New food truck owner focusing on giving back to EMS professionals, community

Another new food truck is in the lineup this year, and its owner is using it as a way to give back to the community.

Tony Axtell owned the former Blue 42 restaurant in Hartford from 2017 to 2020, and now he’s looking to get back to his passion for cooking working on another passion of his: helping others.

Axtell is an EMT and a volunteer firefighter in Sioux Falls, and he was also in the National Guard for about six years. He said he's always appreciated the service and the way that people give back to the community, so he's returning the favor.

Any EMS personnel in uniform — fire staff, police, the sheriff’s office, highway patrol or ambulance service — will be able to come and eat for free at Big Poppa’s Food Truck.

More: Let Me Be Frank hot dog cart back this year with business restructure

“It’s really hard for EMS personnel to get a half hour lunch break, to sit down truly, especially since the ambulances are seeing record call volumes,” he said. “There are some days where, if you don’t have a cooler with snacks in it, you may go 12 hours without eating.”

Axtell is working on securing a full-time location, but he’ll likely be based downtown where a lot of the EMS is. They can pull up, get their food, eat on the run and get back to it, he said. EMS professionals also don’t have the highest pay scale, he said, and this will help them save a couple dollars.

“It’s the least that I can do to help give back to those that are taking care of the city,” he said.

The menu will feature the most popular items from Blue 42, like burgers, chicken wings, chislic, brisket and beer cheese philly.

Eventually, Axtell wants to set up an online ordering system for EMS personnel to order beforehand and swing by when they’re on the run.

Putting kids and family first

Axtell is looking forward to getting out and seeing families. He said that was one of the best parts about owning a restaurant.

“I’m excited to just get out and see people out again, their smiles, seeing them enjoy the food and enjoy time together.”

There will also be a kids menu with options like sliders, chicken strips and mac and cheese. Axtell has a 4-year-old and a 10-year-old himself and knows the struggles of finding foods they want to eat when going out.

“We want to make sure that anybody coming to ours knows they can find something their kid would like,” he said.

As for the name, a few years ago Axtell’s son had walked into the restaurant yelling “papa,” and the song “Big Poppa” by The Notorious B.I.G. was playing in the kitchen in the background.

“We just joked and called it Big Poppa’s Kitchen whenever my kids were around after that, and it just kind of stuck.”

More: Sioux Falls School District offers free breakfast, lunch for kids to eat this summer

Axtell is also looking to start a nonprofit called Cooking for Kids. While it’s still in the works, the plan is that a small percentage of the food truck’s daily sales will go to pay down the lunch debt at local schools.

Other businesses will have a chance to match and donate, too.

According to previous Argus Leader reporting, 42% of the Sioux Falls school district's student population is on the free and reduced-price lunch program, but much of the lunch debt is from families who don't qualify for the program. By Dec. 6, the district had accumulated $106,500 in school lunch debt.

“It breaks my heart to think of a kid not getting a meal,” Axtell said. “I hope we can potentially make it to the day when we don’t have to rely on parents to do that. Kids should have a safe place to know that they’re always going to get a good, hot meal.”

How to follow along

Axtell said maybe one day he’ll go back to a brick and mortar, but for now he really likes the flexibility and the opportunity to go where he’s needed. In addition to being downtown, the food truck will also be at small community events and other local businesses for lunch throughout the summer.

Big Poppa's will also partner with its sister company, On The Spot Catering.

For now, the food truck will be out three or four days a week, but that might eventually be extended to seven. Some staff members from the restaurant will be helping with catering, but Axtell is still looking to hire more people for the food truck.

People can follow along with Big Poppa’s on Facebook and Instagram pages.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Big Poppa's bringing food, support to EMS workers with new food truck