Meals & Beverage
In the present day’s meals truck highlight is a yummy one: candy and savory kolaches.
Photograph: Branded Bun
June 3, 2025 by Bradley Cooper — Editor, ATM Market & Meals Truck Operator
There are various avenues to success for a meals truck. One notably helpful one is to supply a special sort of delicacies than is normal for the areas.
That is the objective of The Branded Bun, which opened in Lengthy Island in 2025 to supply kolaches, a pastry first made within the Czech Republic. Though usually a candy deal with, The Branded Bun goals to make it a full meal with savory choices as properly.
Meals Truck Identify:The Branded Bun
House owners:Bruce M. Vatske and Lynda Buttner
Date Based:02/2025
Location:Farmingville, New York
What number of vans do you use beneath this model?
One
Do you use brick-and-mortar places beneath this model as properly? What number of?
No, however that’s in hopeful future!
How did you give you the identify?
We purchased some kolaches from a store and needed to chew into each to determine the within contents…all of us agreed, would not it’s nice if every bun was labeled so we knew what was inside…therefore, The Branded Bun. Every model tells you what’s inside! On prime of that, considered one of our children drew each image for the manufacturers, one other drew the trailer design and one other digitized all of it to be printed. Lynda has had a imaginative and prescient from day one on the right way to pull all of it collectively visually. Actually all got here collectively superbly.
What prompted you to start out a meals truck?
Meals is a ardour of ours. We love experimenting and exploring. We have pushed throughout Texas tasting, sampling, speaking to buy homeowners and studying from bakers so we may carry the very best, freshest and most unusual product to Lengthy Island.
What’s in your meals truck menu? Why did you select this delicacies?
Candy 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’ve got three sweets: Traditional candy cheese; lemon berry cheesecake and nutella. We serve our freshly brewed southern peach candy iced tea and you’ll at all times add our freshly made Southern Slaw to spherical out your meal. We selected this delicacies as a result of there’s nothing prefer it in any respect on Lengthy Island… and we’re proud to show Lengthy Island all about kolaches.
Do you make all of the meals on the truck or do you utilize home-based kitchen or commissary area?
We’re a hybrid effort. We make dough in our house due to the prolonged, time-heavy technique of three rises/proof periods; we make sauces and stuffings in a commissary and we assemble and bake on the trailer. This ensures, on truthful day, we produce the freshest product potential.
What’s the very best a part of being a meals truck operator?
We’re creating, crafting and making superb kolaches in addition to making new mates at every occasion. Truthfully, it’s a dream come true.
What is the worst a part of working a meals truck?
The charges, crimson tape, and journeys to the city have been demoralizing. We have now many cities and municipalities that every one have their palms prolonged to receives a commission earlier than we even made one sale. Deep breaths and endurance will prevail.
What classes have you ever discovered since launching the truck?
Make mates with each meals truck you possibly can…their expertise, information and understand how can present invaluable assist and steering. Do not be afraid to ask for assist. Share with different homeowners your imaginative and prescient. Get them excited for you and with you…the extra the merrier.
Is there something you’d have accomplished in a different way at first?
Extra analysis of respected builders, electricians and wrappers. We bought bamboozled by unscrupulous con-artists and missed some evident indicators due to the fun of proudly owning our enterprise.
Any suggestions/recommendation to others pondering of launching a meals truck?
Ask, ask, ask then ask once more. Ask everybody that has accomplished it already. Spend time (and even make investments cash) to speak to consultants, consultants, and discover somebody who has accomplished what you wish to do. We flew to Austin and paid a marketing consultant to show us what she does. Price each penny and now we discuss often.
Do you’ve any anecdotes about operating a meals truck — any distinctive interactions or particular occasions you’ve got been booked at?
We’re constructed for and have deliberate on being on the sidelines of native soccer fields, lacrosse tournaments and avenue festivals. Our first truthful was gradual and regular, identical to we hoped for. We had been informed by so many how lovely our trailer was, how distinctive our meals is and the way scrumptious all of them tasted. One mom and daughter got here to our trailer as a result of, “we liked the look of your trailer…simply spoke to us.” We’re on our manner…one occasion at a time.
About Bradley Cooper
