'Hot, Fast, Cheap and Easy' in a Food Cart

During a trip to Seattle, WA, Spotsylvania County resident Mike Hurst said he saw a line of people waiting to get a taste of fresh donuts that a guy was making under a tent and an idea popped in his head.

"He was busy the whole time I was there," Hurst said.

Hurst said he asked his wife, Katie, "Why can't we get a food truck?"

At the time, Hurst was commuting back and forth to Alexandria and the drive was started to pull him away from valuable time with his wife and their new baby, Isabella Rose.

Then while watching the Food Network, the couple watched an episode of The Great Food Truck Race and the rest is history.

"That sealed it for us," Hurst said. "It's the next phase of dining and eating."

Instead of buying an actual food truck, Hurst saved money by retrofitting a trailer into a mobile kitchen that he will pull with his truck. After 20 years in the restaurant business, Hurst said he was ready to go at it on his own.

"Everything is brand new and custom built and I can cater with it," he said. Two chefs who he want to high school with at in Alexandria helped him with the menu and pricing.

Hurst said he wants the food to be fresh and as local as possible. He will offer chicken, pork, beef and shrimp spiedies, hamburger sliders, tacos and tostada taco salad, jerk salad, chicken, beef, pork and shrimp skewers, veggie burgers and a veggie skewer. He plans to purchase seafood from B&G Seafood and is seeking out local produce. 

The business motto is, "Hot, Fast, Cheap and Easy, Good Food for Good People."

Hurst said he isn't sure he will immediately do business in Fredericksburg, citing the higher meals tax of 6 percent and the lower threshold for a business license than surrounding communities. For example, Spotsylvania County has a 4 percent meals tax and requires a business license only if the business has annual gross receipts over $200,000. Fredericksburg requires a business license for any business that has annual gross receipts above $50,000 to $200,000 at a rate of 20 cents per $100 of gross receipts over $50,000.

"I would love to stay local and build up a weekly clientele and then maybe on weekends venture out to different parts of the state," Hurst said.

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