A new food truck is spreading their wings.
Stems and Flappers has been hard at work this season travelling around the area introducing food enthusiasts to their menu.
Owner and Bonnyville resident Jen Hopf said their debut in the community has been a great experience, excluding the weather.
“That’s played a lot into things either being awesome or not, but it’s nothing I can control.”
They specialize in chicken wings, and offer 14 different flavours of sauce.
“We wanted to be different than everybody else,” noted Hopf. “When we go to events and we take our kids, it always seems like a lot of the same foods. Burgers, fries, hot dogs, and poutines. So I thought I would switch it up completely so there’s a bit of a selection for people.”
Everything is made from scratch, and the whole trailer is gluten and nut free.
Hopf wanted to ensure everyone could enjoy what Stems and Flappers has to offer, no matter what dietary restrictions they might have.
“It’s nice because everybody can come up, pick something, and they don’t have to worry about which fryer it’s cooked in or if it’s touching anything else,” she expressed. “I’ve had a lot of people come and almost jump out of their pants when they realize they can have anything on the menu, which is pretty good. It makes a person feel good that you can treat everybody.”
Working out of a mobile location has given Hopf and her employees some unique issues.
“I’m used to being stationary, and it’s a lot more work having to move around, especially with with deep fryers, hot oils, and having to deal with all of that,” she said, adding the weather constantly changing has also affected her sales.
Stemming from her love of food, Hopf has an extensive background in the culinary world. Originally from eastern Alberta, she moved to the area with her husband to be closer to his family. Before taking time off to care for their three children, Hopf ran a café in Ardmore and managed the kitchen at the Hoof and Anchor in Cold Lake. She decided a food truck was the perfect transition back into the field.
Her favourite part of running the food truck has been getting out in the community.
“You get to see everybody you know, meet people you don’t know, and just the happiness of watching people eat your food,” she expressed.
The inspiration for the name came to her one day when she was looking online for different names for chicken wings and stumbled across the terms. She thought it sounded original, and it wasn’t “something that was easy to find.”
Hopf said the name does confuse customers. While most know that the stem is the part of the wing that looks like a leg, she noted many don’t know the flapper is another name for the wing tip.
With the end of summer quickly approaching, Stems and Flappers is booked solid on the weekends until mid-September. They’ll be making appearances at the Glendon Derby, Extreme Mudfest, and the Bonnyville Gear Grabber’s Drag Racing events.
Hopf hopes to expand next year in order to bring their menu to Cold Lake, while also stopping at the Bonnyville Museum and the St. Paul outdoor market.
