A new dining venue recently opened in Columbia, offering customers a variety of food from two food trucks with the promise of even more options and venues in the future.

Bryan Scott, owner of The Truck Stop Columbia, has owned two food trucks operating in the St. Louis area for several years now but saw an opportunity for a somewhat more permanent spot in town.

“Just recently I had the opportunity to lease a property here in Columbia, and I thought it was perfect for a food truck park,” Scott said.

Scott, who was born and raised in North St. Louis but has lived in Columbia for the past decade, said he’s worked in the food service industry his whole life.

He left the industry for a time to work at Bank of America, eventually feeling the push to pursue a long-time dream of owning his own food truck.

Four years ago, after a long period of finding the right truck for the job, he started Doggie Mac’s.

In 2020, he started up a brick and mortar establishment for the business, but in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, he ultimately had to step away from the permanent establishment.

“The food was great, obviously, but it just never really caught on,” Scott said. “So I closed that a year later and just continued to work on the Doggie Mac’s business.”

He’s since set up The Truck Stop at 613 N. Main Street with his other food truck that shares the location’s name.

While The Truck Stop hasn’t yet hosted an official grand opening, it’s already been active over the last few weeks and has received plenty of positive attention from customers.

The Truck Stop currently offers outdoor seating with offerings from two trucks with distinctly different options.

Doggie Mac’s focuses on gourmet nachos and hot dogs as well as macaroni and cheese made using Scott’s grandmother’s recipe dating back 80 years.

Scott said the food truck’s specialty is the titular Doggie Mac, a quarter pound hot dog topped with mac and cheese and a thick slice of applewood smoked bacon.

Doggie Mac’s boasts fresh ingredients as well as other options, including a veggie dog.

The other food truck offers a selection of gourmet burgers, loaded fries and chicken fingers, with its specialty being the America Burger with bacon, cheese, sauteed onions, lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard and pickles.

Along with the variety of food, Scott emphasized the family friendly nature of The Truck Stop. While there is an alcohol selection for adults, kids can enjoy the grassy areas of the property that they simply wouldn’t have at a typical restaurant.

“It’s wide open spaces,” Scott said. “There’s plenty of room for people to bring picnic blankets and lawn chairs. It’s room to spread out. Kids can run around. It really is a great place for families.”

While The Truck Stop has already established itself as a unique eatery for Columbia, Scott hopes to grow the business even more.

The biggest planned addition is more food trucks, with an eventual hope to have four trucks in regular rotation starting next spring.

Scott also plans to eventually set up a deck for music and live entertainment as well as a cocktail lounge with indoor seating.

Scott is currently working to acquire a building permit from the city to proceed with plans for The Truck Stop.

Scott said The Truck Stop has plenty of room for growth in its current home, though even just starting out, the business has already received plenty of attention.

Scott said the business’s Facebook page shot up from 50 to 1,200 followers almost overnight after they opened, with many positive reviews written since then.

“We have a lot of support from the community,” Scott said. “Everybody who’s been there, and you can look at the Facebook page and look at the reviews that we’ve been getting, it really is overwhelming. I’m sure that we’ll do very well.”

While hours may vary as the business grows, The Truck Stop is typically open Monday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-8 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-9 p.m., Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. and 4-9 p.m. and Sunday from 1-4 p.m.