News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Darrick Phallon has a hit on his hands with his new food cart located at Eurosports on the corner of Hood Avenue and Fir Street.
Jim Goodwin watched Darrick Phallon put together a bratwurst at his food cart at the corner of Hood Avenue and Fir Street.
"This is great," he said. "This is my new favorite lunch. It's good and it's convenient, like when I'm heading in to work."
Goodwin is not alone. Judging from the crowds that gather at that corner from late morning through late afternoon each day, Phallon's 'Sup Dog? food cart has become an instant success in Sisters, among visitors and locals alike.
"We want a place that is a good, appealing, affordable place to hang out for local people," Phallon said. "I get people who come back here almost every day. It's a terrific local response."
The repeat business is drawn by the quality of 'Sup Dog?'s dogs. Phallon exclusively uses Zenner's meats - German and Polish sausages, bratwurst - whatever strikes Phallon as the freshest and most appealing options from the Portland institution.
"We wanted an Oregon company," he explained. "I talked to five or six. Zenner's was the only one that could guarantee us the type of product that we wanted and the volume. When I tried all the Oregon options, they impressed me the most."
The result is a satisfying, flavorful meal for a good price - exactly what Phallon was hoping for in establishing his food cart.
The cart is the first to locate at Eurosports, which applied through the City of Sisters to create the opportunity to develop what owner Brad Boyd calls a "food-cart pod" on the grounds of the bicycle shop (which also offers beer and cider on tap). The City process by which that happened stirred some controversy, but there seems to be little discord over the cart itself. Folks apparently love it.
That's gratifying to Phallon, who considers his entrée into the food-service industry yet one more "reinvention" in a career full of them.
He spent a dozen years in the sign industry before giving in to his lifelong travel bug and living in the Dominican Republic for a year with his family. When he returned to the U.S., he didn't want to work for somebody else, so he established Elevado Metalworks in Sisters Industrial Park.
He continues to operate that company, and his metalwork expertise helped him in building a functional and attractive food cart. But he's happy to step back a bit from the hard physical labor of that work. And he loves the social aspect of his new gig.
"It's a simple thing," he said. "I'm outside; I'm meeting new people every day."
Gratified by an extravagantly positive response to his product and his endeavor, Phallon plans a party to celebrate 'Sup Dog? on Friday, July 3, at 6:30 p.m. There will be live music - featuring Jim Goodwin, one of the new food cart's repeat customers.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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