'It's a restaurant on wheels'

ZANESVILLE — It was a toasty Friday evening on the pavement in front of Hobby Lobby and sundown was approaching. Per usual, Chef Brian Waller and his crew were sapped after a long day of cooking in the Horns, Fins & Feathers food truck.

The hefty stack of receipts told the story of another successful day.

"Three-hundred and four," Waller said, shortly before closing the day's business. "It's crazy."

This is not a rare occurrence.

One of Zanesville's most popular traveling road shows has gotten the attention of seemingly everyone who loves meat and seafood. It has far exceeded the expectations that Waller and his mother, Kem Gibson, had when they formulated the idea last year.

Unlike most food trucks that specialize in non-traditional restaurant items, Waller and Gibson have brought the gourmet element of fine dining to the outdoor atmosphere and mobility of a truck.

Serving anything from fresh lobster rolls (they sell 15to 20 pounds per week) and fresh Lake Erie walleye and perch to handcrafted angus burgers and ribeye sandwiches, there is something on the menu for all carnivores. Those wanting a healthier option can choose from three grilled chicken sandwiches.

"It's a restaurant on wheels," Gibson said.

Gibson has been involved in the restaurant industry since her days living in Chicago, where she worked at Minelli's Pizza as a teenager. Brian, her son, was born there and eventually found his way into the business.

Since returning to Ohio they have owned the Olde Falls Inn, now operated by local Kenny Willey, and Muddy Misers on Muskingum Avenue until selling in 2021. They also had a steakhouse in Montana for 13 years.

They returned to Montana for another restaurant endeavor after selling Muddy's, but after three months of work they determined the task of getting the facility code compliant wasn't realistic.

Their long trip back to the Buckeye State offered ample time to think and brainstorm ideas. They didn't want to retire, yet they also didn't want another traditional restaurant in the current climate, where finding employees has been a struggle almost universally in the industry.

"With COVID, it just wasn't fun anymore," Gibson said. "So I wanted to be done with brick and mortar."

That led to the food truck.

"We thought about buying Bogey's (Tavern)," Waller said. "A friend of mine had bought it that day. We were sitting there talking with some friends and he was like, 'Man I know where a nice food trailer is. It's brand new.' She had bought it and realized that it was more work than she wanted to put into it. It was custom built. We looked at it and bought it that day."

That $50,000 investment was a game changer.

The truck doesn't only have a fully furnished cooking area, but also enough room for three workers to run prep stations and another to take tickets. Unlike most food trucks, they have servers who wait on customers when they are at sites with table service.

They recently were at Stonecrest Winery, just north of Frazeysburg, where Waller's prime rib sold quickly.

"It's the best kitchen restaurant I've had in my 30 years in the business," Gibson said. "Everything in it is brand new. It's gorgeous."

Once Waller, with a wide array of kitchen experience, scoured the kitchen, he quickly started formulating a menu to match its capability. It certainly wasn't going to be limited to gourmet tacos, burgers and hot dogs.

This had far more potential.

"I maxed the menu out to fit that trailer," Waller said. "We bought it last October and only ran it seven weeks. We did good from starting at ground zero with no clientele. When we re-opened this spring, it just went wild. It's out of control."

Waller said he hand picks all meat, seafood and produce. In addition to the arsenal of fresh entrees, all of their dishes are made fresh, including sides. One is a white cheddar macaroni and cheese with cavatappi pasta, which can include lobster for an additional fee.

Yet, nothing on the menu may be as popular as Gibson's peanut butter pie. She makes it almost daily from her own recipe that has been used for decades.

"We do about 20 a week," Waller said. "It's unbelievable. People will call us or stop at the house and ask, 'Can we pick up a pie?' Whole pies."

Gibson had her doubts.

"I said, 'Brian people are not going to come to a food truck for that,'" Gibson said. "Well, little did I know. I've eaten a lot of crow over it."

Fresh Lake Erie walleye and perch are also on the menu, with the former used to make its Tropical Reuben, a combination of breaded walleye, swiss cheese, house-made Russian dressing, fresh cilantro and pineapple slaw on toasted marble rye bread.

Waller also creates a variety weekly specials, which often comes from polls he creates on the company's Facebook and Instagram pages.

Past specials have included Low Country seafood boils, prime rib and barbecue ribs with a Jack Daniel's sauce, while the upcoming Father's Day weekend slates includes prime cut filet mignon and handmade king crab cakes. Menu items range from $10 to 20.

Waller said they are able to use their resources to buy fresh items daily because they don't have the overhead costs that accompanies a traditional restaurant.

"That gives us our niche to be able to be able to compete with what a restaurant serves," Waller said. "That's what I love. Who sells seafood boils, crab legs and lobster out of a food trailer?"

On their Facebook page, which has almost 5,000 followers, the business describes itself as "Ohio's newest premiere food truck, soon to be raising the bar for the food industry on the go."

In addition to their regular stops in Zanesville, such as the Kick-N-Ax and Hobby Lobby lots, they also travel to other cities in the region and soon hope to branch out more, including the Cambridge area. They are registered in all 88 Ohio counties. They recently were part of the Zanesville food truck rally at Zane's Landing and were among several in another in Grove City, near Columbus.

They catered for local Marines that were in Zanesville on Wednesday and will be at Hobby Lobby and the National Road Campground on Friday and Saturday, respectively.  They also cater private events.

"We get 20 to 30 calls a week," Waller said. "We're booked clear through October."

Gibson, who is in charge of quality control, said they are fortunate to have good help. She said assistant chef Shawn Kirkpatrick, who worked for them for eight years at Muddy's, and Waller work seamlessly. Brittany Conley works the front window and serves.

"We all have our areas," Waller said. "We've got it down to a science now."

It's Kirkpatrick's steady hand that decorates Gibson's pies with caramel, hot fudge and crumbles. He also runs the flat top grill, where sandwiches are made.

"The two of them, I'm not kidding, they are monsters back there," Gibson said of Waller and Kirkpatrick.

Their popularity is still growing. After finishing its Ohio season in October, they will set up shop in Florida from October until May 2023, due to the colder northern weather.

Gibson and Waller were recently contacted by the Great American Food Truck Race, a reality show which airs on Food Network, to potentially be added to their lineup.

"We're a crew of four people and we pump out hundreds of orders a day," Waller said. "We sell out. The whole thing of people chasing us around, some of the comments, they always say that they love to chase the food truck around to see where we're going to be. It's fun. Everybody is happy and it's wonderful."

sblackbu@gannett.com; Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: 'It's a restaurant on wheels'