A list of Wichita’s new food trucks: Pronto Pups, Indian food, a Paranormal Eggsperience
The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on all dining establishments in Wichita, even food trucks.
But despite the fact that the big rallies have yet to launch back up this year, several new food trucks have joined the local fleet and are hoping that the fact that they operate outdoors will help attract people nervous about dining in.
Following is a list of the new food trucks that have popped up over the past several months — and a couple that are about to open.
They’re an interesting array of startups with fun names, extensions of local brick-and-mortar restaurants. There’s even a Kansas favorite — DJ’s Pronto Pup — that has hit the road to take its popular product to the people since all of its fair and festival dates this summer were canceled.
My Madea’s Soul Food
Soul food, home cooking, https://www.facebook.com/My-Madeas-Soul-Food-LL, 316-201-8929
Arthur Simmons retired from his career remodeling houses and was looking for something else to do. He settled on the food truck business.
In late March, he opened his new business and dedicated it to his grandmother, Mary Simmons, whose cooking he grew up loving. He called her Madea.
Simmons, who also spent part of his career working as a kitchen manager in Myrtle Beach, built his truck himself. He’s now selling home-cooked meals like meatloaf, lasagna and mac and cheese, and he also serves soul food specialties like collard greens, fried chicken and neck bones.
Recently, at his customers’ request, he added turkey legs, hot links and smoked sausage.
He’s trying to find a permanent spot but most frequently sets up at the Dollar General at 13th and Oliver. He’s also trying out a new spot — in front of the new Floor & Decor store at Kellogg and Webb Road. You can follow his whereabouts on his Facebook page.
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Paranormal Eggsperience
Breakfast, paranormaleggsperience.com, 316-210-4810
Daniel Niemeyer — a longtime local musician and a lifelong fan of Big Foot, UFOs and the sort — opened this new breakfast-focused food truck trailer in March, just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit. He took it out sporadically in April, then had to shut down for May and June over concerns about the virus.
But in July, he finally started over in earnest, and now, he sets up most Saturdays behind Spektrum Muzic at 905 W. Douglas. His hours are usually 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. or noon to 2 p.m. He posts his hours and planned location on the trailer’s Facebook page.
Niemeyer offers a small core menu of breakfast-y items, all with names inspired by the paranormal. His Bigfoot Burrito is stuffed with eggs, sausage, bacon and cheese. His Calupacabra is a flatbread taco filled with the same ingredients. He also makes a few unusual specialty items, like Loaded Squatch Tots, which are fried potato balls, and breakfast egg rolls stuffed. He also always has a special.
To stay extra safe during the pandemic, Niemeyer encourages customers to order online (at paranormaleggsperience.square.site) before they come. He also installed a two-way intercom system to cut down on contact between himself and customers.
“You can have the full McDonald’s drive through experience,” he said. “The only time there’s contact is when we’re handing your food to you. We’re just trying to be super, super careful.”
Mil’s on Wheels Food Truck
Burgers, fish, chicken, www.facebook.com/MilsOnWheelsFoodTruck, 316-339-9029
Cecil Milum is a Wichita construction worker who also has a talent for grilling. He’s long wanted to open his own food truck, and about a month and a half ago — with the help of wife, Salise — he did.
He now specializes in burgers, wings, fried catfish, and loaded fries. he also sells tacos and fried okra.
The orange truck is a weekend project for the Milums, who still work full-time jobs. They’re usually parked on Saturdays and Sundays at Froggy’s Liquor at Pawnee and Oliver, though they occasionally visit other spots as well. People can keep up with the schedule on the truck’s Facebook page.
Eventually, Salise said, they want to participate in local food truck rallies. Their usual hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays and noon until 6 or 7 p.m. on Sundays.
Brazita Bites
Brazilian street food, https://www.instagram.com/brazitabites/
Rodrigo Ciriaco grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but moved to Wichita to play soccer and study at Friends University.
He graduated, got married and decided to stay. And now, he’s trying to give his new hometown a taste of his favorite street food from back home.
Ciriaco and his wife, Jessica, are about to open a new food truck called Brazita Bites. They came up with the name by combining the words “Brazil” and “Wichita.”
They’ll serve coxinha, which are fried dough balls stuffed with various fillings — a popular snack in Brazil.
“It’s the food that you’d see everywhere,” Rodrigo said. “After school, I used to hang out with my friends and we’d have this snack.”
The couple will make several varieties of filling and will serve the snacks in both sweet and savory flavors. Typically, coxinhas are stuffed with chicken.
The couple plans to park their food trailer at various spots around town. Opening day should be sometime in August.
The Easy Food Truck
Sandwiches, burgers www.facebook.com/TheEasyEgg
This truck is a side project by Eduardo Gonzalez, the owner of The Easy Egg restaurant at 240 N. Main in Haysville. He recently acquired a truck as a way to expand his business, he said, but he doesn’t have enough employees to run it very often. In the future, he hopes to set up at food truck parks in Wichita, particularly downtown, he said.
The Easy Food Truck serves sandwiches, burgers and things like quesadillas. It’s been working with Inspirit Kombucha, 3435 N. Emporia and setting up there for lunch service on occasional Wednesdays. Follow The Easy Egg Facebook page to keep up with the truck.
D&J Pronto Pup
Pronto Pups, https://www.facebook.com/prontopup.ks, 620-345-6537
The Pronto Pup food truck has been around for about 33 years, and owners Dwight and Dixie Wedel usually take it to 12 events during the year, including the Wichita Riverfest and the Sedgwick County Fair.
But this year, because of COVID-19, all but two of the big events on the schedule were canceled, including the biggie — the Kansas State Fair. Pronto Pups are a staple State Fair food, and the Wedels have five permanent stands set up on the fairgrounds.
To help make up for some of the loss — and to reach customers who feel like summer isn’t summer without a Pronto Pup — the Wedels have been taking their food truck on the road across the region, and people have been reacting enthusiastically, Dwight said. His event posts have been blowing up on social media, and socially distanced lines have been forming wherever he goes.
Their first trip was to Sedgwick in April, and since then, they’ve set up the truck in places like McPherson, Moundridge and Newton. On Aug. 7, they’ll set up from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Veterans Park in Colwich. On Aug. 14, it’ll be Cheney’s turn.
The truck is in high demand, Dwight said. People should stay tuned to the D&J Pronto Pup Facebook page to see where else it might turn up.
“Every time we go somewhere, we get five more requests,” he said. “I have a list of 15 places right now that would like us to come.”
Passage to India on Wheels
Indian cuisine, https://www.facebook.com/ptiwichita
Local lawyer and entrepreneur Abdul Arif bought Wichita’s most well-known Indian restaurant — Passage to India — in 2017. And now his wife, Lubi, is preparing to add on to the business. She’s opening a sister food truck that will serve the restaurant’s most popular items, including Chicken Tikka Masala, Novrattan Korma and several vegetarian and vegan dishes.
She’ll call it Passage to India on Wheels.
Lubi said that she got the idea for the truck when the restaurant was shut down for dine-in at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The restaurant offered only delivery at the time, Lubi said, and she decided a food truck would allow more flexibility.
Originally, she’d hoped to open it in July, but with COVID-19 cases spiking, she’s decided to wait until October. She’s hoping to set up at various places around town, but her ideal spot would be on the Wichita State University campus, she said. Stay tuned for more information.
Ray’s Food Express
Catfish and barbecue, https://www.facebook.com/Rays-Food-Express, 316-253-9536
This new food trailer opened a week ago, and its territory is Park City. The business, owned by Aubrey Ray Banks, parks for lunch and dinner Tuesdays through Saturdays in front of the Fried Pies shop at 1542 East 61st St North.
Banks, whose older brother Johnny, owns the Fish And More restaurant at 2021 S. Oliver in Wichita, decided to start his own business serving barbecue, whole catfish, catfish filets and chicken wings. He invested in a brand new 20-foot trailer that’s so fancy, it even has a little porch on the back.
“I’ve always loved to cook,” Banks said. “It’s pretty much therapy for me. When we have a family get together, everybody pretty much comes to my house. I’m always on the grill.”
Big B’s Beef
Chicago-style fare,
www.facebook.com/BigBsBeef, 316-942-BEEF
Liz and Brian Bathgate recently opened their Big B’s Beef food truck — a mobile version of the restaurant they once operated at 605 W. Douglas in Delano — and it’s been popular so far.
The couple has been parking the truck at various businesses around town, serving customers’ once-favorite items from the restaurant, including Italian beef sandwiches plus Chicago dogs, gyros, Italian sausage sandwiches, pizza puffs and hand-cut fries.
Their rig — a box truck that was once used by the Wichita SWAT team — was purchased more than a year ago and now is fitted with all the right equipment, she said. It has a new, bright yellow paint job.
Watch the truck’s Facebook page for updates about where they’ll be parked.
Flavors Coffee and Ice Cream
Ice cream, Nitro Joe’s beverages, kombucha, www.facebook.com/FlavorsCoffeeandIceCreamBar
Ryan Nall ran Flavors Coffee and Ice Cream Bar (previously College Hill Creamery) in an old two-story house in Wichita’s Clifton Square from 2015 until his lease was terminated in February and another coffee and ice cream shop — Papa’s General Store — moved in.
But he now has a food trailer that he’s started taking out around town, serving some of the things his shop was known for — ice cream, Nitro Joe’s beverages and kombucha. So far, he’s set up at places like the Taliesin pool and clubhouse and at Inspirit Kombucha, 3435 N. Emporia. Watch the trailer’s Facebook page for updates on location.
Wade Waffle Co.
Liege-style waffles, www.facebook.com/wadewaffleco/
This food truck hit the streets of Wichita in early June and sells Liege-style waffles made with little Belgian sugar pearls. Owners Justin and Jenny Wade, who relocated from Lawrence to Wichita to start the business, offer both sweet and savory waffles with various toppings.
Fans can keep track of where the waffle truck will roll next on its Facebook page. This weekend, they’ll be at the Mattress Hub at 416 N. Rock Road from 4 to 7 p.m. on Friday and at the Mattress Hub at 611 Dugan Road from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
This story was originally published July 30, 2020 at 10:53 AM.
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