My Big Fat Greek food truck serving up authentic food in Okanagan
A food truck serving Greek food just opened in Vernon and is getting a big response from the community.
“The first day we tried to do a soft opening and filled 60 orders in just over three hours,” co-owner TJ Colovos said. “We were overwhelmed and understaffed.”
My Big Fat Greek food truck serves authentic Greek food like gyros, dolmathes, Greek salads and spanakopita based on recipes TJ grew up with in Greece. He and his wife Jessie Colovos got such a good response from people they shared their food at parties with, they decided to “go for it.”
“The idea came five years ago when my mom sold real estate and we hosted huge Greek Easter parties,” TJ said. “There’d be a lamb on the spit and gyros, and everyone told us it was the best food.”
Jessie and TJ started looking at food trucks and found one for sale, a large state of the art truck wrapped in stainless steel. They made some modifications to meet provincial standards and opened for business on April 21.
“My wife does all the cooking and I’m the face at the front, with two helpers doing all the prep in the background,” TJ said. “Everything is made fresh from fresh ingredients.”
TJ has a Greek dad and a Canadian mom, and after moving from Greece when he was young, was raised in the lower mainland where his parents owned Greek restaurants and later pizza places before opening more restaurants in Greece. He said he’s carrying on the family business.
“My family thought we were crazy to do this,” he said. “Running a restaurant is not a 9 to 5 job, you live it, you breathe it, you take it home with you.”
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The truck will be open in Vernon stationed mainly outside the Vernon library from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. most days. The pair are already booked for events and festivals in Vernon and Kelowna this year. They hope to get to Kamloops in the future but they’ll need another city license before going ahead.
Right now, TJ said, they are working hard to keep up with orders and he’s grateful for the community support they are receiving.
Go here to find out where the truck will be.
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