LEXINGTON, Va. – It was a little over a year ago that we first introduced you to Island Wheels. In that year, the popularity and the menu have grown tremendously.
Chef Eric Vasson is blown away by the success early on, but tells us he gets by with a little help from his friends.
“Jeff DeBarbieri. This was my mentor straight out of high school before I went to culinary school.”
Vasson, who’s from the Caribbean, says DeBarbieri is ultimately why he was able to be a chef there too. His mission now is to “Bring the Caribbean to Virginia. And I never expected the success that I have now.”
Island Wheels started after watching the movie ‘Chef’ with his business partners, Bob and Jenn Mann.
″Bob and Jenn were like, ‘You should really start a food truck. Your food is really good.’ And I was like ‘Yeah, whatever.’ The next morning, they had the whole blueprint laid out for me.”
More than a year into this, Island Wheels is proving that the limits are endless - authentic Caribbean food with some American influence thrown into the mix.
Vasson rattles off some of the best sellers and newest items.
“The Oxtail rice and peas. The curry chicken. Jerk chicken nachos and the Oxtail burger. Jerk chicken pizza. Shred the meat, put that on there, grill some pineapples, you got two secret sauces. The Buttermilk Pickle Ranch Sandwich. Oreo mousse cake, the carrot cake is a new one that people love and the crème brule.”
The best part of it all is that he still loves getting to come up with all this.
“I have an amazing time coming up with new ideas, and people are loving the whole aspect of Island Wheels and what it brings to the table. I’m not lucky. I can actually say that I am very blessed.”
Vasson says he has no plans to open a brick-and-mortar, because he doesn’t like to sit still. He says you can choose two dishes for $22 through February. He posts the schedule of where he’ll be on Facebook and Instagram.