THE JAILHOUSE TAKEOUT
Food truck owner expanding his offerings.
One food truck in Sydney serving up burgers and fries is making the move to a year-round service with a standalone takeout on George Street.
John Mazalin, owner of the Patty Wagon food truck, will continue to operate in a parking lot adjacent to the Bell Aliant building at the corner of Pitt and George streets this summer, but come the fall his attention will turn to the construction of his takeout, likely to be called the Jailhouse Takeout.
“We’re still working on the name,” he said, standing on the muddy lot at 322 George St., that he purchased last month.
A vacant house stood in this spot until a fire on Oct. 11 razed the structure. The 2018 residential taxable assessed value was $11,300.
The lot was available for both residential or commercial purposes.
A veteran car salesman with 20 years in the business, Mazalin, 47, is using his marketing savvy to have one business compliment the other.
Once the standalone takeout is ready to open either just before Christmas or early in January 2019, the focus will be building its brand of food, Mazalin said.
The Patty Wagon food truck will roll out in May of next year with a new menu.
He said Cape Breton’s unpredictable weather and a long layoff after the summer season played a role in establishing a standalone structure about 20 feet by 20 feet on a small lot
“It gives people an opportunity to be able to have some cool food, cool ideas and some new menu items all year-round instead of just locking us into a five-month market.”
John Mazalin
that’s 3,700 square feet.
“A takeout, it gives you an opportunity for people to come in to the takeout during those dirty old days and if the weather gets a little bad, you’re still able to come into the building,” he said.
Although it won’t be an eat-in facility, there will be a ledge by the exterior windows where customers can wait for their orders.
Mazalin is also looking at installing an outdoor patio on the front facing George Street during the summer months.
At the site, there’s already a power utility pole set up for a meter. The lot was surveyed and plot planned about two weeks ago, he said.
For this summer, he intends to rent his vacant lot to a food truck ice cream vendor, while he operates his food truck in a nearby parking lot.
Once it’s ready to open, he will be taking on extra staff at
the Jailhouse Takeout — two to three cooks and a full-time cleaner — to work with Mazalin throughout the day.
The change, he said, will give locals another quick food option for those on the go.
“It gives people an opportunity to be able to have some cool food, cool ideas and some new menu items all year-round instead of just locking us into a five-month market.”
The Paddy Wagon food truck’s seventh season kicks off on May 2 and continues until the end of September, weather permitting.