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From cheesesteaks and burgers, to egg rolls and soup, Shane's Sandwich Shack and Snacks and Leonard's Backyard Bistro have locals set with homemade unique food items.
Shane's Sandwich Shack and Snacks may be a relative newcomer to the food truck business, but make no mistake, owner and operators Shane Cortright and Jamie Young come loaded with years of culinary experience.
"Before me and Jamie got together, I took my kid to the Bloomsburg Fair, and I gave him $30 for food, he came back and said, 'I need a lot more money,' and I thought, 'boy, I could get into this,'" Cortright said. "So from there, I started looking into it, and when I met Jamie, we bought the truck and got started."
"Shane had the business name and the LLC, and I have a culinary background and I took the manager's courses," Young said. "I've always catered all my own parties and I have three years of schooling in food service. Everyone gets confused with the name, because I'm the one you'll see at the trailer most of the time, because Shane only runs it on the weekend, usually."
While Cortright's initial idea for the food was cheesesteaks and burgers, along with the truck, they also got handed a legacy item that has become a fast favorite.
"The guy we bought the trailer from invented the Walkabout... he gave us his dough recipe. I took that home and played with it, and Miss Jamie here took my recipe and made it her own," Cortright said. "Basically, a Walkabout is a homemade dough pocket filled with various fillings like savory or sweet and deep dried and seasoned with a dipping sauce."
The Walkabout is designed for people on the go and is fully customizable, with the ability to swap out chicken, beef, or pork, along with cheeses and vegetables.
"A lot of people will ask if it's like a Stromboli," Young said. "Well kind of, but the dough is really light in texture like a croissant."
Cortright says the three best sellers include cheesesteak, chicken bacon ranch and strawberry.
"When strawberries are in season, everyone asks about our strawberry shortcake Walkabouts," he says.
"We also do fresh cut fries, which are a big hit," Young said.
And, though their operation is new, the couple are quickly building a strong reputation.
"We did breakfast down at the Grange Fair, and we had a group of kids that tried a different menu option each day, and they started bringing their friends around, so every night at 10 o'clock, I'd get this group of kids," Young said.
The couple were also invited to serve employees of Wal-Mart working through the madness of Black Friday.
Shane's Sandwich Shack and Snacks are also available for catering, including weddings, birthday parties, auctions or "wherever we're needed," Cortright said.
A unique offering Young is looking to add to their truck is a line of homemade towels, washcloths and doilies, though she's uncertain of when that will be.
Like a lot of area food trucks, the pair felt an immediate sense of community.
"There is competition, but there's also friendship," Cortright said. "Everybody tries to support each other. If our truck broke down, somebody will be there to help us, and if somebody else breaks down, we'd be there to help them. We exchange food; I don't charge them, they don't charge us."
Shane and Jamie extend that sense of community cooperation, as they're regular patrons of Jac's Produce in South Williamsport.
Depending on weather conditions, the area can expect to see Shane's Sandwich Shack and Snacks out and about throughout the winter months, with a few seasonal updates to their menu.
"We've done chili recently," Young said. "We're considering some different soups, like broccoli cheddar, ham pot pie, vegetable beef, homemade chicken noodle soup, chicken and dumplings and chicken and rice. We also do parfaits that I like to keep seasonal. I'm going to be doing an apple Walkabout for the winter, and possibly peppermint or some kind of cookie flavor parfait."
When asked what has led to such a rapid rise in people seeking out their truck, Young boils it down to a commitment to both tried and true recipes and delivering an exceptional service to their customers.
"We do a lot of homemade things from scratch and we keep things as fresh as possible," Young said. "But, the biggest reason is we will make what the customer wants, even if it's not on our menu."
To find out where Shane's Sandwich Shack and Snacks will be next, please visit their Facebook page.
Another area food truck that hit a home run with a niche menu item is Leonard's Backyard Bistro.
Leonard's Backyard Bistro was one of the first food trucks in the area, and after briefly announcing their closure, the area favorite is back and stronger than ever.
"When we first started, my wife and I worked opposite schedules," owner Leonard Duitch said, "and we were trying to figure out how we get our schedules to link up, because we wanted to spend more time together. We were hanging out with some friends, and they mentioned food trucks, and my wife wanted to do an ice cream truck, but I kind of went a little bit further and was like, 'you know what, let's do a food truck.'"
For Duitch, food service is second nature.
"I've worked in fine-dining restaurants since I was 15 or 16 years old, and we've been doing this for nine years," he said. "We actually started planning at the end of 2011. I found a good deal on the truck, and it took me a little bit to get the funds to retrofit it to be a food truck."
All that hard work paid off as Leonard's quickly became a hit around the area.
"When we first started, we would bebop around Williamsport," Duitch said. "I would do lunch on Reach Road, do dinner on the Boulevard, and the next day I'd be at a hardware store and somewhere else for dinner, and people couldn't keep up, so it was hard to build up the regular clientele. One of our main spots was called Madison's Car Wash, then the business changed hands and the new owners didn't want us there. So that's when we started coming downtown, but then that kind of got slow."
"So I reached out to Brite Laundry, and they said they would love to have us, so we've been there for three or four years now," Duitch said. "It's a nice little spot."
With a spot that feels like home, Leonard's still occasionally ventures out.
"We go to New Trail when they invite us," Duitch said. "We'll do some local events around town, like Homemade Days. I've always enjoyed doing that one, but that's pretty much it."
Duitch's years in the restaurant business led him to create his trademark treat that remains his best seller.
"The cheesesteak egg rolls are something that I developed working in restaurants," Duitch said. "We had a banquet and I had a bunch of roast beef leftover, so I said 'let's just shave it, make a cheesesteak filling and put it in an egg roll,' and it was so good. I was like, I'm definitely taking this with me wherever I go."
The unique dish was an instant success.
"For three years, I'd sit outside the bars on Friday and Saturday nights every weekend and I'd serve from 11:30 p.m. to three in the morning, and that built up a reputation," he said. "A lot and people would swarm us for those egg roles week after week, and just wipe us out all the time."
Another big seller for Leonard's is the Patrol Burger, a bacon cheddar burger, sporting a sunny side up egg between two glazed donuts.
"The food really was just trial and error," Duitch said. "People ordered burgers the most, so I just developed a little burger menu and kind of streamlined it."
With the change of season, a changeup of the menu is on the horizon.
"People really enjoy my soup," Duitch said. "So we'll be making some fresh made soups, like chicken corn chowder, chicken and dumplings, and I make a really good chili. I make a chili cheeseburger with that and put it on a bun, and there might be some other items. Sometimes we do Pennsylvania Dutch style chicken and waffle."
Despite being one of the first food trucks in the area, Duitch exudes a spirit of cooperation.
"This is a small area, so there is competition there," Duitch said. "But there's also a lot of respect. People love when the food trucks gather, and they will grab a taco from Bill, then come get a cup of fries or an egg roll from me."
And, in an area inundated with food trucks, Duitch says originality and dependability are major reasons behind his continued success.
"Being one of the originals, having been operating for nine years goes a long way," Duitch said. "People know my product and they know the quality of my product. They can comfortably come and know that everything's gonna be delicious. I take a lot of pride and I've honed my skill for a long time to make sure that I can put out the best quality product."
"And we keep a steady schedule of Wednesday through Saturday at Brite Laundry," Duitch said. "We're dependable, really, and that's what people like."
For more information or to view menu options, please visit Leonard's Backyard Bistro on Facebook.