Independent Operators
North Carolina food truck is all about family and all about sauce
The Sarge’s Chef on Wheels food truck is now selling its shrimp and grits sauce in 265 grocery stores.
June 7, 2023 by Judy Mottl — Editor, RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com
From its name to its menu, the Sarge's Chef on Wheels food truck is all about family.
The Raleigh, North Carolina mobile food operation is named after owner chef Julius West's father who served as an Air Force sergeant.
The menu is inspired by traditional recipes West learned in the kitchen with his mom and exposure to different cultures, West said in an email interview.
As a military family, the Wests lived all over the U.S. One sister was born in Oregon, West was born in New York and the family lived in Japan and England.
The food truck fare is also inspired by his mother's interpretation and love of providing meals with local flavors. His mom taught him thoughtful preparation of homestyle dishes is a way to show others care and respect.
"We consider our cooking style as down-home cooking with an Asian/Caribbean flair," said West, who along with his wife, Janet, launched Sarge's Chef on Wheels in 2012.
"I am almost 70 years old now and still cooking as my mother did, by taking any recipe and making it personal, adding whatever we like to a basic dish. I did not know I wanted to be a chef, I just loved cooking and making people happy with good food."
Sauce, sauce, sauce
The top seller at Sarge's Chef on Wheels food truck is shrimp and grits with a sauce developed from West's mom's family recipe. Her family hailed from Charleston, South Carolina, so it was a traditional low-county style, said West.
West and his family had been making the sauce at home for years before he even began thinking about starting a food truck.
In 2008 the recession forced the closure of West's mortgage company and two years later his wife retired from her banking career. It was at that point the couple began contemplating starting a food truck and doing the needed research.
The couple bought the truck in 2011 and began serving a year later and nearly immediately its shrimp and grits became the top customer favorite.
Given the sauce's popularity, West's wife decided about seven years later it was time to bottle the sauce for sale as a product so customers could make shrimp and grits at home. Customers just need to add chicken broth and shrimp to replicate their favorite menu item.
That was in 2019, and now the sauce is on shelves in 265 grocery stores. Retail partners include Harris Teeter, Mast General Store and Weaver Street Market.
The food truck's retail site, an online shop that sells the sauce as well, also sells Sarge's Yellow Stone Ground Grits and Sarge's Seafood Seasoning.
In reflecting on his food truck enterprise, West describes it as a great business and his advice to future food truck operators is to only jump in after spending some time working on a food truck.
"Also, understand that any plans you make will not happen the way you plan it," he said.
West has no regrets about his food truck career and said he learned from missteps along the way and wouldn't change much if he had the opportunity to go back in time.
"As long as you love feeding people and don't mind a lot of hard work, go for it," he said. "The best part is seeing people enjoy your food and the worst part is maintaining a staff that cares as much as you do."
One tip he offered is a lesson he learned: Buy the best if you have the funds and don't skimp yourself into more hard work.
About Judy Mottl
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