Kandi Monroe took her love for food service on the road, launching Kandi’s Kitchen in 2022.
The Smyrna native parks her food truck in Norwich three days a week and in Sherburne on two. She posts weekly and daily location announcements to the Kandi’s Kitchen Facebook page.
Monroe said establishing a food truck business was part personal, part an extension of her professional experience.
“What inspired it was, I worked at the Sherburne Diner for 21 years … and it’s just something I’ve always wanted to do,” she said. “I was a waitress at the diner for those 21 years, and I always loved serving people and meeting people — I’m a people person and I love it — and I have always enjoyed cooking. I have a large family, so when the catering part came about, I was like, ‘Yes.’ I do weddings, graduation parties, birthday parties and family reunions with the catering.
“I have three children – my husband and I have been together 35 years, this year — so, when I started this, I wanted to do it so that I didn’t have to miss anything family-wise, being stuck at a job,” Monroe continued. “I did it so I can do my own schedule.”
Weekdays, Kandi’s Kitchen offers lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., wherever she’s parked, and, on weekends, she’s “all over, at festivals and fairs,” she said. Though she will close for rain, Monroe said, she operates the food truck year-round, full-time.
“Right now, I have no open weekends through September,” she said. “And it’s usually from February/March that they fill up.”
Monroe said her classic American fare has generated a following.
“The chicken spiedies are a big hit, and I have a sweet potato mustard recipe I’ve made and use and a lot of people get the spiedies just because they want that mustard, though I’ll put it on anything,” she said. “And I have a ‘Nango’ dog, because I’m from Chenango County, and that’s a Hoffman hot dog with homemade coleslaw and the homemade mustard on it.
“My steak sandwiches, those go good, and my Reuben sliders; I put those out last year,” Monroe continued. “I have a broccoli, cauliflower and bacon salad that people stalk me over. During the winter months, I retire the salads … and bring back soup and chili, but (now), I do macaroni salad, pasta salads, mac ‘n’ cheese and fresh fruit.”
Customers, Monroe said, are similarly varied.
“I do get a mix, and I will get people that will come up and say, ‘I looked to see where you were on Facebook and drove 45 minutes for your Reuben,’” she said. “I get a lot of regular faces and I know what they order, so I will see them drive up and can get it started. I call them my little followers, because, no matter where I park, they’ll find me.
“It’s been great, and I put a lot of posts out thanking (customers), because, where I worked at the diner for so many years, I see a lot of my old customers that I waited on,” Monroe continued. “They come to my food truck, and my huge family, they come too.”
Monroe said she hopes to continue serving devoted and new customers, with help from husband, Brooks.
“I plan on this taking me right into retirement,” she said. “I tell my husband, ‘This is what we’re doing.’ He’s been a mason for 30 years, and this is going to be his little retirement job and I could not do this without him.”
For more information or location updates, find “Kandi’s Kitchen LLC” on Facebook.