A number of food truck operators have established a presence in Rhode Island, some even turning their trucks into stationary restaurants. The business model appears to be a hybrid brick-and-mortar restaurant combined with a truck or two on the road during the fair-weather months.
Many food trucks wrapped up their season by Nov. 1. There were a few food trucks at a recent tasting event at two locations of the Dave’s Marketplace Management Inc. grocery store chain in Rhode Island. The Blount Fine Foods Corp. soups truck and a roaming vehicle serving Ming Tsai’s grocery specialty Ming’s Bings – a croquette “pocket” to be eaten out of hand in a variety of flavors – were outside the Dave’s Smithfield Crossing store on a sunny Saturday in late October.
Both at that store, as well as the Dave’s store in East Greenwich, the weekendlong tasting event drew big crowds. More than 30 vendors served samples of a wide variety of food creations from popcorn to shucked oysters.
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EVOLVING ENTERPRISE: Adam Batchelder, owner of the Smoke & Squeal BBQ LLC food truck, opened a Smoke & Squeal restaurant at 985 Chopmist Hill Road in Scituate in late April.
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Barbecue was represented by a few vendors and the mobile nature of that style of cooking was evident from the Rheds LLC sauces created by Deja Hart and her husband, former executive chef Karsten Hart, who have a retail location at Farm Fresh Rhode Island in Providence and were introducing their line of barbecue sauces. Flatwaves LLC, doing business as The Food Shack, which recently moved to larger restaurant quarters in Middletown, was introducing its own line of barbecue sauces served over its slow-cooked pulled pork. And Smoke & Squeal BBQ LLC rounded out the category. The barbecue sauces from the recently opened restaurant in Scituate are on the shelf at Dave’s stores.
Smoke & Squeal is the quintessential truck-to-table success story. Adam Batchelder earned his bachelor’s degree in culinary arts at Johnson & Wales University. He then became an accomplished executive chef, culinary instructor and food service director for a multinational company.
Five years ago, Batchelder began planning his dream to become a barbecue food truck owner and operator. Being a native of Massachusetts, he saw the saturation of food trucks in the area and opted to focus on Rhode Island. New and more flexible food truck legislation then passed in the Ocean State, paving the way for him to open in Rhode Island.
Batchelder knew barbecue was his passion and researched the best barbecue smoking equipment for almost a year before selecting his current smoker, a Southern Pride SGR400, which he incorporated into his food truck. Batchelder feels serving hot, “out-of-the-smoker” food versus reheated and transported barbecue is a differentiator that puts Smoke & Squeal above his competition. The restaurant followed, opening in late April in a rustic location at 985 Chopmist Hill Road at the junction of routes 101 and 102 in Scituate.
Batchelder makes every effort to source foods locally and encourages local farmers who would like to showcase their products to contact him.
“We believe in using quality ingredients, and supporting ethical farming and our local community,” Batchelder said on his website at smokeandsquealbbq.com.
“Dining Out With Bruce Newbury” is broadcast locally on WADK 101.1 FM and 1540 AM and on radio throughout New England. Contact Bruce at bruce@brucenewbury.com.
