A founding member of Wichita’s food truck scene has died at age 44
One of the pioneering members of the Wichita food truck scene has died at age 44, and her family and fellow food truckers are remembering her as a smiling, positive force in their lives.
Jodi Buchanan, who along with her younger brother, Doug, founded B.S. Sandwich Press in 2012, died on Monday. She had long battled lupus and recently suffered kidney and liver failure as well, her family said.
Meanwhile, Doug Buchanan, 35, is also seriously ill. He’s on dialysis and has been in and out of the hospital battling kidney and liver failure.
“She would do about anything for anyone,” said Jodi’s mother, Jere Buchanan, on Wednesday. “She had the biggest heart, and she was always wanting to do something for someone.”
Jodi was the oldest of the three Buchanan siblings, and Doug is the youngest. They grew up in Derby, and Jodi was always mothering her youngest brother, Jere said. In second or third grade, she insisted on taking him to school for show and tell.
She attended the University of Kansas, earning a degree in English, and she was a writer. During college, she covered sports for the Derby Informer.
In 2012, Wichita’s food truck scene was brand new. Brothers Jeff and Rob Schauf opened The Flying Stove in 2011, and the Buchanans were not far behind. They opened their business out of a little orange pull-behind trailer and sold sandwiches, hand-cut fries, homemade chips and more. The “B.S.” in their name stood for “Buchanan Style.”
The food truck scene continued to grow, and the Schauf and Buchanan siblings were seen as the elder statesmen. Aspiring food truckers would go to them for help and advice, and Jodi was always happy to give it, remembers Lisa Palacios, who started Funky Monkey Munchies with her husband, Eddi, in 2013.
“When we first started out, they gave us tips and tricks,” she said. “We all went out and ate sushi together and both of them were giving us tips on what we should do, what we shouldn’t do and a little food truck gossip.”
B.S. Sandwich Press was also one of the founding members of the food truck rallies that still happen today. The first one had just five trucks — The Flying Stove, B.S. Sandwich Press, Espresso to Go Go, and trucks called Cake Face and MMM Sandwiches, which have since closed. Those rallies are still going on monthly and have grown exponentially.
The siblings also helped form Wichita’s Food Truck Coalition in 2016, and Jodi was the founding vice president.
Palacios said that the Buchanan siblings were among the hardest working truckers on the scene.
“They were always in that little trailer, just working, Sunday through Saturday,” she said “They were always working, anywhere they could be.”
Jodi and Doug were able to upgrade to a custom-built, 18-foot truck with a new kitchen in 2015 and had been serving out of it ever since. They’d returned to a post-pandemic schedule in May when both fell ill.
Doug Buchanan said he’s hoping to recover and return to the business he and his sister started.
“We’re in wait-and-see mode,” Doug said on Wednesday. “I’m hoping I can battle what I’m going through and be good to go next fall.”
In addition to being a well-known local businesswoman, her family said, Jodi was a devoted aunt to her niece and nephew, the children of her sister, Staci Romero. Raymond, 11, and Melanie, 6, called her “Auntie J,” and she’d do anything for them, her family says.
While she was hospitalized, she would frequently beg her family members to sneak Raymond and Melanie into her room.
“They were absolutely the loves of her life,” her mother, Jere, said.
Services for Jodi will be at 3 p.m. Monday at Countryside Christian Church, 1919 S. Rock Road. Several food trucks, including Funky Monkey Munchies, Smokin Diner and Bread Sled Cafe, plan to set up outside and serve some of B.S. Sandwich Press’s most popular dishes free of charge to those who attend the funeral.
Jodi is survived by her parents, Bruce and Jere Buchanan; her sister, Staci Romero; her brother, Doug Buchanan; and nephew Raymond and niece Melanie.
This story was originally published June 23, 2021 at 11:56 AM.
.jpg)