Food truck heading off to college
Staff writer
Taco’s Food Truck owner Josh Tajchman will take his food truck to Manhattan from mid-August to mid-September.
Kansas State University is contracting with several food trucks while its dining halls are under construction.
“Working with an organization like Kansas State University, it’s a huge opportunity,” Tajchman said. “You don’t know who you could meet or future business possibilities. Pretty much, the sky’s the limit.”
Tajchman is waiting to sign a contract but does have an oral agreement and is anticipating the prospect.
It will be an ideal time to be away as the lot he uses next to Casey’s in Marion is unavailable while foundation is being laid for a dining room annex he plans.
He hopes the building will be up by the end of August.
“I plan to have the physical building up by then, but there’s still a lot of finishing work,” he said. “We’d need to build a bathroom, build a bar, and insulate the building. …There’s still a ton of stuff even once the building is up.”
Tajchman, a K-State alumnus, thinks it makes the most sense to find help in Manhattan to fill out the staff of six he expects to need to serve lunch and dinner there.
“This isn’t a one-man job here,” he said. “This is going to take a little team.”
K-State’s search for food trucks wasn’t an open invitation, but finding enough just in Manhattan would have been difficult, Tajchman said.
“They grabbed what they could,” he said. “I think then they looked in close regions just outside K-State to see if they could find someone who would be willing to travel a bit. We’re willing to do that because it’s a great opportunity.”
Tajchman plans to serve the same food as he does in Marion but scale down his menu.