2019 was busy for Tasty Yolk owners
Owners of The Tasty Yolk in Bridgeport are riding a wave of momentum following a year of quick expansion.
“In the last 18 months, we’ve just had some hyper growth,” said coowner Mike Bertanza, refering to three new openings in that period, including the brand’s first brickandmortar location at 2992 Fairfield Ave. in Black Rock.
He and partner Eric Felitto also added two food trucks to their list at 999 Brookside Ave. and 1916 Post Road in their hometown of Fairfield. Those locations join the duo’s other two Bridgeportbased trucks at 4700 Park Ave. and Broad Street across from the Margaret E. Morton Building.
“We’ve been riding a few good waves,” Bertanza said.
Perhaps the largest wave of buzz came just before 2019 started when Felitto won a breakfast challenge on an episode of “Chopped,“adding to the brand’s already growing reputation as a top food truck nationally.
Shortly after the cooking show victory, The Tasty Yolk team earned another accolade after being named a Best Food Truck in 2019 by Connecticut Magazine.
“I think that fueled a lot of the excitement about our group which made it an easier transition to keep opening new locations,” Felitto said. “Since then, we’ve had a lot of push through.”
The duo’s brand was also among the 2020 Expert’s Pick for Best Food Truck, according to Bertanza.
While national and statewide attention has added to their appeal, Felitto and Bertanza attribute their growing success to their menu of gourmet breakfast sandwiches.
They’ve spent the past four years serving customers in Bridgeport and Fairfield with staples like The Tasty — a double egg and cheese with chorizo — and their braisedbrisketfilled “Banker” breakfast sandwich.
They’ve also incorporated breakfast burritos and bowls at all their locations, while their storefront has added a lunch menu.
The duo launched their first food truck on May 5, 2016, while Bertanza was a local banker and Felitto was a chef at The Chelsea in Fairfield.
“We’d always been looking to do something,” Bertanza said. “We would just talk back and forth and share ideas and then on day we decided to open up a food truck.”
According to Felitto, they initially started with a food truck so they could maintain their fulltime jobs.
Both owners have since left their previous jobs to tend to the Tasty Yolk full time.
With a new year ahead of them, the duo said they are looking to keep up with the expansion they’ve already had.
“We’ve got a few big things that we are hoping will come to fruition in the next year,” Bertanza said, including adding their first franchisee and eventually opening another storefront location in their hometown of Fairfield.
Tasty Yolk’s restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on Sunday’s from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
All four food trucks are open Tuesday through Friday at their fixed locations from 7 a.m. to noon and on weekends from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Tasty Yolk’s downtown Bridgeport location moves, and is stationed at the Mongers Market lot on Sundays.