Cheviot couple rolls out area's newest food truck
CHEVIOT – It's said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Corey McKinney and his wife, Misty, are working to make sure people eat a delicious one – whether it's in the morning, at lunch time or in the evening.
The Cheviot couple are the proprietors of the neighborhood's first mobile eatery, the Wake and Bake Breakfast food truck.
"We're happy to be a new business on the West Side and introducing this part of town to the food truck scene," Corey said. "Food trucks have really grown in popularity in the past few years and the owners of all these trucks just want to make people happy and serve good food."
He said he and his wife decided to start a food truck business late last year. He quit his corporate gig, they bought a bus in March and then spent the next couple of months transforming it into a mobile kitchen.
They soon got rolling and began dishing out meals in late June.
"I figured if I was going to be working 60 hours a week I might as well be working for myself," he said. "It's been hard, but it's a lot of fun."
The breakfast theme of their truck stems from his childhood growing up in the country, Corey said. Every weekend his family would get together for huge breakfasts.
Their menu rotates daily, but includes country favorites like buttermilk biscuits and gravy, home fries, French toast and buttermilk pancakes. They also serve breakfast tacos, strawberry cheesecake pancakes, a variety of buttermilk biscuit sandwiches and, for healthy eaters, fresh fruit and yogurt.
Corey developed all the recipes himself and all the food is made from scratch.
"We've perfected our biscuit and pancake recipes," he said. "My mom was a big baker and she passed down some of her recipes to me. My mom has been a big influence on my cooking background; I've put my own spin on her recipes."
Misty said they set up the truck at least once a week in Cheviot for customers on the West Side and spend the remainder of each week serving food at business parks and public gathering places throughout Greater Cincinnati. They are also available to cater private events.
Corey said it was a little nerve-wracking to leave his job and a stable income to start a food truck, but business has been good and the word seems to spread to more and more people every week.
"It's exhilarating," he said. "It's our business and we make all the calls. If it's a bad day, that's on us. If it's a good day, that's also on us."
McKinney and his wife post a schedule of where they plan to be each week on the truck's website, www.wakeandbakebreakfast.com. They also have a Facebook page, www.facebook.com/wakeandbakebreakfast, where they post times, locations, photos and daily features.
"Don't start your day without us," Misty said.