365betÌåÓýÔÚÏßÊÀ½ç±­

Owning and manning a food truck is a flexible, lower-cost option for feeding people almost anywhere. With portable power and streamlined menu choices, it’s an appealing means to enter the food trade or expand an entity.

It also creates quirky catering possibilities. As an alternative to a traditional restaurant, a food truck can withstand societal storms, such as a pandemic, with an adaptable presence and needs. 

Still, there is another reality. Getting behind the wheel and the window of a food truck is hard work. The legal and financial challenges are cumbersome to start. Moreover, the long hours and tasks are demanding, ranging from prep to travel to serving in niche destinations.

With low overhead and staff comes a need for an owner to do it all � purveying, driving, cooking, in addition to accounting and marketing, to name a few. There is weather to endure, space limitations with short order turnarounds and, then, the quest for the ideal spot to connect with customers.

Passion is a must.

“You need to be a master mechanic, master electrician and master plumber,� said Auggie Herring, co-owner of 3’s in the Trees food truck alongside Rusty Montoya. “We have been towed to an event and back again. The hardest part is dealing with plumbing and freezes."

But he stressed, pointing to their transport and kitchen, “The hardest working partner is Clifford the Big Red Truck.�

For all of their efforts, the pair has won Best Food Truck by the readers of the Arizona Daily Sun for seven years running, and this year was awarded Best Catering.

“It was an awesome surprise,� Herring noted with satisfaction. “We will push forward with catering and build on what we’ve begun. We’re not limited to any kind of food.�

Montoya chimed in, “A lot of emphasis and pride goes into our food � we are asked to come back by guests at our events. We build to suit for catering within budgets.�

From serving 200 employees of Gore, to feeding 30 at Grand Canyon’s Shoshone Point with a storm on the horizon, to catering a private supper for 10, 3’s in the Trees is versatile. Whether it’s a Mexican buffet, barbecue, prime rib, Asian fusion, Italian or a fried turkey, the guys have got the skills.

They have even built a wedding reception menu from items on offer at the weekly farmers market. During the winter, 3’s in the Trees contracts with Flagstaff Snow Park to fill bellies with hearty, kid-friendly fare serving stews, chili and burgers.

Because of this, people struggle to define the food truck’s wares.

Since its inception in 2015, Montoya said, “Thirty items have evolved and settled where people won’t let us take them off the menu.�

Heat is prevalent, as he incorporates his New Mexico hatch green chilies. Herring’s link with Panama City, Florida, meanwhile, produces elements such as plantains and empanadas.

“We keep it distinct,� Herring added. “The goal is clean, handheld food you can walk down the street and eat.�

An example is their most popular and original item, the TexAZ brisket green chili taco. 

The Kona sandwich was on the menu from the beginning, boasting success in its simplicity. Twenty ingredients formulate the dry rub for the pulled pork, scratch barbecue sauce topped with grilled pineapple.

The chile relleno macaroni and cheese is spicy, made with house white queso, plus serrano, poblano and jalapeno peppers sporting a crumble of tortilla chips atop. It sells out routinely.

For vegetarians, “That’s Not Cauliflower� tacos are unique and vegan without cheese.

Dessert tempts with a cheesecake cookie � more a tart that is tedious to make and easy to love.

The food truck owners met at Ski Lift Lodge running the hotel, bar and restaurant -- Herring as kitchen head and Montoya at the front of the house, also covering for one another as needed.

Perhaps, that is what makes for such a tight team, plus the back and forth as they finish one another’s sentences.

“We appreciate the locals and regulars who’ve shown support. The whole town shows us support,� they said in turns. “We’ve met so many owners and been to every brewery � people are so nice to us. We’ve been very fortunate and are appreciative of everyone we’ve met � it’s a long list.�