East Vandergrift couple keeps their food truck rolling, despite soaring food and fuel costs

A married pair with a enthusiasm for gourmand Asian fare are determined to maintain their developing mobile food items small business afloat amid soaring gasoline rates and sky-significant foodstuff expenditures.

East Vandergrift citizens Mark and Jessica Lieu very own Wok on Wheels, a household-owned and operated Vandergrift-centered food truck serving up genuine Asian-encouraged rooster.

They claimed their food items prices are up by far more than 47% this summertime period.

On Thursday, whilst placing up for a four-day Summerfest Foods Pageant in Ford City Park, the couple discussed a few of the operational worries amid the triumphs as they enter their fourth season owning Wok on Wheels.

“We were carrying out Alright past summer months, but now the food items costs are absurd,” claimed Mark Lieu, a entire-time police officer for Vandergrift and a member of the Vandergrift No. 2 Volunteer Fireplace Section.

Very last summer time, the Lieu’s paid $17 for every 5-gallon container of cooking oil.

This 12 months it is $45 for the similar volume of oil.

Chicken thighs, typically about $42 for each case, are now $113 a case, Mark Lieu stated.

Three pound bricks of cream cheese used in Mark’s egg rolls?

“Those are now $11 just about every,” he explained. “This yr we have reduced our party bookings by about 50 %, and very last yr we ended up booked each and every weekend.”

Family-inspired Asian fare

Lieu was 8 many years previous and dwelling in a very small village around Hanoi, Vietnam, when his loved ones relocated to Western Pennsylvania, picking Murrysville as their new American neighborhood.

He grew up working along with his father Nang Lieu, 82, in two family-owned Asian places to eat, exactly where he honed his Asian cooking competencies.

Mark and Jessica Lieu have a few sons, Paige, 13 Hayden, 12 and Aaron, 9.

The loved ones found a lack of Asian foodstuff truck alternatives all-around the Alle-Kiski Valley cellular food scene.

“We would go with our good friends that have a pizza trailer and in no way observed a Chinese food items truck — so we made a decision to start out just one,” Jessica Lieu mentioned.

In 2019, they shelled out $5,000 to order a 14- by 7-foot empty trailer from Hometown Trailer in Butler.

“We spent about $20,000 outfitting the trailer,” Mark Lieu reported. “I didn’t definitely have the funds to get it and Hometown labored with us on payment choices and a 12 months later on we paid out it off.”

They described weathering bad pandemic organization disorders as “rough.”

“We opened in 2019 and the pandemic has hindered the enterprise some, but it would seem to be selecting again up,” Jessica Lieu reported. “We managed to (endure) covid but lots of situations were cancelled, persons were afraid to come out to occasions and we experienced difficulties finding supplies.”

The small business employs two portion-time employees, and Hayden works typically along with his moms and dads in the compact trailer.

“It’s the worst time right now because the foodstuff charges are ridiculous,” Mark Lieu stated.

Lieu, 48, is head chef. He explained he recalled scant Asian meals choices in the Murrysville location when he was a youngster.

“I recall operating and playing. There was not significantly Asian foods all-around,” he stated. “My father did odd work opportunities but left his machinist job and opened Asian places to eat.”

Nang nonetheless aids Lieu in the food stuff truck, specifically with egg roll preparing.

For Lieu, the aspiration of possessing and cheffing from a cell foodstuff truck has been worthwhile, and he’s decided to temperature present-day source expense problems.

“It’s a terrific issue. I appreciate taking in,” he explained. “I love trying new food, and I like incorporating Vietnamese flavors, like Lemongrass, into the menu.”

Menu merchandise include crabmeat rangoons (a fried egg roll stuffed with product cheese and crab meat), grilled teriyaki, Normal Tso’s rooster, fried rice, lo mein, egg rolls, hen-on-a-adhere and far more than six flavors of bubble tea.

Bubble tea is a cold milk-dependent tea drink that originated in Taiwan in the course of the 1980s.

The hen-on-a-stick is the top rated seller.

Regardless of monetary strains on the small business, Wok On Wheels participates in neighborhood Alle-Kiski fundraisers — not too long ago donating 20 % of their income from the yearly Brody’s Lemonade Stand fundraiser, benefiting Alzheimer’s study, held on June 11 in Allegheny Township.

“People have assisted us and we’re just relocating it ahead,” Lieu mentioned.

Close friend and customer Lisa Richards of West Leechburg is the mother of Brody Toy, organizer of Brody’s Lemonade fundraiser.

Richards praised the Lieu’s charitable spirit.

“Mark and Jessica are superb, down-to-earth people today who make wonderful meals,” Richards reported. “They’ve been nothing at all but supportive of Brody’s Lemonade Stand Alzheimer’s fundraiser. You’re often greeted with a smile from them and that usually means a ton, specially in today’s society.”

Brody Toy, 10, expressed his thanks for the current donation from Wok On Wheels.

“I seriously appreciate them assisting my fundraiser, and they have the most effective rice,” Toy claimed.

Jessica Lieu, 34, grew up in Apollo. She mentioned that even though enterprise is accomplishing properly, she’s hopeful financial conditions will improve.

“We would like for it to be a little bit much better but all corporations have their ups and downs,” she mentioned. “We enjoy what we do and the areas we have been. We have fulfilled lots of individuals along the way.”