Food Truck Spotlight

The Branded Bun bakes up sweet, savory kolaches

Today's food truck spotlight is a yummy one: sweet and savory kolaches.

Photo: Branded Bun

June 16, 2025 by Bradley Cooper — Editor, ATM Marketplace & Food Truck Operator

There are many avenues to success for a food truck. One particularly useful one is to offer a different type of cuisine than is standard for the areas.

That's the goal of The Branded Bun, which opened in Long Island in 2025 to offer kolaches, a pastry first made in the Czech Republic. Although normally a sweet treat, The Branded Bun aims to make it a full meal with savory offerings as well.

Food Truck Name:The Branded Bun

Owners:Bruce M. Vatske and Lynda Buttner

Date Founded:02/2025

Location:Farmingville, New York

How many trucks do you operate under this brand?

One

Do you operate brick-and-mortar locations under this brand as well? How many?

No, but that is in hopeful future!

How did you come up with the name?

We bought some kolaches from a shop and had to bite into each one to figure out the inside contents...we all agreed, wouldn't it be great if each bun was labeled so we knew what was inside...hence, The Branded Bun. Each brand tells you what is inside! On top of that, one of our kids drew every picture for the brands, another drew the trailer design and another digitized it all to be printed. Lynda has had a vision from day one on how to pull it all together visually. Really all came together beautifully.

What prompted you to start a food truck?

Food is a passion of ours. We love experimenting and exploring. We've driven all over Texas tasting, sampling, talking to shop owners and learning from bakers so we could bring the best, freshest and most unique product to Long Island.

What's on your food truck menu? Why did you choose this cuisine?

Sweet and savory kolaches! We opened with six savory: egg and cheese; bacon, egg and cheese; egg, spinach and feta; smoked sausage, jalapeños and cheddar; honey BBQ pulled pork and cheddar and macaroni and cheese. Plus we have three sweets: Classic sweet cheese; lemon berry cheesecake and nutella. We serve our freshly brewed southern peach sweet iced tea and you can always add our freshly made Southern Slaw to round out your meal. We chose this cuisine because there is nothing like it at all on Long Island... and we are proud to teach Long Island all about kolaches.

Do you make all the food on the truck or do you use home-based kitchen or commissary space?

We are a hybrid effort. We make dough in our home because of the lengthy, time-heavy process of three rises/proof sessions; we make sauces and stuffings in a commissary and we assemble and bake on the trailer. This ensures, on fair day, we produce the freshest product possible.

What's the best part of being a food truck operator?

We are creating, crafting and making amazing kolaches as well as making new friends at each event. Honestly, it is a dream come true.

What's the worst part of operating a food truck?

The fees, red tape, and trips to the town have been demoralizing. We have many towns and municipalities that all have their hands extended to get paid before we even made one sale. Deep breaths and patience will prevail.

What lessons have you learned since launching the truck?

Make friends with every food truck you can...their experience, knowledge and know how can provide invaluable help and guidance. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Share with other owners your vision. Get them excited for you and with you...the more the merrier.

Is there anything you would have done differently at the start?

More research of reputable builders, electricians and wrappers. We got bamboozled by unscrupulous con-artists and missed some glaring signs because of the thrill of owning our business.

Any tips/advice to others thinking of launching a food truck?

Ask, ask, ask then ask again. Ask everyone that has done it already. Spend time (and even invest money) to talk to experts, consultants, and find someone who has done what you want to do. We flew to Austin and paid a consultant to teach us what she does. Worth every penny and now we talk regularly.

Do you have any anecdotes about running a food truck — any unique interactions or special events you've been booked at?

We are built for and have planned on being on the sidelines of local soccer fields, lacrosse tournaments and street fairs. Our first fair was slow and steady, just like we hoped for. We were told by so many how beautiful our trailer was, how unique our food is and how delicious they all tasted. One mother and daughter came to our trailer because, "we loved the look of your trailer...just spoke to us." We are on our way...one event at a time.

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About Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper is the editor of ATM Marketplace and Food Truck Operator. He was previously the editor of Digital Signage Today. His background is in information technology, advertising, and writing.

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