The business history of Rolling Fatties is being presented here as part of Kingfield, Maine’s bicentennial celebration in 2016. More information about the bicentennial can be found at www.kingfield-bicentennial.com.
2013
In the spring, Paul and Julie gave us an Argosy Airstream as a pay-it-forward gift. It was green and gray with moss and mold and we had to pull it out of the mud. Over the late spring and summer, we renovated the inside as a workable mobile kitchen with help from JR Fabrication, Pete’s Plumbing and Heating, and Good Times down in Farmington.
Next we worked on the outside with some major help from Steve Heath down in New Vineyard. Steve, miraculously, removed most of the dent in the back, sanded, and then painted the Argosy its original color, off white. Signworks completed the exterior with the application of our logo and business information and two highlight stripes.
For more pictures of this process, check out this post.
At the end of the summer, we were licensed, and on October 11, 2013, we threw a big Artwalk bash at FIS Sports with music from Turner Templeton and beer from The Bag. It was crazy fun! We totally underestimated the crowd and everything that could go wrong went wrong. With help from great friends, we survived, and for the next three weekends, we rolled in the Kingfield area before it got too cold and we had to shut down for the winter.
2014
Over the winter we looked at properties in and around Kingfield knowing that we wanted a “home base” for the food truck and, eventually, a restaurant. The property at 268 Main Street caught our attention because of its location and versatility. We purchased it in April, worked on it for a month, and in May, we reopened the food truck in the front yard for the summer. Having a towing truck that was barely road legal limited our range for traveling to events, so for most of the summer, we stayed right in Kingfield and after a successful summer, we closed down on October 31.
Over the winter we renovated the kitchen inside at 268 Main Street to function as a take-out counter and commercial kitchen with the help of a Micro Enterprise Assistance grant to develop a year round business.
2015
2015 was a big year for us. We opened the new take-out counter on April 4, just in time for Sugarloaf’s Reggae Weekend. It was awesome except for the mud pit in the middle of the driveway! We invested in a truck to get us to more events over the summer, and we had a blast adventuring all over Maine. We closed the food truck and the take-out counter on October 31 to renovate again inside (and still using grant money) to add dining rooms and a bathroom. We reopened as a restaurant just before Christmas.
2016
We experienced and are still experiencing our first winter which has been amazing despite the weather. We hired our first official employee, participated in Kingfield Artwalks by hosting musicians Lauren Crosby, Lindsay Mower, and DJ Taylor along with a movie, 1000 Feet and Below by Joel Osgood, and became more familiar with sourcing food locally during the winter.
The restaurant will be closing April 17th for summer and the food truck will open for the summer tour May 7th. The food truck will be open in Kingfield on Thursdays from 3-7 throughout the summer, and we’ll travel as far as Presque Isle and Vermont Rolling Fatties! We’re still loving it and always thankful for your support!
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