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| by Arline Chandler |
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Workampers’ Kitchen is Always Open
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In their ten years of full timing, Bob and Suzan Petrulis found plenty of jobs between the covers of Workamper News. “We love the Workamping lifestyle,” Bob states. “Our kids are grown and we have nothing to hold us in one place. We have a great time traveling this grand country.”
“But we’re not retired,” he continues. “Like any lifestyle, full-time RVing takes money.
At first, Bob and Suzan depended on seasonal work advertised in Workamper News. Their jobs at Crystal Lodge in Lake City, Colorado, turned into full-time work. Bob’s Southern-fried catfish drew patrons from a 50-mile radius of the beautiful resort town. In the winters, Bob and Suzan, not only kept the restaurant going, they ran snowmobile tours and cleaned rooms. They liked the work and the environment, but the yen to see beyond Colorado’s snowy peaks gnawed at the fringes of their imaginations. The couple brainstormed for a solution. A restaurant owner, manager, or consultant for most of his career, Bob put his expertise with commercial cooking to work. He personally designed their custom-built silver trailer that houses a state-of-the-art kitchen. Pulling their portable kitchen behind the 32-foot Holiday Rambler they call home, Bob and Suzan hung out their shingle for an on-the-road restaurant business.
Aptly named The Fry Shack, their streamlined galley affords the Petrulises a lifestyle that combines travel with earning a living. On a circuit that often permits overnight parking in their grown children’s driveways, the couple opens shop for hungry diners at county fairs and events such as New Mexico’s Balloon Festival.
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As members of Coast to Coast and Western Horizon Resorts, Bob and Suzan set up for several weeks at a time in the parks that belong to either system. Their trailer was built in St. George, Utah, only a mile from Western Horizon’s St. George Resort in Hurricane. “We had a place to stay while the trailer was under construction,” Bob says. “I could be on hand to see that my design was exactly what went into the trailer. The close proximity to our manufacturer is a help to us when we have to take the trailer in for repairs.”
Anytime the Petrulises pull into St. George Resort, guests and staff invite them to open their restaurant. Mary Miles, office manager, says: “Our campers are delighted with the variety of meals they prepare. Not being a fan of catfish myself, I was surprised at how good it tasted.”
From a tiny window Bob and Suzan take orders and serve up excellent food. Mary Miles continues, “They provide great service and create an atmosphere of fun. Their batter-dipped and deep-fried Oreo cookies could be habit-forming!”
The Fry Shack’s reputation is spreading from resorts to festivals and fairs. A man attending Harvest Fest in Windsor, Colorado, remembered eating the Petrulises’ crab cakes in Montana.
Once in Montana, a man approached the silver kitchen and asked Bob how he prepared his fish. Bob shared that his catfish is “Southern style,” rolled in cornmeal and deep-fried. He buys only the freshest catfish from a food distributor, who, in turn, gets his fish from catfish farms in the South. Without ordering, the man walked to the back of the trailer and observed Bob’s Colorado license plate. He returned to order and said, “I don’t know if this will be any good or not, but I used to travel 50 miles every week to Lake City, Colorado, for catfish!” “I’m the guy who’s been cooking your catfish!” Bob replied.
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Folks who indulge in the Fry Shack’s menu, varied with fried catfish, oysters, and shrimp, see only the piping hot food and the convenience of a spotless kitchen that arrives on the premises of a park or event. Suzan reveals that earning a living with a mobile restaurant requires more than cooking. The couple makes detailed plans months in advance. With a broad smile, Suzan calls herself the “boss.”
“I pick the events and organize permits for sales tax, delivery by vendors, and health inspections in various states,” she explains. “I investigate local regulations and licensing requirements and contract with food distributors.”
As an example of long range scheduling, Suzan describes a trip-in-the-making to Alaska. With meticulous preparation, the couple could work eight events while spending the summer in one of their favorite places.
Despite all the work, Bob and Suzan prefer running their own business in order to sustain their fulltime lifestyle. “The Fry Shack works for us,” Bob says. “We can work anywhere we go. And we like the freedom and mobility.” Looking around their home on wheels, complete with the luxuries of web TV, a cellular phone, lush plants filling the corners, and two feline friends, Suzan comments, “We’re at home wherever we go. For others who wonder if they can satisfactorily make a go of it on the open road, we are examples.”
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