Hotdog, Hotdog, Hot Diggety Dog
As he was nearing the end of his teaching career, Alan Shoalmire was looking for a new passion project to occupy his time. After searching far and wide for what the next opportunity was, Alan realized that his calling was nothing other than serving people his delicious food, but the next question was how was he going to do that? Soon he took a leap of faith and attended “Hot Dog University” in Chicago, where he quickly learned the ‘art of the cart.
Upon his return to the Brazos Valley, he ran into another local hotdog vendor, who was looking to sell his cart. Alan took this opportunity to begin developing his business selling only the finest beef hotdogs while creating a menu with many crowd favorites including the “Full Metal Jacket,” which is a quarter pound hotdog adorned with handcrafted chili, shredded cheese, sweet relish, pickled jalapeños and imported sauerkraut.
In addition to his passion for cooking, Alan said his favorite part of the job is the people he meets.
“I have a pretty good-sized group of regular customers who drop by my place from time to time and itis such a joy to catch up with the mand to visit with them,” Alan says.“For my new customers, I try really hard to make everything just right for them, greet them with a smile, and let them know that they are appreciated.”
Those looking to find Alan can normally find him at Lipscomb Parkin Navasota from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., but he encourages his customers to double check his Facebook for weekly updates on where he will be selling.
Grill Sergeant Hotdogs
grillsergeanthotdogs.com
grillsergeanthotdogs@gmail.com
(979) 777-8740
From the fire to your plate
After working in restaurants in Dallas, Baton Rouge and New Orleans for eight years, Tanner Purdum and his family were making the move to College Station for his wife’s new job, but with that came a career change for him as well. With a new baby, Tanner knew he wanted to be in the food industry, but not in the hustle and bustle of working in a restaurant every day so he decided to go the food truck route to get an inside look at what owning and operating a restaurant is like on a smaller scale. Having worked with wood fire ovens before, Tanner decided to conquer a wood oven pizza food truck delivering locally sourced pizza favorites like cheese, pepperoni and margarita as well as two rotating weekly specials which change week to week.
Focusing on locally sourced ingredients has allowed Tanner to get creative with what is offered and “pizzafy” things that guests may not expect to see coming out of the pizza oven.
“It really makes us have to be creative because we don't give ourselves any rules or limits to what we can do with pizzas,” Tanner says. “We have done some crazy unique pizzas like one with cantaloupe or Kohlrabi, we have even done one with cactus pads. People love seeing and trying all of our creations.”
Head to The KinderHill BrewLab Beer Garden in Downtown Bryan to find Chef Tanner or his Sous Chef Johan each weekend from Thursday to Sunday. For other locations throughout the week, be sure to check out their Facebook and Instagram accounts for weekly updates.
The Wild Garlic Pizza
thewildgarlicpizza.com
thewildgarlicpizza@gmail.com
(979) 762-3927
What's Poppin'?
What first began as an interaction at a former job has changed the lives of Jodi and Jaime Alejandro and their family. While working at the tax office, Jodi was approached by a gentleman who was looking to get his vehicle registered, but there was something that stood out … his license plate showed KettleCorn. Curious about the plates, she inquired and the man began to tell her about his kettle corn business and how he and his wife were ready to sell. In the moment, Jodi thought nothing of it, but upon arriving home she found out her son was having twins and she knew she needed to do something to help. One week later the Alejandro family were the proud owners of a successful kettle corn stand.
Since buying the business in 2016 as a propane kettle and tent, the Sweet Pops business has since evolved to a fully-equipped trailer for travel and added new flavors like cheddar, buttered, caramel and various candy flavors.
“We love interacting with our customers and seeing the ones that follow us on social media,” the Alejandro’s said. “We also love it when they request new flavors and keep us in the loop with new mixes they want us to try.”
To find out where SweetPops is going to be in town, be sure to visit their Facebook at: SweetpopsAggieland for announcements about what’s next. In addition to their offer for catering orders, Sweet Pops also offers special orders including their snack size bags and party bags, which serve approximately 100 delicious cups.
Sweet Pops
sweetpopskettle.com
sweetpopskettle@gmail.com
(979) 422-6718
It's five o'clock somewhere
Take your event to the next level by hiring the Tap Truck Aggieland to bartend your next event. Beginning as a fun way for Cale Donaldson and his business partner to interact with people outside of their normal 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. jobs, The Tap Truck, which is a 1959 Chevrolet Dually, was repurposed with six taps to serve any beverage a customer desires. From baby showers to Aggieland Outfitters gameday events, The TapTruck can be reserved for any type of event and even makes house calls.
When customers reserve the truck, they are able to decide on their six beverages of choice with options for alcohol as well as lemonade or other non-alcoholic drinks.
“One of our favorite things to offer on one of our taps is homemade ranch water — it is refreshing on a hot summer day,” Cale says.
With this antique, many guests come to visit just to take in the history of this classic truck, Cale says. Since the majority of their business is by rentals, The Tap Truck is not set up around town, except for special events. Visit their Facebook page for more on where they might be next.
Tap Truck Aggieland
Facebook: Tap Truck Aggieland
taptruckcollegestation@gmail.com
(979) 820-9039
All Forces Jerky
Beginning his jerky journey in college, Glenn Bates could be found competing with other students to see who could make the best beef jerky. After serving 20 years in the United States Army, Glenn knew he wanted to pick-up the art of making jerky again, but this time as a viable business to support his family. Being a veteran himself, Glenn wanted to pay tribute to the dedication and sacrifice of all members of military service and their families so he named his business All Forces Jerky. He first began selling his premium All Forces Jerky in a 10x10 tent at various vendor locations, but soon realized he wanted to get out of the elements so he found a truck in 2021 and began expanding his business to include Chicago-style hotdogs and soft drinks. Since beginning the truck, the menu has vastly grown to include wings, personal pizzas and even sweet treats like snowcones.
“Food trucks are a trendy way to connect with customers,” Glenn says.“Great relationships are formed as we often meet fellow veterans and their families.”
Operating in three counties, All Forces Jerky is a member of the Tomball Chamber of Commerce and customers can locate Glenn’s where abouts using his Facebook page. For those wanting his premium jerky, online sales are offered with shipping options on his website.
All Forces Jerky
allforcesjerky.com
gvb@allforcesjerky.com
(832) 236-7707
Made from scratch with love
Beginning her food truck business in June of 2018, Juanita Christian and her youngest daughter Margo set forth to fulfill her eldest daughter’s passion.
“It was a dream for me to open a restaurant with my family for years,” Juanita says. “After the passing of my oldest daughter Lacey in September of 2016, Margo and I set out to make this dream a reality.”
Named after Juanita and her daughters, JLM stands for Juanita, Lacey and Margo, but it also serves as their motto, which is “Jesus Loves Me.” JLM’s Chicken and Waffles serves chicken and waffles, but has a lot of variety including three flavors: lemon pepper, garlic or original. In addition to chicken and waffles, the truck also serves specialty items like cajun shrimp and grits, loaded fries and turkey legs. All recipes are made from scratch and created in-house with occasional tweaks to make the customer experience even more special.
“My most favorite part about the food truck business is traveling and meeting wonderful people,” Juanita says. “I love getting to know people and making them happy through eating my food — it is the best!”
One year after establishing their business, Juanita's daughter Margo passed away, Juanita says she enjoys carrying on the legacy of her children every day. In the future, Juanita says she would love to open a store front and possibly get another food truck by 2024. To find out where JLM’sChicken and Waffles is next, visit their Facebook.
JLM’s Food Truck
Facebook: JLM’s Food Truck
juanitalenford@gmail.com
(832) 409-2749
Bigger. Better. BBQ.
Finding its start during COVID, Smoke Daddies BBQ first began in Pflugerville as a contactless rib delivery service, but upon finding friends who owned a food truck, Nick Hernandez wanted to begin his own truck operations with a full BBQ menu in his hometown.
The menu features Real Pit BBQ with some fun unique twists to fit into trendy dishes like the brisket grilled cheese with homemade green salsa, loaded nachos and blackened fish and shrimp tacos. More than just enjoying a meal, Nick says he likes to create an enjoyable environment for customers.
“We like to provide a fun, upbeat environment no matter where we set up,” Nick says. “We always have music going, we love to interact with our customers more than just taking their order. And, of course, the food is amazing!”
With having a smaller, more intimate environment, Nick says the food truck options allows for getting to know returning customers.
“We have regular customers at most of the locations we frequent,” he says. “It’s such a compliment when they bring friends or family members with them, or when a new customer says they’ve heard a lot about us and had to try it for themselves.”
On a weekly basis, Smoke Daddies BBQ can be found in Downtown Navasota on Thursdays and Fridays for lunch and at WildFlyer Mead Co. on Sundays. Visit their Facebook page for pages regarding locations and specials.
Smoke Daddies BBQ
Facebook: Smoke Daddies
smokedaddiesbbq@gmail.com
(979) 204-4278
A meal with a relaxing view
After both working in restaurants full time, Antonio Yax and Florinda Argueta decided it was time for a change. The couple had always had an interest in starting a food truck, but hadn’t acted until an opening in career changes pushed them to follow their dreams and start the project.
Their menu offers a variety of foods including breakfast favorites like pancakes and waffles to classic lunch and dinner favorites including chicken fried steaks smothered in gravy and Mexican favorites. On Sundays, guests can also expect to find pupusas, which is a Salvadoran dish that consists of a tortilla filled with ground pork and cheese and served with cilantro, a spicy cabbage based salad for topping.
“We encourage guests to venture out to our usual location on Elmo Weedon Road,” Antonio says. “We know it’s a bit far, but we try to provide our customers with a hearty meal outdoors, far from the sounds of the city."
Their bright yellow truck can be seen throughout town on occasion, but customers can find A&Y TexasKitchen daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the outskirts of town at 7098 Elmo Weedon Road in Bryan. For more opportunities to see the truck in town, visit their Facebook page.
A&Y Texas Kitchen
Facebook: A&Y Texas Kitchen
a.y.mgmt22@gmail.com
(979) 739-4868
