Rising Stars: Meet Buns to Go

Today we’d like to introduce you to Buns to Go.

Hello Buns to Go, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
You’re never too old to chase your dream. If you do what makes you happy it doesn’t feel like work. You don’t know what can happen until you try. You can do anything you set your mind to. These are some mantras we live by. Our dream of owning and operating a food truck began over twenty years ago. We were living in the cities at the time and the idea came up after a great meal that Ted, my husband had made that night. As with many people, tragedy struck not long after that and put our dreams on the back burner for many years. We would hold family meetings to keep the dream alive.

Fast forward to 2022 and Ted and I were able to purchase a trailer. The learning process we take in stride. There is much research, groundwork, and footwork that goes into opening a mini kitchen to serve food to the public. We met with a restaurant supplier, and he helped us design the trailer following the food we were planning to prepare and sell. The equipment was ordered and took longer than expected as items ended up being on backorder.

During this time, we were perfecting our recipes, attending food shows, and working with the state. Ted and my brother, Nick put many hours into converting the trailer into a food truck. It was a family effort. The electrical, plumbing, and fire suppression system had to be put in by professionals so next it was their turn to put the finishing touches on the food truck. We are very grateful for the contractors that helped us with this project as not everyone will take the time or effort to work on a project such as this.

We were working very hard to get the trailer open this summer as the days seemed to be slipping away. The trailer miraculously ended up being done at the end of July. At the same time as the trailer finishing up, we were asked to attend a pow wow and we agreed. The following weekend we had a graduation party. This party had been booked in 2022 before the trailer was even done by a friend/coworker. Hence this is where the Sylvia sandwich that we have on our menu was born. Our daughter, Leah has taken care of everything online for us and she takes care of the Facebook page.

Our youngest son Austin grilled in the food truck the first month until he went back to college, and he continued to help when he could on weekends. Zach our middle son helped out with the construction of the trailer and also in the food truck a couple of times on big event days. From that point on we booked up quickly for the rest of the summer and then we booked up through October. It was a whirlwind of a couple of months. It was fabulous as Ted, and I like to say, “We’re doing it!”

When you talk about something for over twenty years and then to be living the dream that you have been talking about is the most rewarding feeling. It’s true what I’ve heard over the years that if you love what you are doing then it doesn’t feel like work. When people make the point to let you know how much they enjoyed your food is such a fabulous feeling. The food that you put so much faith into, the food that you want them to fill up their belly and bring a smile to their face. Putting a smile on their face was the intention with the name of the food truck. Buns To Go.

Sadly, we’ve closed up now with the cold weather arriving and will wait excitedly for spring to roll around. We are already booking up for next year and look forward to seeing the regular customers that were coming around and meeting new faces. We serve specialty porketta sandwiches on grilled buns. We serve Poutine, which is a top seller, and we also have tater kegs. We already have new sandwiches to be introduced next year.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There were many obstacles along the way. We learned to just take it in stride. To just work through it and get it done. When you are starting a business you are all in. There’s no giving up. We surely wanted to see it through to the end, not just for us but for the kids.

You want to show your kids that you can do it. Never give up and have faith in yourself. Timing seemed to always be a factor. Waiting for parts to arrive, waiting for contractors to have available time. We had to reorder the water tanks a couple of times for various reasons. Cost always seems to be double what is originally researched and budgeted for.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We specialize in loaded sandwiches and poutine. We chose porketta as the meat as it was a staple growing up on the iron range for many families. When you go south, they haven’t heard much about Porknetta.

The plan that we have is to go south, to bring porketta, poutine, and tater kegs for people to try where they may have not had it before. Our concept is unique and that sets us apart. We take pride in the quality and the taste.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Our faith in ourselves. We believe in what we are doing. To make wise decisions now that we won’t regret later on.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: @BunsToGo