Barbecue food truck with deflated wheels drawing attention in Vandergrift
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When business gets slow at Robert “Buster” Burnham’s food truck with deflated wheels, he puts on his full-body hot dog suit and goes to the side of the road in Vandergrift to try to flag down customers.
“You need a promotion,” Burnham said. “When there’s no customers here, the suit goes on.”
Truk-In BBQ opened last month in the parking lot of the former Burger King along Washington Avenue. Burnham said he intends to operate seasonally, from March until “when it freezes, usually December.”
Burnham, 52, is hard to miss, as he often is seen waving enthusiastically at motorists driving through Vandergrift. His colorful, quirky promotion appears to be working.
“Business is good,” Burnham said. “Everything I make is in small batches, so I sell out.”
He keeps his smoker next to the food truck, smoking pork and chicken for 2 to 4 hours.
Homemade hot dogs, pulled pork potato skins, hamburgers, Italian sausage, vegan options, soups and more are available for takeout, or customers can sit at a table outside.
Bacon-wrapped jumbo beef hot dogs topped with pulled pork ($7) and the Reuben Dog, topped with kraut, Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing ($6), are two popular specialty items on the menu.
BYOB is permitted.
Burnham has a simple explanation for why he got into barbecue.
“Because it was already there on the truck,” Buster explained, referencing the original branding on the food truck when he bought it.
Tru-Kin (pronounced true kin) originally was named after two siblings. He changed it to Truk-In (pronounced Truckin’).
He said his restaurant philosophy is simple.
“I don’t use any chemicals, and I want to serve good, quality food that has five ingredients or less,” Buster said, adding that everything on the menu is $10 or less and the business is cash-only.
Regular customer Dave English of Vandergrift said it’s nice to have authentic barbecue available in the borough.
“The barbecue is fantastic. I order the pulled pork sandwich Coney Style — with coleslaw, onions and mustard,” English said.
Burnham has lived in Vandergrift for eight years but was raised in a foodie family in upstate New York.
“My parents had a steak-and-potatoes type of restaurant during the 1970s. I grew up in the restaurant business,” Burnham said.
Burnham said that when he was 38, after stints managing a yacht club and a large hotel, he bought a 25-seat passenger bus, removed the seats from one side and outfitted it with restaurant equipment, and then hit the road.
A decade later, he found himself living in Vandergrift, the hometown of a former girlfriend. Before opening Truk-In, he worked as a chef at Meetheads in Vandergrift.
“I’m a master chef without a degree. I can do anything,” Burnham said.