MADAWASKA, Maine — Several talented chefs are popping up in Aroostook County, providing locals and tourists alike with diverse cuisine, and it’s being offered from food trucks.
The St. John Valley alone, which covers the northernmost part of the state, has seen several new food trucks emerge this year, from Mami’s Spanish Kitchen, which offers authentic Puerto Rican cuisine, to Gotta Coffee, which started out as a coffee delivery service earlier this year and has seen rapid growth ever since.
Other valley food trucks include Ruby Red’s Cuisine, which offers home cooked meals, salads, soups, and ice cream, and The Food Dudes, which sells burritos, quesadillas, nachos, and burrito bowls.
Farther south, the central Aroostook region has also seen a variety of new food trucks, from Cheri’s Weiner Wagon, specializing in hot dogs; to Mimi’s Smashing Food Truck, focusing on smash burgers and other fried favorites; but also less traditional fare like Nacho Mama’s, a Mexican grill; and the Caribou-based Munchies.
St. John Valley Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jessica Blalock confirmed that the region has seen a significant increase in food trucks.
“I think it is wonderful that we’ve had a boost to the economy through food trucks,” she said. “It has also been very enjoyable to experience a variety of cuisines.”
Blalock said many local food vendors have also fed bridge and road construction crews throughout the past year.
Mami’s Spanish Kitchen is owned by Brenda and Jason Guerrette. Jason Guerrette grew up in northern Maine in Frenchville, and later moved to southern New Hampshire after serving in the U.S. Navy. He met Brenda there in 2017, and they later married.
“She started cooking for me, and I’d be like ‘Wow, this is incredible,’” he said. “But for her, it’s just normal fare. It’s just what she cooks.”
He said Brenda is the middle child of 12, and that everyone in her family raves about her cooking.
“If you were to watch her cook, there’s nothing written down,” he said. “For example, a staple on our menu is Pernil, which is a pork shoulder. They all come in different sizes, but she knows intuitively — I need more of this, less of that — as she’s preparing it.”
The food truck made its first appearance at the BikeBowl, an event hosted in Limestone at the former Loring Air Force Base’s arch hangar. Jason said they had just received a passing inspection and license for the business, and that his band was playing at the battle of the bands during the event, so they decided to bring the Mami’s Spanish Kitchen food truck.
They entered the truck into a cooking competition, and took second place.
From there, word about Mami’s Spanish Kitchen spread fast. They see a steady line everywhere they go, and all of their food typically sells out within 2 1/2 hours.
Because this food is not available elsewhere in the region, Jason said the first question most new customers ask is, “Is it spicy?”
“There’s nothing spicy like that,” he said. “It’s all very flavorful.”
All the dishes are based on meals Brenda would cook for her family.
“It’s not filet mignon, right? You’re going to get food you can afford and make it taste really good,” Jason said.
Brenda said she starts preparing food on Thursdays, marinating meat, preparing desserts, and cutting everything up.
They both said that preparation has gotten a little easier since they first started.
“There’s no doubt,” Jason said. “I’m peeling a lot of potatoes.”
“I feel happy,” Brenda said. “It’s overwhelming sometimes because we both work during the week.”
She said she hopes to eventually be able to retire early so she can focus strictly on the food truck during the summer months.
Gotta Coffee, an artisanal coffee truck, just opened in January. The owners, the husband and wife team of Jason and Amy Baldock, have seen such a positive response that they are now planning to open a brick and mortar space by the end of the year. The physical spot will be located on 293 Main Street, Madawaska.
But the Baldocks have no plans to get rid of their food truck.
Their number one best-seller is the vanilla caramel cold brew, which Jason said some people order multiple times a day. Amy recently created a new drink called “Four Corners,” which contains vanilla, caramel, and has white chocolate and mocha at the bottom. It is available as a latte, cold brew, or a macchiato, and was named after the region’s spot at the northeast corner of the country.
The coffee truck began as a delivery service that only covered Madawaska. They later expanded to Frenchville and St. Agatha, and have made appearances at roughly 25 events since opening.
“The community has accepted us with open arms,” Jason Baldock said earlier this week, “and we’ve been getting really good reviews. We’ve grown a lot, and we haven’t really ventured out of the St. John Valley.”
And while the brick and mortar space will also offer food, the Baldocks are excited about new possibilities with their food truck as well.
“We can go anywhere we want,” he said. “If we get known enough, we’d love to be able to make it all the way down to an event in Bangor, maybe to one of their renaissance fairs or something.”
Amy and Jason are both excited to be part of the rising number of local food trucks.
“We think it’s awesome that there are a ton of food trucks that are popping up,” Amy said. “It’s really exciting for ust to see that, and to get more options out there. We’re just really excited to be here.”
Nora Keyes, who lives in Madawaska, opened Munchies in the vacant Bennett Drive lot where Caribou’s Burger King once stood in August.
Keyes and son Christopher Conley have been serving everything from seafood like fish and chips, shrimp, haddock and lobster rolls to Mexican favorites like tacos, nacho bowls and quesadillas. They also serve Chinese dishes like egg rolls and fried rice, as well as baked potatoes, hand-cut french fries and other side choices. She prides herself on using fresh ingredients, like chicken, haddock and potatoes.
Keyes said that offering people different choices was her goal from the start.
“That’s why we went with the name Munchies,” Keyes said during a steady Wednesday afternoon. “A lot of trucks go with a specific cuisine because that’s what they know, but we don’t want to compete with that.”
A Frenchville native, Keyes is a veteran of the restaurant industry, having worked as a bartender, server and prep cook, but values the freedom that food trucks offer.
“With a restaurant, people have to come to you, but with a truck, I could meet people where they are,” Keyes said.
Keyes typically opens Munchies at the Bennett Drive lot from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. six days a week and would like to branch out for events and a possible weekly location in Presque Isle.
