BYU’s first official food truck, Brigham’s Wagon, officially opened on campus this summer.
The new food trailer currently offers classic American foods like burgers, breakfast burritos, fries and chicken strips.
“It’s hard to feed 2000 people out of a food truck,” Brent Craig, managing director of Dining Services, said. Craig added that the menu is still evolving.
Craig said although working a food truck is a challenge, he was happy to work alongside Mark Davies, director of Student Dining Services, and Chet Davis, general manager of BYU’s Food To-Go catering company.
The roaming food service is open from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. and is stationed at a different campus location each day of the week, as seen below:
- Monday: Near Heritage Halls
- Tuesday: South campus, in the south quad
- Wednesday: Temporarily located in the parking lot by the JKB, near the campus police station. The food trailer will park by the ASB once the construction is cleared.
- Thursday: BYU West campus
- Friday: Richards Building/Fieldhouse Quad
“We're trying to be where the students and staff are so that it’s more convenient for them," Davies said.
Davies said they are working on adding items to the menu.
“Every couple of weeks we'll change up (the menu) so the students can get a variety of food,” Davies said.
Davies said they have also contemplated adding foods like corn dogs and then hot chocolate in winter.
"Consistency plays a huge key in the food truck business," Davies said. "Not only consistency with the menu and the quality of the food that you offer, but consistency in the locations that you're at so that the community can be aware."
Davies explained that managing a food truck is different from directing other kinds of dining services.
“We’re only two months into this thing, and have already seen a lot of progress in those two months,” Davies said.
Craig said a popular item so far has been their hand-pressed, smash-style burgers, made with smoked beef brisket, cheese and a BYU bakery milk bread bun.
Brigham's Wagon acts as a service not only to students and staff on campus but to the community. The trailer has visited multiple different kinds of events, including soccer and football games, carnivals and community outings.
"If YSA stake wanted to have a party, they could rent this food trailer. We would go to their facility, park or wherever. We'd set a menu, they would guarantee so many sales and they'd pay so much for sales,” Craig said.
In the long run, Davies said he hopes for the food truck to become a sort of “icon for the campus” and build a reputation of high quality food and service, both on campus and in the community.
Craig hopes for the food truck to become as iconic as the Cougar Tail donut, leaving a similar effect of charm and nostalgia on its customers.
Davies said once the word gets out, he would love for the food truck to “be equitable to the Cougareat" or to the BYU creamery.