Stephen Montoya
It’s a rare treat in our business to have a story literally walk into our offices and be compelling enough to photograph and write about. But that was definitely the case this week when Christopher Rasmussen, co-founder of the Mama Lama Sweets food truck, stopped by the magazine to hand out a few samples of his waffle-on-a-stick food concept. Basically, Rasmussen is taking one of the most famous breakfast foods ever and elevating it by placing it on a stick with a sundry of fresh toppings to choose from. Although tasty and refreshing, the flavor isn’t in the fresh toppings, it’s in the base of this confection in the form of a homemade batter, the contents of which are a trade secret — wink, wink. But, according to Rasmussen, none of this would’ve been possible without fate stepping in.
“I’d just finished my MBA and I was looking for something to do when my fiancée told me she had this truck sitting in her brother’s yard in Waxahachie,” he says while making a fresh batch of waffles. “She’s like ‘you should get that truck,’ and I was a little hesitant given my education, but she said I would be surprised how much $5 a piece adds up over time.”
After giving this idea some thought, Rasmussen says he decided to go all in, giving his two weeks’ notice at his job where he worked as a restaurant manager. “That was it, my leap of faith into this business,” he says.
Stephen Montoya
Rasmussen’s next step was to retrofit the box truck his fiancée Nancy’s brother had in his front yard into a food truck. “I worked construction before, so I used my knowledge in that business to rebuild the inside of the truck,” he says. “I also worked front and back of house in the food service industry in the past, so I knew that portion too. It was just that meeting of worlds that made this idea a perfect fit.”
As for the name, Rasmussen is very aware that the word Lama stands out. Mostly because many of us are familiar with the word Llama, the name of the domesticated South American camelid. But it wasn’t an animal that would inspire the name of his new business venture. Instead, the idea would come from a child’s rhyming game.
“My fiancée’s daughter was going through her rhyming phase when we were thinking about starting this truck, he explains. “We were looking for a good name, when we overheard Nancy’s daughter saying ‘mama, lama, coma, homa, doma,’ from the backseat of the car innocently.”
Rasmussen says he felt the name was perfect because it was an homage and tie-in to his fiancée’s daughter.
With the name and the truck all set, the next thing Rasmussen would set into motion would be what type of cuisine to serve. But waffle pops wouldn’t be Mama Lama Sweets' first food offering. Instead, Rasmussen says he tried doing paletas, a Mexican-style popsicle that can be dipped and covered in a large variety of toppings. “It was good, but it was kind of time-consuming and we got into October and started thinking what we could serve for the winter menu,” he says.
This is when Rasmussen and his fiancée had the idea to try doing waffles instead. Since then, the business has been booming, he says.
“I have people that will travel from an hour away and follow our events now,” he verifies. “I’m constantly amazed and super grateful every time I hear customers tell me how far they’ve traveled just to eat my waffles.”
So, what’s the big deal?
Stephen Montoya
Well, just like a paleta, Rasmussen uses a wide variety of toppings to make his sweet waffle pops, like fresh strawberries, whipped cream, blueberries, and copious drizzles of chocolate just to name a few. Not a sweet tooth? Well, there’s good news, Mama Lama Sweets also serves paninis to offset the sweet tooth market in certain areas where the food truck is located on a daily basis. For example, one of the paninis Mama Lama serves is made with turkey pesto, provolone, and sun-dried tomatoes. Talk about savory.
And apparently, the waffles are kid approved, according to one mom who brought her five kids to one of Mama Lama’s pop-up events recently. “She looked like she’d been waiting there for us and bought a few rounds of waffles for her kids,” Rasmussen says. “This is why we do it, we love making that connection with our customers.”
