Food trucks get cooking in northeast Sask.
Behind every one-of-a-kind business is a creative entrepreneur, and food businesses are a shining example of that in northeast Saskatchewan.
Brent Hamel held off opening his taco trailer, Hecho en Waskesiu, due to the pandemic until June 2021, but says the shut-down on international travel provided him the time needed to get the business off the ground. He would previously spend three to six months a year away on business.
“I think it was the break I needed,” said Hamel. “The opportunity to spend more time in Canada and with family working on recipes, which we thought would be good for our family and the community.”
Encouraged by his family and friends that other people would like his tacos, he made the leap and took his taco recipes into a commercial venture.
Hamel imported a polished stainless steel replica air-stream trailer and get to work with local contractors to turn his concept into reality. He says taco trailer businesses is a combination of creative expression and business planning.
He also drew on 30 years of travel experience, including time spent in Mexico.
“I’m celiac so all of my recipe experimenting was done with gluten-free flour, as well the churros are done gluten-free,” said Hamel.
It was a challenge to combine dreams with regulations. The trailer is made to fit current food standards and fire regulations. And many custom adjustments were made to fit the necessities of a restaurant, such as deep fryers, grills and a sink into a trailer.
“I worked with Canadian companies and trades to finish it, to complete the electrical and the plumbing, gas the trailer hitch as well as the equipment,” said Hamel.
Mobile food truck owner Kyra Robillard had her truck built in Winnipeg at Food Trucks International five years ago. She says her husband came up with the name Baby Got Bannock. She left a job as a police officer in order to have a family and start a food truck business.
“I love it. It’s very rewarding. And I wouldn’t change anything. I can't wait to continue doing it every summer,” said Robillard.
Robillard took a business loan with Saskatchewan Indian Economic Finances to start the business. She says encouragement from family and friends also helped.
“Part of it was that TV show Food Truck Wars, and I love cooking so I thought maybe it was something I could get into,” said Robillard. “I always liked to cook and bannock was something I’ve done in my family and my mom taught me.”
Robillard is pleased restrictions are easing and the Baby Got Bannock food truck is once again employing people, most of which are family members.
Some drawbacks of the mobile food business include working in tight quarters, the heat in the trailer in summer and the lack of bathroom facilities, says Robillard.
Both Hamel and Robillard plan to keep their business open for the long-term and look forward to having their children grow up in the food industry.
Sales of foodservice contractors, caterers and mobile food trucks were down 37 per cent in June 2020 compared to June 2019, according to the Statistics Canada Food Services and Drinking Place Sales report.
One-third (34 per cent) of special food services reported having been closed for part of June 2020, compared with 49 per cent in May and 60 per cent in April.
Statistics Canada says there are about 2,490 food trucks operating in Canada.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.