By heading to coffee shops, breweries and farmers’ markets, instead of waiting for customers to come to a brick-and-mortar shop, food truck chefs are taking their food to where the community is already.
Captain Muchachos, a purveyor of Mexican-American cuisine, draws customers to their bright red trailer with a glowing neon sign, like they did at this past weekend’s Rhythm N’ Bloom’s music festival in downtown Knoxville.
And, it was a music festival several years ago that first inspired owner Duncan Trout’s dream of Captain Muchachos.
Trout, a UT alum, was searching for a career path after graduation, and when walking around a music festival one day and seeing the food trucks, Trout realized that was something he wanted to do.
“It was hard work but fun,” Trout said. “It took a good year, but it was worth it, having something I was passionate about lightbulb as a career choice.”
Captain Muchachos not only operates in a nontraditional restaurant setup but also serves nontraditional spins on classic Mexican foods, mixing the traditional flavors of Mexican cuisine in brand new combinations with fresh ingredients. Nothing is fried, and all the ingredients are handpicked and natural.
“With a truck, we can do stuff more unique and play around and make crazy flavors,” Trout said. “People are more keen to try different stuff from a truck than restaurants.”
Captain Muchachos tacos vary with combinations such as “Breakfast Tacos Al Pastor,” “Pollo with Kiwi Chutney” and the “Seared Ahi Tuna,” which, in particular, is a favorite of the owners.
The supportive and positive community responses have been the best part for Trout and Captain Muchachos co-owner Maria Vincent.
“Everybody’s nice and supportive. Knoxville’s a really awesome city for it,” Trout said. “It’s a pretty and outdoorsy town, where everyone’s involved and trying to live a healthy lifestyle so exposure has been really easy. People do their best to make sure local businesses thrive.”
The enthusiastic responses have been what’s kept the crew at Captain Muchachos all over Knoxville lately, serving on the corners of breweries most nights of the week, catering local weddings, celebrating at the opening of Honeybee West in Farragut at the start of April and serving tacos to visitors at music festivals such as Rhythm N’ Blooms and the Dogwood Arts Festival later this month.
“It’s wonderful,” Trout said. “It’s all kinds of crazy good community.”
