Hidden Gems: Meet Truc Nguyen of Eat Local Texas, LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Truc Nguyen.

Hi Truc, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Our Family are Vietnamese refugees after the war, we arrive in the USA in 1986, I was 3 years old.
I was introduced to the food service Industry at 15 years old (1999) my 1st job at Peter Pipers in Pasadena, TX. I worked my way thru different fast food restaurants and country clubs through out the years. I graduated culinary school in 2012 after my 1st 2 majors didn’t pan out. I started working at Crisp Wine Beer and Eatery in the Woodlands then Moved down to the Heights at that location as the Head Chef in 2017 I believe. I worked there for about 6 years and I wanted to venture out on my own and the Owner of Crisp Al Scavelii gave me an opportunity to team up with him and his business partners on their new project in 2022. Al and Myself started Eat Local Texas, LLC to team up with Moonshine Deck Ice-House here in Magnolia/North Woodlands.
This is a short summary, There are many stories in between. Please let me know if you need more details.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As Chefs, there are always struggles.
Spending time with family is a major one because we are always working holidays.
Finding the crew that cares about their job and what they cook is a struggle.
Continuing with creativity and innovation when it comes to dishes.
Giving the best customer service possible and we seem to always fall short somewhere.
As a food Truck; weather is always a struggle for us, when it is too cold, too hot, and raining we are fighting to get guest in

As you know, we’re big fans of Eat Local Texas, LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Eat Local Texas we provide a service for bars and locations that needs a kitchen, or the owners that don’t want to deal with a kitchen we can provide that side of service.
We design food trailers to be built specifically for a theme bar or any theme locations that needs a kitchen. We also consult and can design a kitchen if needed for new locations.
We create menus specifically to match the theme of the business and provide a crew to run it. Here at Moonshine Deck Ice House it’s our 1st on-site location.
We like to bring a clash of multi-culture flavors into all of our dishes and classic dishes also. We are not just doing this for the money,.but also to bring quality food to the community.
I am most proud of our standards here at Eat Local Texas, things are prep daily and we try to use minimal frozen products if possible. Our food has a 3 day rule, after 3 days we do not serve it, so prep and timing is a big part of our process.
Eat Local Texas here at Moonshine Deck Icehouse, we are known for our fresh food and high quality product. Our Egypt Jamming Burger is one of our big sellers, name after the Community. Our Specialty Tacos are a hit
(Huli Chicken and Steak and Peppers).
I would love to let your readers know that we are a family friendly location and we try our best to keep standards up at all.times and consistently give hight quality food to our guest. If you Don’t like it, Money back guarantee.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Pick the right partners and not everyone with work and care like you do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.toasttab.com/eat-local-texas
• Instagram: @eatlocal_texas
• Other: https://www.moonshinedeckicehouse.com