When it comes to the food truck on Laurier Street west of Bonavista Street, fries, burgers and poutine are a family business: drive up into the gravel parking lot at Yum Yums Chipwagon and you might see owner Shane Warner’s kids, Talia and Grayson, helping out during a busy weekend service.
The family element goes back a generation, according to Warner who has lived in Rockland for nearly a decade.
“I’ve always thought that I’d like to own a chip truck because of my grandma, Louise Whisselle,” Warner says. “It was her dream. She’s pretty happy to see it now.”
The dream became a reality when Warner left his job as a manager with an Ottawa-based food-service company, and that experience helped him with understanding the costs and logistics of his new venture.
Formerly Slap Shot Chipwagon, Yum Yums was introduced to world by Warner, who took over the business and opened under the new brand this past Good Friday.
He says he’s been busy ever since.
Chip trucks are popular during the season
Although they are not always mobile, food trucks and chip wagons are popular go-to’s for burgers, fries and poutine – which, here in eastern Ontario, I’m learning to pronounce as “p’tin.”
The basic footprint of the food truck take-away shop is usually some empty space in which is parked a 18- or 20-foot step van converted by a small galley kitchen with its large silver aluminum exhaust system for the stoves poking out the top.
A service window is cut out of the side of the truck adjacent to a large menu board. The sliding door might be modified as a point-of-sale, and a shelf installed near the menu board on the truck’s side will be stocked with condiments, napkins and soft-drink selections.
There might also be a nice deck and canopy built for summer heat and inclement weather, and, if the property permits, you might find a few picnic tables to sit at.
There are frequently trucks scattered throughout towns and cities large and small. Several can be found in locations in Prescott and Russell, both urban and more rural, and often open only seasonally.
For instance, several blocks away on County Road 17 and Edwards Street, the popular Patate Express can be very busy. Don’t judge a book by its cover: the ramshackle place perhaps fits perfectly the description of a food hut located in what is essentially a parking lot.
A bit further afield in Clarence Creek, about ten minutes drive out of Rockland, Pelia Chips Plus, on Labonté Street, is a small venue sitting between two residences; it serves the basic fries, burgers, pogos and poutine with smoothies, flapjacks and crêpes denoting the “plus” of the menu selections
A family affair at Yum Yums
At Yum Yums – the name was the idea of Warner’s wife, Crystal, who also lends a hand in operations along with Talia and Grayson – the smash burger is perhaps the signature dish.
And a smashing good one it is, too. It’s something Warner has considered carefully.
“We’re really focussing on fresh food here, and that includes the beef we use for the smash burger,” Warner says. “It’s 100 per cent fresh medium ground.”
The morsel’s defining feature is the hard and crispy sear on the patty which comes from being pressed on the hot flat-top grill, combined with its soft and tender interior. The fresh, buttery brioche bun makes for the perfect container for the patty.
Even a small order of fries at Yum Yums is a generous portion: they’re fried twice, the finishing second cook coming when you order.
Otherwise, the menu is relatively small and confined to four sections.
The chicken burger is a full marinated breast from the local M&M Food Market rather than a processed patty. There are eight burgers, a half-dozen poutines (the buffalo chicken being a big seller), “tornado” potatoes, a BLT and a hot chicken handheld.
A note that Yum Yums is closed on Tuesdays when Warner says he deep-cleans the kitchen, including changing the fry oil and scrubbing down the flat-top.
“I take the time to clean the truck from corner to corner,” he says.
The Warners are also offering branding and advertising opportunities to other local businesses, both on their Facebook page and the truck.
A whistle dog homage for a wide range of regular customers
Yum Yums – the term well suited to a kid’s (or adult’s) expression of deliciousness – also uses the popular Lesters for their hotdogs, including the sentimental family favourite that pays homage to Warner’s grandmother (there ain’t nothing like a good pun on a food-truck menu).
“It’s a cheese and bacon whistle dog that we named after my grandmother, so it’s a Whisselle Dog,” say Warner who adds that they are working on boosting their kids’ menu.
According to Warner, customers have embraced Yum Yums whether it’s a trio of construction workers coming in from a job site, or a family of five dropping by who have just discovered the venue.
“We’ve been getting busy,” he says. “We just hired another staff member, and that’s helped cut our service time almost in half.”
While the younger Warners are on weekend duty when available helping with orders, restocking fridges and getting customers’ drinks ready, Shane Warner is seeing that visitors to Yum Yums are receiving the gustatory experience that the chipwagon’s name suggests.
Doing so now as a frontline operator and short order cook after several years in business-to-business food distribution has given Warner a new perspective when it comes to serving the general public. He says that is a testament to the dishes they cook up.
“There are actually quite a few customers who come back multiple times because they can’t believe this is coming out of a food truck,” he says. “It has actually exceeded my expectations, to be honest.”
Food writer Andrew Coppolino lives in Rockland. He is the author of “Farm to Table” and co-author of “Cooking with Shakespeare.” Follow him on Instagram @andrewcoppolino.
