The Mechanical Owl combines legacies of Owl restaurant and Neue Southern Food Truck
In the latest emergence in the food truck scene, the Mechanical Owl is swooping into Greenville with former Owl restaurant owner Aaron Manter and former Owl chef de cuisine Joseph McCarter.
The truck made an appearance last Saturday at Thomas Creek Brewery as a “soft opening” and will be at Quest Brewery on Friday, Aug. 8, from 5 p.m. until they “sell out of food.” They’ll also be alerting Facebook and Twitter followers soon on upcoming locations and a grand opening date.
“We didn’t have a long-term plan to become food truck owners – it came about in a very short amount of time,” said McCarter, who along with Manter purchased the truck from Neue Southern Food Truck owners and chefs Lauren Zanardelli and Graham Foster before the couple relocated to Portland earlier this year.
Manter, who is also a chef at Genevieve’s at the Peace Center, said he would be taking “more of a back-seat approach to this endeavor.” He and McCarter are co-owners, but “it’s really the Joseph show,” Manter said.
The food will be “the same M.O. as we had at the Owl, with a fine-dining-for-the-working-class, come-as-you-are atmosphere,” said McCarter. “It will be elevated food but for a working-class demographic.”
The menu will change periodically and be heavily focused on vegetables, but won’t be vegetarian, said McCarter. Each food service will probably include five savory items and two desserts.
“I like to draw from different cultures and ethnicities,” he said. “But we want to serve something that’s eclectic and different.”
Prices will be under $10. The owners plan on serving dinner four days a week and possibly a brunch on the weekends.
The idea for the name came from loyal Facebook followers who suggested using the name Bubo, the mechanical owl in the movie “Clash of the Titans,” but that didn’t quite work, the new owners said. Since the Owl restaurant had created such a following and reputation, Manter and McCarter wanted to keep and build upon that name recognition. Thus the Mechanical Owl was born.
Manter said downtown areas designated by the city for food trucks aren’t ideal parking locations, as “they’re not the places that people choose to congregate.” Instead, McCarter and Manter plan to work with partners such as The Community Tap, Quest Brewing Company, The Southern Growl and other brick-and-mortar breweries and businesses.
In the future, Manter and McCarter hope to work with the city to offer food truck service downtown after 10:30 p.m. They would like to cater to the late-night bar crowd after other restaurant kitchens close.
They also are planning to offer beer pairings with their fresh-made popsicles.
