{"id":42280,"date":"2021-02-26T12:58:35","date_gmt":"2021-02-26T17:58:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/?p=42280"},"modified":"2021-02-28T12:10:58","modified_gmt":"2021-02-28T17:10:58","slug":"how-the-sunflower-food-truck-moved-into-the-gorge-harbour-general-store","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/how-the-sunflower-food-truck-moved-into-the-gorge-harbour-general-store\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Sunflower food truck moved into the Gorge Harbour General Store"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Roy L Hales<\/p>\n

The Sunflower food truck opened beside Whaletown road last summer, when the\u00a0pandemic<\/a>\u00a0seemed to be fading away and the\u00a0whole province was coming out of self isolation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Selling 30 of these a day, plus a lot of other favourites at the food truck. Photo courtesy Carie Taylor<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThere were tourists, so it seemed like an okay time to try to open up. There were enough people around,\" Owner and manager Carie Taylor explained.<\/p>\n

She sees her business as the response to a need. There wasn\u2019t a place for people to meet their friends and socialize, especially in Whaletown<\/a>, where she and her husband have been living for the past four and a half years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI looked at a few options, like renting out the Gorge Hall, but that wasn\u2019t going to work out. So I thought what about a food truck?\u201d<\/p>\n

When a taco truck started up, Taylor asked if they would mind sharing the space.<\/p>\n

They found the idea delightful.<\/p>\n

Taylor found her food truck on\u00a0Facebook Marketplace.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

It was in operation for two months before she was forced to close down for the winter.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Moving into the Gorge Harbour General Store<\/h2>\n

In the meantime, she started formulating a back-up plan with\u00a0Bill Dougan<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Tammy Allwork<\/a>\u00a0from the\u00a0Gorge Harbour General store<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was providing a service to the Island that I didn\u2019t want to stop \u2026 Also, this is the first winter that I\u2019ve been on Cortes: I usually go somewhere warmer. I wanted to keep busy. Bill and Tammy and I came up with a plan, just sell the food out of the store,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Taylor cooks her food at the Floathouse restaurant when it isn\u2019t in operation. While this only takes one day a week, she spends the rest of her time shopping for supplies and making preparations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt turns out to be full time, mostly full time\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now we do sausage rolls, veggie rolls and pizza spirals. All those are served hot,\" she added. \"I do some soup. Some of the meals are very home style, home cooking kinds of things. There are some international dishes, like butter chicken, sweet and sour pork. Then there are things that are more recognizable, like glazed meatloaf, lasagna and I\u2019m going to start adding some new items like a white chicken lasagna. Very comforting, wintery, foods.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Prepared<\/a>

Prepared foods available through the Gorge Harbour General Store. Photo courtesy Carie Taylor.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n

Behind the scenes<\/h2>\n

While Carie works in the kitchen, her husband takes care of the administrative side of the Sunflower.<\/p>\n

She started out working in her parent\u2019s restaurant when she was 13.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did everything from washing dishes to bussing tables and prepping a lot of the food in the kitchen. My parents had another restaurant when I was an adult and I helped run that. In between being a kid and an adult, I had a couple of my own places. One in Mexico, one in Guatemala and then one in Toronto,\u201d Taylor explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always done this kind of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A Sunflower thanksgiving \u2013 courtesy Carie Taylor<\/p><\/div>\n

Links of Interest<\/h2>\n