Driving throughout the Susquehanna Valley to bring drool-worthy delicious eats to your hometown, several local food trucks have made big business of meals on wheels. In fact, a few favorite companies have outgrown their food trucks and made the transition to full-scale restaurant locations. Read on for two of their stories.
Great Greek
For the Souvlaki Boys, food is a family affair. Third cousins and business partners Michael Kambouroglos and Pete Alexopoulos have been providing traditional Greek cuisine for the Lancaster region for nearly three years via their signature blue-and-white food truck. But what they’re serving is far from the ho-hum gyro you might have had from a greasy diner or festival stand. “It is the food we wanted to eat, and we couldn’t get it here,” says Alexopoulos.
So the pair worked to remedy the city’s lack of authentic Greek eats by compiling a list of family recipes and traditional dishes and serving the menu from their mobile restaurant. The nationwide popularity of food trucks helped bring Lancaster up to speed with larger cities, as they see it. “Any major city has street food as part of its identity,” explains Kambouroglos. “It grows the city culture,” adds Alexopoulos.
But the food truck life is not without its challenges, especially in our area. The cousins found it difficult to continue serving throughout frigid Susquehanna Valley winters, when diners prefer to stay in rather than brave the conditions. The solution came through a property opening on West James Street in downtown Lancaster. In summer 2014, the space was transformed into a blue-and-white walled destination for locals to satisfy their Greek cuisine craving any time of the year.
Because of the larger prep space, Kambouroglos and Alexopoulos were able to expand the menu, but the dishes that made Souvlaki Boys most popular can be found in the restaurant, too. The gyro pita is arguably the restaurant’s star item, and for good reason. Unlike many restaurants that serve up processed meatloaf or a lamb-and-beef mixture, you will find only pork in this sandwich, just like you would in Greece. Fresh layers of local meat are layered on a vertical rotisserie, slow cooked, and shaved off. In fact, it is meat prepared in this manner that is truly the gyro, not the sandwich itself. Finished with diced tomato, red onion, tzatziki, and seasoned French fries, the gyro is wrapped in a warm pita for you to devour.
Another top seller is the SB Signature Greek Salad, a generous mix of Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers, olives, and feta with lemon vinaigrette. And don’t miss a chance to end your meal with a traditional Greek treat, baklava made from flaky phyllo, cinnamon-sugar, almond, and walnut layers.
As for the fans of the original Souvlaki Boys food truck: don’t despair. You can still find it at all of your favorite Lancaster spots from March through November.
Souvlaki Boys / 1 W. James St., Lancaster / www.souvlakiboys.com / 717-208-6243
Big, Bad Wolf
Baron Von Schwein, the Lancaster-based food truck that won us all over with their non-traditional twist on barbecue, made an unexpected turn and opened their first non-mobile location in downtown York. “We really wanted to be a part of what is happening in York,” says owner Jordan Pfautz. And considering they were quickly outgrowing the Lancaster community kitchen in which they first started their business, they soon had the opportunity to make their move.
Pfautz and co-owner Henry Swartz chatted with their York connections about the ideal location, and the pair eventually decided on the up-and-coming block of West Market Street where the restaurant now resides. When the business first opened in July, they were the only operating storefront on the block. Since then, three more have joined them, quickly proving the potential of the area.
That’s not to say the restaurant didn’t have rough beginnings. The building hadn’t been remodeled since the 1970s and was need in structural and electrical work, as well as “gallons of white paint” to provide a blank canvas for the owners’ vision. “We wanted to take the truck and turn it inside out,” explains Pfautz. “We wanted it to have the same feel, but in brick and mortar.”
The big, bold lettering that covers the sides of the truck has been transferred to the walls of the restaurant, extending up to the ceiling. Textured aluminum wraps around the dining area as a reminder of the business’ automotive beginnings. And, of course, Baron Von Schwein’s signature wolf appears throughout the space.
All of your favorites from the food truck are available at the restaurant: slow smoked pulled pork sandwiches and bowls, stuffed sweet pork buns, baked corn, traditional mac and cheese, and homemade sodas. However, this larger location offers the opportunity for inventive weekly specials, for example the “porkstrami” Reuben, an unconventional preparation featuring pork-based pastrami with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and thousand island dressing on rye.
The Baron Von Schwein business plan does not stop in York. Soon, Pfautz and Swartz hope to add more trucks as well as physical restaurants in Lancaster, Philadelphia, and beyond. In April, they opened a small-scale location in Appalachian Harley Davidson in Mechanicsburg. There’s good reason to keep an eye out for the next Baron Von Schwein near you.
Baron Von Schwein / 35 W. Market St., York / www.baronvonschwein.com / 717-848-6576
By Hannah Wigton / Photography by Donovan Roberts Witmer
