Food truck a big hit in Sterling

STERLING – Harlene Hammett of Sterling and Lorrie Leopard of Rock Falls spent Wednesday morning swimming at the Duis Center, and decided they deserved a treat.

That treat ended up being foot-long corn dogs, slathered in mustard, from a food truck just down the street in the parking lot of Douglas & Frye Motorsports, 1902 Locust St.

“We’ve been swimming at the Duis Center, so we decided to come over and erase every good thing that we just did,” Hammett said. “We had to have corn dogs.”

It was Hammett’s first trip to the stand that has been at that location for about 3 weeks. For Leopard, it was the fourth.

“They’re just awesome,” Leopard said before digging in.

The stand is operated by Steven Elgin, a 2000 Sterling High School graduate who has worked for Alan McKinney Food Service, based out of Hughes Springs, Texas, for about 7 1/2 years. He manages one of 34 food trucks that travel around the Midwest to different state fairs, county fairs, carnivals, rodeos and livestock shows almost year-round – more than 200 stops in all.

Like the rest of the working world, Elgin’s livelihood was turned upside down by the Covid-19 virus. He was in Texas at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which would normally be about a month-long stop. It ended after 2 weeks, back on March 11.

From there, it was on to Austin, Texas, for a rodeo. After setting up shop, the event was cancelled on March 13.

After shutting down for about 6 weeks, some smaller events began opening up in Texas. His food truck was once again a hit.

“We set up in Diana, Texas, which is just an itty-bitty town, and we ended up being very shocked,” Elgin said. “People were excited to have the fair food they have missed, and we’ve seen that everywhere we’ve gone so far. They are definitely ready for their corn dogs, funnel cakes and lemonade shake-ups.”

After the Texas summer sun got to be too hot, it was time to head north, this time to southern Illinois, at the end of July.

Elgin had stops in New Berlin, Griggsville, Arthur and Olney, with another stop planned at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport. He thought it would be a good idea to set up in his hometown of Sterling, if possible, but needed a place to do so.

That is where Douglas & Frye Motorsports, owned by Mark and Sally Douglas, comes in. The Douglases are neighbors of Elgin’s parents, Steve and Maxine Elgin of Coleta. Steve Jr. reached out to Sally about the possibility of the food truck being in the motorsports parking lot – a win-win, as increased traffic in the area would help both.

“I sent [Sally] a link to our Facebook page so she could see the product and the quality that we have, so we weren’t just some ugly stand going to be setting up in her parking lot,” Elgin said. “She was more than excited to let us come in.”

The first day for the food truck in Sterling was Aug. 18, and it’s been there ever since, with the exception of a few days in Davenport, Iowa. It’s been one of the food truck’s best stops.

“We were absolutely blown away,” Elgin said. “We were pretty busy at all of our other locations, but once we got to Sterling that first week, it just blew our socks off. We were shocked by the community and how much they wanted their fair food, as well as wanting to come out and support us.”

One person in particular stood out.

“The first week we were here, a lady had one of our very first refill cups that her family had 30 years ago,” Elgin said. “She brought her cup up to get a lemonade, and of course if you hang onto a cup that long, we buy that first lemonade for you.”

Elgin’s last day in Sterling will be Saturday, then it will be back to Texas for about a 2-week break. He’ll resume operations by setting up shop at some pumpkin patches in Texas by the end of the month. Then there will be more carnivals, fairs and rodeos to hit, leaving a trail of customers filled with corn dogs, funnel cakes and lemonade in his wake.

“It’s not a job I thought I would ever have,” Elgin said, “but once I started it, I fell in love with it.”