Crisis Forces House of Hunger Food Truck Out of Business

polygamy sauce
Photo courtesy Polygamy Sauce

The food truck explosion in Minneapolis and St. Paul has been so good, you get the sense that people are raking in money hand over fist. Why else would so many people be rushing to open trucks?

The truth is, sometimes we forget how close our restaurateurs and food truck owners are from absolute collapse.

House of Hunger is a truck run by two extremely nice guys, Wesley Kaake and Cody Allen. In October, they were driving to a catering gig when the engine exploded, causing a lot of damage. The truck was built in 1988 and was a bread delivery van in New York before it was converted to a food truck. The frame was already rusted out and the engine had a lot of miles on it.

“We had an incredible insurance policy,” Cody told me. “But the engine died and they’re calling it wear and tear.”

At the same time, Wesley’s father was diagnosed with a very rare brain sarcoma that was spreading to his brain. Cancer treatment is expensive and Wesley’s dad was part owner of the truck, so it was time—they had to let their employees go and make the decision to shut down the truck.

A four-year journey came crashing to a halt, but one of the food truck’s products is here to stay with your help.

House of Hunger created a sauce called Polygamy Sauce. It’s a mayonnaise, garlic, Sriracha combination that they served on just about everything including their Twisted Philly and Zucchini Fries. Cody created it—he’s a recovering Mormon from Salt Lake City, hence the name “Polygamy.”

“It had a huge following,” Cody said. “We talked about making it and selling it, but never had time with the truck.”

Now, they’ve launched a Kickstarter to get the Polygamy Sauce business going. For $40 you get 3 spouses: 1 bottle of sauce, a recipe book, and a thank you card. For $100 you get 2 bottles and a T-shirt. But more than that, you get the satisfaction of helping out a couple of guys who just want to make people happy with their food.

You can follow them on twitter @polygamysauce.