Culinary dream leads to food truck success

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IBERIA — A career change, a passion, and a risk have come together for Angie Frazier.

Now she’s the owner and chief cook of Bytchn Kitchen food truck.

“It’s been a 14-year dream of mine,” Frazier said. “I’ve always been into food. I went to culinary school for about 1 1/2 years. I’ve always just had a passion for it. It started when I was about six years old. I was going to start a restaurant but I realized that was a little too much overhead for me; so I’d seen a food truck and I thought that would be perfect.”

She worked as a software developer for 14 years but lost her job in March 2020 during the pandemic.

“I decided to take everything I had and stick it in a food truck. I piled up my three kids and my husband and we drove down to Macon, Georgia to buy the trailer—just on a whim….I didn’t even know what I was going to serve at the time, until I played around with ideas.”

She laughs when she thinks about how she came up with the name Bytchn Kitchen.

She didn’t know what she was going to serve but after looking at what was already available, she decided on a Chipotle-style menu. Then she couldn’t settle on a name. “It took me forever and ever,” she said. “And after about three months, my husband and I were arguing in the truck, and he said, ‘You haven’t even come up with a name for the trailer?’”

And after some bickering, she shot back, “Fine! I’ll call it Bytchn Kitchen.” It rather stuck, though she was concerned it might be offensive. She ran it by her uncle, and when he said “Do it. I think it’s fantastic,” she did. She also did the graphic design for her logo.

What’s on the menu?

“I didn’t want to fry my food; I feel like that’s out-of-date. I don’t have a fryer and I don’t plan to get one. My food is made to order and customers can customize it however they want,” she said. She makes a lot of bowls and uses as much local meat as she can, particularly from Center Street Meats in Bucyrus. She tries to offer healthier options, including vegetarian and low-carb items. And her customers’ favorite is Mexican pizza.

She listens to her customers, to their ideas, their likes and dislikes. She said she doesn’t care if they’re good or bad suggstions. It matters to her.

Her husband Cecil Frazier supported and encouraged her. It helps that he is also a business owner, an entrepreur: he owns C3 Home Improvements. He customized the trailer to meet her needs. It had only the basics; they added all of the kitchen equipment, pizza oven, stainless steel tables, propane tanks, and generator.

And if they’re not busy enough, they have three young boys: Gavin, 7; Chip, 2 1/2; and Brody, 15 months.

Her first event was Nov. 3, 2021 at a craft show. She said she was “scared to death.” But at that first event she had a line formed outside her trailer and she was nervous she wasn’t going to be able to get the food out on time. She did, and the experience was “awesome.”

She’s not working alone. Her father, Kevin Saunders, is helping as driver and mechanic. While she got started with her husband’s encouragement and support, her father originally wasn’t in the planning stage. She was talking with friends about starting the business but she started in November 2021 and there wasn’t enough demand over the winter to keep them busy or to pay them, especially just getting started. But her father had quit his job and she asked him if he wanted to help.

“I took him out on the first day and then it turned into he’s going to every single one with me,” she said.

Over the winter she booked brewery events.

“I built a lot of good relationships with them and they’re good relationships to have—food trucks and breweries—that’s for sure,” she said.

“Now the sun is coming out and things are getting better [COVID] and I’m getting excited,” she added, “But I am glad I started in the winter because I got to reach out to a lot of places and I didn’t have a whole lot of competition at the time because all of the food trucks are normally closed in the winter time. I was able to get in popular places and get my foot in the door.”

The slower winter months gave her the opportunity to build relationships with new customers and identify more opportunities, she’s already developed a reputation and recognition—People are beginning to recognize her yellow trailer and blazing logo.

“I work every single day, but it doesn’t feel like work at all. It feels like I was meant to do this. It’s weird how everything falls into place when things happen that way,” Frazier said. Her days are filled with menu planning, taking phone calls, booking events, talking to other business owners, responding to social media, advertising, grocery shopping, cooking and tasting—and taking care of three young boys.

She is concerned about the rising gas prices. She has bookings in Median and Akron; but as prices rise, she’s going to try to limit her range. Higher gas prices could force her food prices higher and that’s something she wants to avoid.

Frazier and her trailer will be seen in Galion. She has parked at Advanced Auto Parts, 1803 Brewery; and on April 30, she’ll be at Fox Winery. Bytchn Kitchen can also be found March 25 and 26 from 6-9 p.m. at Marion Brewing Co.

She also has graduation parties booked.

People ask her how she got started.

“I tell them don’t think; just do,” she said, “I want people to follow what they want to do in life; I want people to be happy. Get out of your comfort zone and do something different. Don’t be scared to do it.”

To connect with Angie Frazier visist Bytchn Kitchen on Facebook, find her on Instagram, email her at [email protected] or call 419-544-1755.

Angie Frazier peers out the serving window of her Bytchn Kitchen food truck. She always wanted a restaurant and this isn’t what she had in mind, but now it feels like it was meant to be.

https://www.galioninquirer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2022/03/web1_Feature1-1.jpg

Angie Frazier peers out the serving window of her Bytchn Kitchen food truck. She always wanted a restaurant and this isn’t what she had in mind, but now it feels like it was meant to be. Submitted photo

Angie Fraizer’s son Gavin poses in an apron and hat in her food truck. ”I’m hoping my son will help me when he gets older. He can learn the dollar. He can learn you don’t have to work a 9-5 job if you don’t want to and go after your dreams,” Frazier said.
https://www.galioninquirer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2022/03/web1_Feature2-1.jpgAngie Fraizer’s son Gavin poses in an apron and hat in her food truck. ”I’m hoping my son will help me when he gets older. He can learn the dollar. He can learn you don’t have to work a 9-5 job if you don’t want to and go after your dreams,” Frazier said. Submitted photo

It’s Mexican pizza, a customer favorite. Like many of the items on the menu, it can be customized to include the toppings each customer wants.
https://www.galioninquirer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2022/03/web1_202Bythin-Option-1.jpgIt’s Mexican pizza, a customer favorite. Like many of the items on the menu, it can be customized to include the toppings each customer wants. Submitted photo

It’s not surprising to see a line, even a modest one waiting for a turn at the serving window of Bytchn Kitchen because the menu items or custom ordered, Chipotle-style recipes.
https://www.galioninquirer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2022/03/web1_Bythin-Option-1.jpgIt’s not surprising to see a line, even a modest one waiting for a turn at the serving window of Bytchn Kitchen because the menu items or custom ordered, Chipotle-style recipes. Submitted photo
Bytchn Kitchen is ready to roll

Rhonda Bletner

[email protected]

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