Flame-kissed pizza is on the menu of new pizzeria truck with Eric Church theme

FORT BRANCH – Entrepreneurs sometimes wonder what they’ve gotten themselves into with a new business, but they don’t often say so.

Candace Yancy, owner of R’z Café and Catering Company, Flora June’s Scoop Shoppe and The Brickhouse Boutique in Fort Branch, freely admits that's how she felt after creating Mother Truckers Pizzeria truck earlier this year.

“We started it this spring, just because we’re crazy honestly,” she said. “Then, my God, I had to staff it. I was like man, I don’t know.”

The truck operated sporadically through the summer, parked next to Flora June’s, where the Yanceys often welcome food trucks.

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The original idea was to open it every Sunday and Monday night, when R’z and most restaurants in Fort Branch are closed. That did not happen regularly, however, because of the staffing issue, and Yancey started thinking about 86-ing the truck. Then push came to shove one weekend in late summer.

“Someone hired us to take the truck to a wedding reception in August,” she said. “We did it, and we did it on a Friday night, and the world did not come to an end. The restaurant did not come to an end. We were able to figure out a way to staff both. I just stopped making excuses and thought about how to get it done.

"We were successful and it gave me the confidence to say ‘to heck with it, we’re doing this.’”

The truck – actually a trailer – is equipped with two Ooni pizza ovens. These little dome-shaped firebombs heat to nearly 1000 degrees and cook a 12-inch pizza in about one minute. At the rear you can see the flames, which heat the special stone floor for a crisp bottom and make for bubbly, slightly charred edges around the pie.

The Mother Truckers name came from a country music obsession of Yancey’s.

“We’re huge Eric Church fans and every time Myriad Brewing Company makes a beer for us, I name it after an Eric Church song,” she said. “He has one called Bad Mother Trucker and I think it’s cool, so I called it that.”

The menu

You’ll find pizzas from classic to creative on the Mother Truckers' menu, or you can make your own combination. The pizzas are also named after Eric Church songs or albums.

“People want something a little different,” Yancey said. “We came up with some unique pizzas, but you have to have the pepperoni and sausage and, I tell you, they love the chicken bacon ranch.”

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Signature pizzas include the Wrecking Ball with andouille sausage coins, peppers, onions and creamy-spicy Creole gravy; the Mr. Misunderstood with brussels sprouts, pork belly, Sriracha sauce and red peppers; and the Chattanooga Lucy with smoked pork, candied bacon, sausage, red onion, Trucker Sauce and dill pickles.

Choose-your-own toppings include all those listed above plus smoked chicken, fresh mozzarella cheese, cotija cheese, chorizo sausage, fresh basil, ranch sauce, garlic butter, and all the normal pizza toppings.

Also on the menu are a Trucker Salad with romaine, red pepper, cherry tomato, olives, banana peppers, cheese, herb parmesan “shakeys” and a house pesto dressing; cinnamon roll bites, and trucker chips.

“It’s been fun and we’re gonna build on it,” Yancey said. “Every time we have the truck out, we learn something.”

Mother Truckers will be visiting Evansville periodically. Look for it at Bike Nights at Bud’s Harley Davidson. at Myriad Brewing Company on Thursday, Oct. 6, and at other future events.

Go to the R’z Facebook page to find out details of times and service.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Bubbly pizza is on the menu of pizzeria truck with Eric Church theme