Seven Questions: Carrie Summer of the Chef Shack

Lisa Carlson, left, and Carrie Summer, right, co-owners of the Chef Shack.

By Rick Nelson

Carrie Summer, the pastry half of the Chef Shack partnership, took a few moments to discuss her restaurant-on-wheels' latest venture.

Q: So what's this I hear about a second Chef Shack?

A: It's true. We bought a taco truck. Some Mexicans in St. Louis Park owned her. They're heading back to Mexico, so it's as if she's been waiting for us. We've been looking for a while, for a truck in really good condition, with low miles, a pristine body and the equipment inside that we need. But what was most important was the service window. We wanted one that was big and wide, so we can connect with people. Some of the windows can be so tiny, you can barely see hands coming out with food. We didn't want that. It's 22 feet long. We're calling her Chef Shack Dos. She's like a Fed Ex truck.

It's considerably more mobile than Chef Shack 1, which as you know is a trailer that we have to pull. Even though it wasn't a truck, we thought it was kitschy and cool and a good way to start when we bought it two years ago. It was a bargain. It was made by a farmer down in Fountain, Minn. We bought it third-hand, from some ladies in Fridley. They were selling deep-fried Oreos.

Q: I like a battered and deep-fried Nabisco snack cookie as much as the next guy, but I'm glad that the two of you have been putting the trailer to much different use. How are the two venues going to differ from one another?

We're also looking at getting into St. Paul. We hope to get a good breakfast crowd going there a few days a week, with things like scrambles and our bacon brats. We like the early morning and lunch crowds, you probably won't see us doing a lot of late-night, that's not our scene. The requirements over there are a lot less strict than here in Minneapolis. We certainly can't pull up to a parking meter in our city and start serving, the way you can in St. Paul.

With Chef Shack Dos, there are lots of possibilities for different cuisine because there's different equipment, so we're excited to do things. We'd like to be doing salads and soups, I'd love to do a lasagna, and Lisa, believe it or not, wants to do a charcuterie plate. The season here in Minnesota is so short, and that's why we're expanding. We've spent these first two years building our client base, and now we'll be able to be in two places simultaneously. Stay tuned on Facebook and Twitter, we're keeping people updated that way.

We're also going to be making a serious run at the state fair. I think it would be totally cool if upscale concessionaires – Chef Shack, the Magic Bus - got together and had our own separate wing at the fair. We could really elevate the whole game of food out there. That's my goal, anyway. Lisa and I are going to be out there on Monday the 31st, helping out the Sausage Sisters. We're going to be guest chef-ing that day, twisting up that puff pastry on sausage [laughs]. We're thrilled to be helping them out and getting a behind-the-scenes look on how their days go.

Q: I've always wondered: Where do you park the Shack when you're not cooking? Not outside your house, I imagine.

A: No. Right now it's in northeast Minneapolis. We'll be parking both rigs there. We just secured winter storage for both rigs in Delano. They'll go indoors to get out of the weather.

A: No. because it's one contained unit - it doesn't have a separate axel - it doesn't require a Class B license. I'm a former trucker, so I still have my license, and I can drive a Class B truck. That license has served me well, because for me the new rig is easy to drive, easy to manuever and easy to park.

Q: Wait a second, you were a trucker?

A: When I got sick of cooking, I'd drive truck for a while. I like to think of it as multi-tasking, as one of many ways of making a living.

Q: What are Chef Shack customers lining up for right now?

A: Of course that soft-shell crab sandwich. Doughnuts never slow down, it's Doughnuts Central there. People are usually there before we open, pounding on the window saying, "We want doughnuts." Fries are huge, people love fries. The beef tongue taco has been off the chain, we've been selling out every weekend. I'm so thankful that people love the food. The joy of being busy is that the food moves along fast, so it's really fresh. That makes for a lot of catch-up during the week. It's a push, but it's fun.

A: We've got a trip planned to New York City to catch up with our chef friends, then two weeks in Italy, Spain and Croatia, then we'll be back for the holidays. We fly to Singapore on January 1st, then jump to Bangkok, then to southern India for at least a month, then over to Borneo and explore there for a while. We do a ton of eating, that's the focus of our lives all the time. This lifestyle has been a few years in the making, and it's pretty awesome. We're just having a blast. It's really a dream come true.