April 26, 2024

Hi folks!  Welcome to another edition. For some of you ‘newbies’ this is a weekly (hopefully) newsletter about Ott Street Eats.  We have ups and downs, good times and more challenging times, like everyone else.  If at anytime you feel this is just too much, simply reply to the email that you wish to be removed, and so it shall be. No worries.

Today is April 26, 2024. One year ago today, we opened!  Happy Anniversary/Birthday to us!!  We made it! What a year this has been. 

Our very first sale at 11:00 that morning was to a very dear friend, Ron Smith.  He and I have known each other for more decades than he will probably admit to in public.  He has been a friend, a mentor, a co-conspirator, and source of inspiration to me for just about all of my life.  So, it was only fitting to see his smiling face as we opened the window that day. Of course, he ordered just about everything on the menu, which took a little while to cook.  Then, he handed me his credit card…naturally. The next hour and a half, I was on the phone with support trying to get the bloody credit card machine to work. Meanwhile, Ron was not the only person to be ordering!  Ron handed over his ‘emergency’ $50 bill in his wallet to pay for his food. Otherwise, we had to tell people we were on a cash basis until I could get that silly machine working. What a way to open! Ron continues to be so supportive, and we are so grateful.

The next big first was a catering.  Mary Kerr is a renowned quilter and Leigh Anne met her when she came to give a presentation at the Shenandoah Valley Quilt Guild.  Someone mentioned that we had a food truck and Mary gave us a call because her husband was retiring.  They wanted to throw a nice shindig at their farm in Stanley, Virginia.  After some discussion, a menu was agreed upon, and a time and place.  It was to be a nice buffet for many family members, neighbors, coworkers, etc.  Well, step one: hook up the truck to the trailer (not something we had a lot of experience doing).  Next, pull the trailer to the location.  There are a couple of ways to get to Stanley from Harrisonburg.  According to the GPS, the most direct route is to take a side road up to the town of Shenandoah and turn left after going under some railroad tracks.  We took that route.  We got to the railroad tracks and immediately knew there would be no way for the trailer to fit through that tunnel under them.  So, we had to backtrack almost all the way back to take a different route to get there.  That put us at least a half hour behind schedule.  Tidbit about me…I HATE to be late!  We called them and expressed our dilemma and assured them we were on our way.  Mary was so sweet and forgiving, telling us not to worry.  Meanwhile, I am suffering a serous panic attack…we were LATE!  And it’s our first catering!  My head is screaming!  This is when I first came up with the phrase to describe pulling the trailer as well…” It’s like pulling a whale on a skateboard!”  We got there and set up as quickly as could. Again, this was the first time we had set up in a ‘foreign’ location.  This was the first time we set up the generator. So many new challenges. But we did it.  We set up the buffet and threw out food. Everyone seemed to like the food and enjoyed the party.  While I was in continual panic mode (first for being late, then simply the anxiety of our first catering), Mary, one of the top five kindest people to EVER stroll the Earth, was very reassuring and supportive. And she remains so to this day.

Since that time, we have had a lot more experience in caterings and going to events. And, with each one we learn and refine the process. Usually, we improve. But even with failures (if not especially) we learn, we get better. We have learned about some limitations. And we know what we do very well. 

This process could not have happened without you taking a chance with us, whether it is simply coming to the truck to try our food or booking us for an event or catering.  There is no such thing as a business without customers. So, our one-year anniversary today is due to you. Thank you. Sincerely, thank you. I had a thought a few weeks ago that we might like to throw a party this evening to mark the occasion! Alas, again, thanks to you, we have been simply too busy to really plan one. More on that later.

Last week, I ranted on various challenges we faced. Today, we shall talk about the events of the last week, what’s coming up, and a bit of news.  And we will give a culinary tip, and personal insights.  Let’s start with last week.  On Friday, we delivered 55 boxed lunches to the Charlottesville Builders Association who were enjoying a day at the Flying Rabbit skeet shooting range in Mount Crawford.  That went over well enough that they are interested in doing similar stuff later in the year! Saturday found us at Brothers Craft Brewing for a Cigar and Barley Wine Fest. It’s always great to be at Brothers and we tried to put out a special menu for them (as we always do) and this one included a Barley Wine cake!  On Sunday, we went to the new Alpine Goat Brewery in Weyers Cave. Despite it being a bit chilly that day, we did well! The owner is proudly Austrian, so we put together a German/Austrian menu for that occasion. They were happy enough with our offerings and service that they booked us for some more time there! Monday morning, we put out a spread at a neighbor’s house for a reception for a funeral. Then, we went to Rockingham Park to feed baseball kids and families from 5:30-8:30! It was quite refreshing to see kids outside, playing baseball, having fun and all their supportive families. We will be back there each Monday and Wednesday evening through May 15th which is the end of the season.  Wednesday was an adventure.  We were asked to go to Melrose Caverns to feed the Spotswood Garden Club which was hosting the Virginia Garden Club touring around the county. One of the stops on the tour was Melrose Caverns. We were told to expect 300-600 people.  Now, our experience to date with all the events and caterings we have done says that when we are told to expect 300 people, that usually means 300 were invited and then about 150 show up.  Well…they did not lie. We started off with one menu. We ended up with something totally different. We ran out of one thing, then we made something else. We ran out of other stuff; we did our best to make up other options. For example, we started with a tortellini and chicken salad. Zoom! It was gone. We still had chicken, so I made a quick chicken salad. Zoom! It was gone! I had a little pasta on the truck. Leigh Anne boiled it, and I made a pasta salad. Yup…zoom…it was gone.  Spanakopita, gone. Pans of quiche, gone. Egg salad, gone. We realized we still had brats left from the baseball games and started selling those as well as some fried pork sandwiches. In the end, no one left hungry. We fed everyone who wanted food. Then we went home, and stared blankly at the walls for a while, silently.

This week, we will be back at Brothers Craft Brewing on Saturday from 12-7 with a nice new menu. Then we have baseball at Rockingham Park on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 5:30-8:30. Otherwise, we will be at our lot downtown in Harrisonburg Wednesday-Friday, 10-3. Next Saturday, we will be at Brothers Craft Brewing again (feels like they are adopting us) for May the 4th…Star Wars Day! A fun menu has been developed for that day (be afraid Josh, be very afraid). And we will not even be moving the truck because we have been asked to stay there for Cinco de Mayo on Sunday! Of course, we will have an array of Mexican food that day. 

On another topic, let me tell you about the Daily News Record contest called Best of the Valley. You nominated us for several things, which made us feel so proud and special. Then you took the time from your lives to vote for us in the first round of voting. We are honored by all the efforts so many of made to help promote this little food truck. Thank you! Unfortunately, we did not make it to the top five in the categories that you nominated us for this year. So, we are not in the ‘finals’ which will be voted on in May. The competition is great, and I am sure that those who are in the finals are those who are most deserving. I would like to encourage you to keep voting when the finals come out, especially for those locally owned and operated businesses. Small businesses like ours cannot really afford fancy commercials, print ads, radio spots, etc. So, competitions like this help put local businesses in the eyesight of customers. Perhaps we will be nominated again next year, and our increased customer base and awareness will help us succeed then. Meanwhile, my sincere congratulations to those who are moving forward.

For the culinary tip of the day, I would like to turn your attention to someone whom we love dearly.  There is fine woman who helps us out on the truck named Sara. Sara is old enough to have figured out what she likes and what she does not like.  As you know, we serve a lot of food on this food truck that is “different.”  Sara is allergic to onions, so she will not try things with them which is understandable.  She is not a sausage fan. Same can be said of mushrooms. And there is more.  However, she will try everything (except onions)! Some things will confirm her dislike. Others may change her mind, or bend it a little.  However, she tries it all! I truly admire that. So, my culinary tip today is this, “Try it!”  Maybe you do not like portabella mushrooms, but you might love button mushrooms.  Perhaps you hated sauteed mushrooms, but really like fried mushrooms.  Unless you are allergic, try things you haven’t had.  [Except for you, Judy S. We love you just the way you are.] If you are out to eat with someone, ask to try a bite of their dish. Part of the vows Leigh Anne and I exchanged when we got married was to “love, honor, and share your food.”  Yes, really. When we go out to eat, I wait for her to pick what she wants and make sure to order something else. Of course, she takes a bite of mine and I take a bite of hers. Do we always find things that make us happy? Nope. But we learn what it is about a dish we didn’t care for.  And, when we find things that do make us happy, aren’t we excited to find something new? Keep exploring. We are human beings, it’s what we are programmed to do.  TRY IT! Once you do, you never have to try it again…unless you WANT to!

Thank you all again. This one-year anniversary would never have been possible without you. Hopefully, we will see you soon, wherever we are…

Johnnymac