When changes from COVID-19 started affecting the food service industry in Ohio, food trucks gained a unique opportunity they didn’t previously have.
In Springfield, both The Painted Pepper and Christian Bros. Meat Company have hopped off the typical circuit of brewery and coffee shop stops and opted to take their food straight to the people.
Jacob Christian, owner of Christian Bros. Meat Company food truck, says that typically between mid-March and August, he’s working full time in his truck.
“It’s great, but it’s also stressful,” he says. “Since all of this with COVID-19, we’ve pretty much had to throw those schedules away.”
After being invited into a Kettering neighborhood a few weeks ago, Christian says he decided to reach out to Springfield’s city manager. The city agreed that for the time being, giving food trucks the option to set up in neighborhoods would be good for both community morale and the food trucks’ business.
Christian says he lives in the Ridgewood neighborhood and had his first community pop-up there.
Louie Ortega, who, along with his wife, Amanda, owns The Painted Pepper truck, says they also kicked off their neighborhood stops in Ridgewood and says the response has been great.
“Everybody has been isolated to their houses,” he says. “We’re offering something more than food. We’re offering something for people to look forward to, like, ‘Hey — the food truck is coming today.’”
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The Painted Pepper had plans for a brick-and-mortar restaurant, but the opening has been put on hold. The owners will continue focusing their energy on serving people through the truck for now.
The Ortegas have also brought back their fan-favorite breakfast burritos as both an option for customers to purchase frozen in bulk and as a menu staple, even at dinner time.
“We have our standard menu, but we added the breakfast burrito all the time,” Ortega says. “It’s something we’re known for, and we’re trying to give people some familiarity right now.”
The Painted Pepper had plans for a brick-and-mortar restaurant, but Ortega says opening has been put on hold for the time being and that they will continue focusing their energy on serving people through the truck for now.
Both Christian and Ortega say it’s been heartwarming to see crowds of people enjoy something that feels normal during these very abnormal times. But they both also say customers have been on board with following social distancing guidelines.
The trucks have also been making sure to use extra health and safety precautions, not only for their customers but also for their employees.
“I could go to a different neighborhood every day for the next month, if I wanted to,” Christian says. “That said, I think it’s very important during this time to slow down. We want to make sure our trucks are clean and make sure we’re healthy and doing the right things.”
For Christian and Ortega, doing the right thing means not only being healthy in light of the coronavirus, but also being only in neighborhoods they’ve been invited to and following the zoning structure the city currently allows.
“I think it’s very, very important to do it right while we have the chance, because once everything goes back to normal, I’m not sure we’ll be allowed to keep doing what we’re doing now,” Christian says. “Hopefully the new followers will bring new business after all this.”
Christian has been surprised by the number of new customers he’s had by making rounds through different neighborhoods. He says the truck’s Facebook page has added almost 250 new followers in the last couple weeks and that has been able to reach a different customer base.
“When we do this little ‘brewery shuffle,’ we’re only hitting a small part of our community and the community around us,” he says. “I’d love to keep doing the neighborhood thing. It promotes community and it promotes seeing each other.
“For me, the money always comes second. It’s more about being about to bring people together in my hometown. I’m hopeful that … good comes from this and that we’ll be able to find a way to allow us to keep doing this once this is all over.”
Christian Bros. Meat Company will soon be launching a second truck, Christian says, which he hopes will help expand the business to be able to reach even more communities, both within Clark County and elsewhere.
“COVID-19 is a terrible thing to have happened,” Christian says. “But, it has been a great thing to make people slow down and be together and get to know their neighbors.”
Interested in a visit from The Painted Pepper or Christian Brothers Meat Company in your neighborhood? Reach out to either truck through their Facebook Messenger.