Today we’d like to introduce you to Earnest J
Hi Earnest, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
oh jeez, where to start. I’ve been in food service for about 20 years, and have worked front and back of house, from the lowliest local pizza joint washing dishes, all the way up to opening restaurants from scratch. i learned about food mostly in Charleston, SC, where i lived for 10 years. after moving back to Rome, i discovered a stagnant and uninspiring food scene as compared to Chucktown, so finding a good spot for me to ply my trade was difficult. i attended culinary school at Georgia Northwestern Technical College, graduating in 2016, but still couldn’t find a good home for my skills and vision. After bouncing from one place to another, my adoptive parents refinanced their vehicles to get me start-up money for a food truck. I didn’t ask for it, they just kinda sat me down one day and told me “we have you start-up money, the bills come due in 30 days, get going.” um, sure, ok.
After feverishly researching and thinking of concepts, i saw that a lot of food trucks inadvertently pigeonhole themselves with a theme: if you’re a BBQ truck, you do BBQ, and that’s really it. same with taco trucks, grilled cheeses, seafood, whatever. i knew i’d get bored and complacent with a menu that never really changes much, so i decided on an ever-changing menu, that changes according to season, holiday, event, or whatever i want to do. so far, I’ve done 11 different menus, ranging from brunch, Irish, Oktoberfest, Smash burgers named after metal bands, even super simple stuff for high school soccer games. even the name of the truck, EVO, is meant to evoke change. it’s lets me explore new ideas and concepts, and gives me the flexibility to fill niches that others can’t do. i also always have at least one Vegan or vegetarian option on the menu, and generally carry gluten-free options as well. every sauce, seasoning blend, condiment, anything i can do from scratch, is made from scratch. it definitely makes a difference. through all the menus, i take only one thing seriously: food quality. everything else is secondary, and i try to be as irreverent and jokey as possible about everything else. i’m a deeply unserious person, and i intend to keep it that way.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
oh, no, no. not at all. things started going wrong almost right from the start. the truck i bought was used, and i knew it needed work, but the amount of work was far beyond what i anticipated. i ended up nicknaming the truck Theseus because of all the things i had to replace on it to keep it functioning. this includes but is not limited to: headlamps, all the fluids, most parts of the front suspension and steering, a brake caliper (twice), brake hoses, fuel lines, filters, bearings, even kitchen components. the entire electrical and plumbing system for the kitchen i replaced, as it was dangerously inadequate. the entire hot line is new. the refrigerators worked ok though, so there’s that, even though the freezer burned a power line literally on opening day. it took far longer than anticipated to have all of my applications and inspections completed, so i started at the worst time, as the spring festivals were already booked, as were most wineries and bars for months. i ended up having to take a side job in order to pay bills while business ramped up. i couldn’t afford help, so i did everything solo for quite a while. even after i opened, things kept breaking: Main battery line burned out, starter burned out (twice, again), propane regulator failed, fryer caught fire from a loose gas connection, generators failed.
getting my name out there was tough, as i’m rather introverted most of the time, and promoting myself feels awkward. hiding behind a logo and snarky sarcasm definitely helps.
i loathe desk work, so keeping my financial documents and records was torturous. my mom tried to help but her system of bookkeeping was haphazard at best (please don’t print that).
there have been so many long, hard days where i seriously thought about quitting after any random disaster, but i kept it going. the absolute joy i feel working for myself, doing what i want, going where i want, and serving what i want is worth every single burn and scrape and fire and 15 hour day. there’s no one to tell me no, for better or worse. and, by and large, it’s been better.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
i specialize in dang good food, period. it may not be the fanciest or highest end around, but this is a food truck. calm down. early in my career, i decided if i needed to buy tweezers to plate a dish, i went too far. that sort of cuisine has its place, and is a wonderful experience to be sure, but it’s not something that particularly interests me. i want to make good food that anyone can afford, and is enough to actually fill you up. and i don’t cut corners to do it, either. i hand-make everything i can, the hard way. the fanciest equipment i own is a mandoline and a Ninja Blender. i am a bastion of inefficiency, but i wouldn’t have it any other way. that’s what sets me apart: i work hard to get just the right ingredients, prepare them just the right way, and serve it fresh and hot (or cold, if it’s supposed to be). i’m proud of the amount of time and effort that i put into everything i do, and the people i serve can definitely tell. i don’t care to embellish or whore myself out with flashy ads or constant annoying posts. i don’t have to. my work speaks for itself.
i also provide catering out of the truck. i have a full commercial kitchen in here, and can produce almost anything within reason to scale. the benefit to that is everything is prepared and cooked on site, thus it is much fresher than a caterer that trucks in everything in hot cabinets or thermal totes. i’ve recently done an Asian fusion taco bar, lots of charcuterie boards, BBQ (even though i generally avoid BBQ, too many people do that on the regular), fancy sandwiches, and other stuff.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
you mean the ones i can talk about? lol, i was a band geek in high school, so most of my fond memories came from that. it was a wonderful thing for me, as i didn’t have many friends, and did not have a great home life. band gave me a big support group, friends, and the discipline i needed to succeed. it was a lot of work, but so much fun as well.
Pricing:
- depending on the menu, mains are from $11-$18
- sides range from $3-$10
- drinks are $1-$3
- catering is bespoke, and quoted per client
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.evofoodtruck.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evo_food_truck/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EVOFoodTruck
