You know the Spot. Thanks to local food truck The Spot, mobile mac and cheese has officially arrived. (Courtesy image)
What more could you want—melted cheese and al dente noodles? But Hannah Wilde and Daniel Kuehl, owners of The Spot, a new local mac and cheese food truck, prove there’s so much more to this hearty dish.
In addition to his classic recipe, Kuhl has been refining variations on his mac and cheese over the past two years, resulting in The Spot’s current menu of Chicken Bacon Ranch, Buffalo Chicken, BBQ Pulled Pork and Garden Mac. The restaurant also offers a build-your-own option, with nine different veggie and meat options to add to your entree.
Each dish is quite generous at 12 ounces of noodles and 10 ounces of sauce, packaged in an oven-safe container for leftovers (or not, we’re not judging here). Macs range in price from $13.99 to $18.99, with a full course meal for $23 that includes breadsticks and a drink.
The Spot officially opened on May 18, and while Wild and Kuhl are still getting off the ground, they’ve been selling out of macaroni and cheese almost every day since opening.
The idea to start a food truck came to them a few years ago while traveling in California with some friends. The idea seemed unrealistic at the time, but it stayed with them until they decided to get serious about it two years ago, and saved up all the money they could to buy a truck.
“We love to travel and wanted to create a job that would allow us to live a good life and earn enough money to fulfill our dreams of traveling the world,” Wilde said.
“Cooking is also a passion of mine,” Kuehl continued, “so my thought was, how can we pursue a passion that helps us pursue our other passions?”
You might be wondering why all this cheesy comfort food. Kuhl has been cooking passionately for the past 15 years. While his favorite dishes are American classics like burgers and mac and cheese, he loves elevating those classics.
“There didn’t seem to be any restaurants in Eau Claire that had a business model focused on mac and cheese, which was surprising to me, living in Wisconsin,” Kuehl laughs. “I wanted to focus on something very simple, something that people don’t really think about, and make it the absolute best.”
The menu is set for now, but Wilde, who was born and raised in Brazil, said he would like to introduce vegan and gluten-free options in the future, as well as a Brazilian cheese bread made with tapioca flour and marinara sauce.
You can find The Spot on Facebook where they announce their weekly and monthly schedules every Monday. Find them at various locations around the area, including Eau Claire’s Fall Festival, the Eau Claire County Fair, Mayo Clinic Health System parking lots, The Brewing Projekt and more.
“None of this would have been possible without the support of the community,” Wilde said. “I’m from a different country, I’ve lived in different places, I’ve traveled a lot, but I’ve never seen a community as strong as Eau Claire’s. I feel like we support each other. People have been so helpful by sharing where we’re going, sharing with others, and talking about it. Eau Claire has a very powerful magic that brings people together, and I’m so grateful for that.”
For more information about The Spot and a full schedule, check out their Facebook page.
