of his truck.
Enter Sandwich, for instance, has Texas-style barbecue sauce and is topped with jicama apple jalapeño slaw. It's named after the 1991 Metallica song “Enter Sandman.”
Neal said he was a “latchkey kid from the ‘70s,” often finding his own way in the kitchen.
“I love cooking,” he said. “It’s a curse.”
His stated goal is to fight complacency in the food industry. As he talked, he exhibited a restless idealism of what he thinks food should be.
“I’m not better than anybody, but I have a standard I like,” he said.
A restaurant was Neal’s dream pre-pandemic. Post-pandemic, he realized a small space, small staff and simple menu would work. He bought the food truck in Reno, a 1983 Grumman Olson Kurbmaster that made him feel at home — of his era and like the bread trucks he used to drive.
Last year, his idealism met realism as his truck suffered mechanical problems. Neal struggled to stay above water. He said the BAC events became something he counted on, “floated the boat.”
This year, he’s cautiously optimistic. What he doesn’t want, he said, is to get a fryer and sell chicken nuggets. He seemed committed to his aesthetic and his creative principles.
And he didn’t rule out a restaurant in the future. Neal said food-trucking is more dynamic than just cooking. It involves the vehicle, the road and the people the road brings. Asked if he liked being on the road, listening to music, he said yeah.
Call 775-881-8951 for Metal Chicken Kitchen. Call 775-600-5063 for The Bus Boy. Call 831-276-3085 for Candy Burger.