The only thing better than the cool Monday weather was the discovery of Columbus’ latest food truck!
Tampico Bay Mexican Restaurant co-owner Christopher Rosales opened his family’s food truck for the first time on Monday to serve lunch right across the street from the restaurant located at 1515 College St.
Rosales told me the food truck will feature the family business’ classic Mexican cuisine and incorporate street tacos. He thinks adding the addition will undoubtedly help expand the business to reach more people.
“This is going to help us to expand and touch more people and to get us closer to some of our customers,” Rosales said.
For now, the food truck will be open on Mondays and weekends while Rosales and his family work out the kinks of cooking in a truck kitchen, though he will also take catering orders soon.
“Right now, we’re starting out,” he said. “So, the more feedback we can get, the better.”
If that sizzling update doesn’t cut it, perhaps Twin States Axe House LLC, located at 454 Wilkins Road, will.
The new axe-throwing business announced it will open Friday afternoon in a Facebook post issued Monday. I, for one, can’t wait to take a chop at it.
Moving on to the city of West Point. On Saturday, town native Selina Tabet held a grand opening for Sew Sister Sew, a fabrics and sewing shop, at 620 Commerce St., in the old Kellogg Hardware store.
Tabet told me she always knew she wanted to open a fabric store after developing a passion for sewing as a young girl when her father owned a local barber shop right next door to her new business.
“I used to spend a lot of time at my grandmother’s house, and she sewed a lot; I love doing it,” Tabet said. “I remember making my first shirt when I was in the fourth grade, and I wore it to school. I was so proud of it.”
Tabet said she returned to West Point in the spring to retire after spending the last 30 years in Maryland. When she made her way home, she saw an opportunity on the empty hardware store shelves and a closed sign on the window.
“There’s this store right on Commerce Street, and it had these huge windows and a lot of space; I thought that’s perfect,” she said.
When Tabet opened over the weekend, she had more than 40 customers come in.
“I am ecstatic,” she said. “I love being here. I come in early and stay late just because I love it.”
In Starkville, Lynsie Carpenter and her husband Travis are reopening T4 Pumpkin Farm at 138 Rodeo Drive for its second season this Saturday.
Carpenter told me she and her husband named the business after their son, Travis IV, which seems to fit in line with their goals for the farm: teaching their kids the value of hard work.
“My husband just wanted something that the boys could do so they could learn a good work ethic and see things from start to finish,” she said.
The farm already has more than 200 pumpkins Carpenter and her family intend to sell for no more than $10 a pop.
“Anybody that wants to have a pretty porch should be able to come and afford the pumpkins and not spend a ridiculous amount of money for something they’re only going to put on their front porch for a month or so,” Carpenter said.
Finally, Arepas Coffee and Bar will soon reopen at its new location at 102 Rue Du Grande Fromage.
Owner Jose Elarba told me he hopes to open by next week, but he is waiting for a health inspection before he can officially swing the doors open and herald a new age of Venezuelan cuisine in the Cotton District. He also said he is excited to bring his family business back to town finally.
“It’s like a family business,” Elarba said. “We are trying to show our culture to everybody; That’s what I always wanted.”
Well, that’s it for this week’s goings on. Make sure to check back in next week for more goings on in business!
Dispatch reporter Grant McLaughlin writes about business openings and closings, as well as other unique business news. Send business tips to [email protected].
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