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80 years, five generations, two families, same recipes
August 26, 2024
STURGEON BAY – Starting a food truck in Door County, Carly Sarkis-Baranczyk said, fills both her heart and the bellies of locals in the community.
“I always wanted to open my own restaurant – that’s something I’ve been wanting to do forever,” she said.
However, Sarkis-Baranczyk said getting into the food industry didn’t immediately happen for her.
“I went to school in Chicago for hospitality – specifically, restaurant and event management,” she said. “Out of college, I knew I didn’t have the funds to start my restaurant right away, so I decided to go down the event (management path).”
Sarkis-Baranczyk said she helped with a lot of events for a hotel in Madison after graduation, but shortly after returned to Sturgeon Bay where she grew up and began working with Destination Sturgeon Bay (DSB) as its marketing and events director.
Three years ago, she said she found herself in a position to move up in her job.
Though Sarkis-Baranczyk said her time working with DSB had been a “great experience,” the thought of getting into the food industry was still in the back of her mind.
“I sat down with my family, and I was like, ‘though this seems like the right role, it just (isn’t) something I want,’” she said.
Sarkis-Baranczyk said her parents used to run a restaurant in Egg Harbor when she was growing up – “so they didn’t want me to go down that route.”
“They knew what it was like (to be in the food industry),” she said. “I don’t know if my mom was happy at first, but she embraced it.”
By 2022, Sarkis-Baranczyk said she left DSB to make her dreams a reality.
“I love that organization with my whole heart,” she said. “They really supported me when I said I was going to leave and start (my own business).”
Sarkis-Baranczyk said some friends were working on a development in downtown Sturgeon Bay near the waterfront – which she said was perfect for starting her brick-and-mortar restaurant.
“I wanted something that could really boost Sturgeon Bay’s waterfront district, something where people could sit, grab (something to eat) and sit along the waterfront,” she said. “We have so much public waterfront here that people don’t know about – so that was my driving force.”
Early last year, however, Sarkis-Baranczyk said the development fell through.
And, though she and her mom looked at other real estate options throughout Door County, she said it was “all so risky.”
“I didn’t think I wanted to sink half a million dollars into something,” she said.
Though things weren’t working out quite yet, Sarkis-Baranczyk said she already had a name in mind for the business.
“I wanted to name it after my grandmother, Lois,” she said. “She taught all of us how to cook – our family is really big and centered around food, so I wanted to name it after her but still with a little spin of our own. That’s how we called it LoLo’s.”
Not giving up on her dream, the entrepreneur said she pivoted and started to look at food trucks instead because the overhead costs would be lower.
“We went back and forth, and we weren’t really sure,” she said.
In February, Sarkis-Baranczyk said it was her close friends who helped motivate her to move forward with the venture.
“I take an annual trip with some of my best friends,” she said. “We were in the car together, and I was saying, ‘my confidence is so low, I don’t know if I can do it.’ They’re so amazing and wonderful, and they turned to me and said, ‘what are you talking about? Stop this right now. You are capable, you are worthy – there’s no reason why you can’t do this.’”
A week later, Sarkis-Baranczyk said she went to the bank to finalize everything, and then four weeks later, she was the owner of her very own food truck.
“It went really fast, but I’m so happy that it did,” she said.
The next step, Sarkis-Baranczyk said, was getting the truck ready for business – thankfully it came with everything – “the inside was absolutely perfect.”
“I bought it from this young couple in Waupaca who took amazing care of it,” she said. “It was built in 2019, so all of the equipment was pretty much brand new… I just had to swap out a few things.”
Sarkis-Baranczyk said the biggest hurdle in the process ended up being the outside of the truck.
“They had painted the outside to match their brand, (which) was a play on Gilligan’s Island, so it was beach themed – so cute,” she said.
But, the palm trees and beach balls on the truck weren’t the vibe Sarkis-Baranczyk said she was going for.
After finding out what it would cost to vinyl wrap the food truck, she said she decided to take matters into her own hands.
“I watched a lot of YouTube videos, and I said, ‘you know what, I’m just going to paint it, even if it (only) lasts me one year,’” she said. “If it gets me through the summer and then when I go to winterize the truck, that’s what I’ll do.”
Painting the truck – which took two weeks and is now affectionately named The Hot Mess Express – Sarkis-Baranczyk said, was “probably one of my biggest accomplishments to date.”
“It’s a 26-foot box truck – it’s ginormous,” she said. “It was a really fun experience.”
With the food truck ready to roll, Sarkis-Baranczyk said next on the agenda was figuring out where to park it.
“There are obviously a lot of rules and regulations in each municipality, so you have to figure out which town in Door County you want to park it at, what their rules and regulations are and what kind of permitting you need beyond what the state will provide you,” she said.
As a Sturgeon Bay native, Sarkis-Baranczyk said she wanted to stay in the area – “I’m invested in its success.”
“I also knew that I wanted to be near the waterfront so I could help promote that walkability and public waterfront in Sturgeon Bay,” she said.
Sarkis-Baranczyk said she reached out to the owners of Centerpointe Marina (210 S. 1st Ave.), located right next to Graham Park, and asked if they would allow her to park LoLo’s Food Truck there for the season.
The owners, she said, said “yes” and have been amazing.
“Graham Park is something really near and dear to my heart,” she said. “That was a project that DSB took on while I was still there, so to watch that park come to life and know the ins and outs of it – it’s really cool to see it come full circle and for me to be there and see it on a day-to-day basis, and see people utilizing the park.”
With the truck and location set, LoLo’s Food Truck was officially open at the beginning of July.
A mother-daughter menu
When creating the menu for LoLo’s, Sarkis-Baranczyk said it’s been a collaboration between her and her mom, Megan Sarkis.
Having her mom help out, Sarkis-Baranczyk said, has allowed her to figure out what she wants to do next in her career.
“My dad passed away six years ago, and he owned a real estate company, so when he passed, it went to my mom,” Sarkis-Baranczyk said. “That was never her dream or goal. She’s been running it for the past six years – up until this year – (when) she passed it onto my husband.”
Now, Sarkis-Baranczyk said her mom works part-time at LoLo’s to help with the menu and show her the ropes on how to best serve customers.
Being able to work alongside her mom, Sarkis-Baranczyk said, has been a cool experience.
“It’s crazy for me to think of this, but when she and my dad ran the restaurant, she was 24-25,” she said. “Then I was born, and I was on a BabyBjörn on her back in the kitchen while she cooked. So for her to run a full staff at a young age, I just really look up to her for all of the things that she’s done.”
Because running a food truck is new for both of them, Sarkis-Baranczyk said they decided to start with a small menu to better gauge how much food they could produce at one time – mainly focusing on sandwiches and a few breakfast items.
Each of the menu items, Sarkis-Baranczyk said, is unique – and special to the family.
“I really wanted things that were different, that you can’t find in Sturgeon Bay,” she said.
The budding entrepreneur said they even created a group chat with family and friends to help name each of the sandwiches.
“The No. 2, which is our most popular, is called The Fantozzi, and it’s named after this deli in Florida my mom used to take us to every year,” she said. “We would go to the deli, get our lunch and then she would take us to the beach right after.”
Sarkis-Baranczyk said The Fantozzi sandwich includes mozzarella, tomatoes, arugula, pesto and balsamic on ciabatta.
The Hall-O-Fame sandwich – which includes mozzarella, tomatoes, red onion, pepperoncini, jalapeño, avocado, greens and a tangy sauce on ciabatta – Sarkis-Baranczyk said is named after some of her family members.
“My sister and my cousins were begging for a sandwich that was named after them, and I was like, ‘fine, we can make this about you,’” she laughed. “Hall is my mom’s maiden name, so it’s part of the Hall family.”
The other two sandwich options are The Stolen One, which features pastrami, pepperoncini and mustard on a roll, and the Outfit Repeater, which includes prosciutto, burrata, tomatoes, arugula and balsamic glaze on ciabatta.
Sarkis-Baranczyk said other menu items include weekly salad specials, avocado toast, daily seasonal pastries and charcuterie boxes – which will be coming soon.
“I think people have gotten used to there (being) a story behind each item on the menu,” she said. “I’m happy I can share that part of my life with other people.”
Season schedule
As of right now, Sarkis-Baranczyk said she plans to keep LoLo’s Food Truck open for as long as possible.
“I keep saying the first big snowstorm (is when we’ll close for the season),” she laughed. “My thought is through November, and then I’ll winterize it.”
LoLo’s, Sarkis-Baranczyk said, also does catering and plans to focus on that facet of the business during the food truck off-season.
“Catering is something we’re going to push heavily through the fall and holiday season, and then through Valentine’s Day,” she said. “We’re actually working on our Halloween menu right now, which includes a Hocus Pocus-themed charcuterie board, a skeleton charcuterie board and then other fun stuff. We’ll do something similar like that for Thanksgiving and Christmas as well.”
Community supports community
The response since starting up LoLo’s Food Truck, Sarkis-Baranczyk said, has been “great.”
“Food trucks in Door County – it’s this blooming industry and this really amazing group of individuals – it’s like our own little family, which I think is so unique and different,” she said. “In the restaurant industry, there’s so much competition, especially in Door County. Everyone’s friendly, but then (they) have all this competition at the same time. With food trucks, it’s the complete opposite.”
Sarkis-Baranczyk said the food truck industry in Door County is “so loving, so warm and so opening.”
“They just want to see everyone succeed in the industry,” she said. “There’s a lot of collaboration.”
Offering fresh grab-and-go items, Sarkis-Baranczyk said, has captured the interest of community members.
“We have a lot of people on their lunch break (who come), which warms my heart so much to have this cute little lunch rush,” she said. “But then the people from the marina, they love to stop by as well and get food before they go out on the boat. I think the community response has been really positive so far.”
LoLo’s Food Truck is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday through Sunday at Graham Park.
