2014 Battle of the Food Trucks

On August 2^nd, we hosted our first Battle of the Food Trucks event, here at our York, ME headquarters. The event showcased 5 different Food Trucks from the Portland, ME area, each serving up special culinary concoctions, including at least one made with Stonewall Kitchen products. 

Stonewall Special from Fishin' Ships

According to Entrepreneur magazine, the “street-food” industry has grown to be over $1 billion and “has seen an 8.4 percent growth rate from 2007 to 2012.” Being “Foodies” ourselves, Stonewall Kitchen saw this as a perfect opportunity to host a Food Truck event, supporting this great mobile culinary craze. 

The Battle of the Food Truck participants included; MainelyBurgers, Fishin' Ships, Urban Sugar Mobile Cafe, CN Shawarma and Wicked Good Street Kitchen as well as a sampling station from Finest Kind Tea. Each participant was given Stonewall Kitchen ingredients of their choice to help create special recipes to provide as samples during the event along with their regular menu for purchase.

A delicious menu from Wicked Good Street Kitchen

A great crowd of all ages came to try the tasty foods that the trucks had to offer. All attendees were encouraged to test the special from each Food Truck, as well as grab some refreshing samples of Finest Kind Teas. Attendees were asked to cast their vote for the best Food Truck.

Waiting to try the amazing CN Shawarama

Tasty tea samples from Finest Kind Tea

These doughnuts from Urban Sugar Cafe are worth any wait! 

All of the trucks had amazing items to try and purchase, and in the end, Mainely Burgers won the Battle of the Food Trucks! These Burger Gurus started their truck in 2012 and have been serving the Scarborough Beach and Portland, ME areas. To learn more about our Food Truck champion, visit their site at http://www.mainelyburgers.me/#home.

Thanks to all who attended this year’s battle, we look forward to seeing you all again for round two in the Summer of 2015!

Why Did the Turtle Cross the Road?

One of the most noticeable perks of working at the York corporate headquarters is the beauty of the location itself. Visitors and employees often marvel at the great care and thought put into the planning, building and visual presentation of our offices and facilities. Incorporating colorful gardens and tasteful landscaping, the entire campus seems to fit seamlessly within the natural backdrop of the area.

Right next to the offices is a quiet, open wetland area teeming with native creatures of all sorts. Employees on the second floor get an exceptional view of the comings and goings of Canadian geese, ducks, muskrats and small birds of all types.  The one resident who seems to get the most attention is a very large snapping turtle. He/she is often seen basking in the sun’s rays in the middle of the pond or plowing its way through the forest of cattails that line the edge of the property.

Yesterday, for reasons unknown, Mr./Ms. Snapping Turtle decided to take a stroll and head out toward an adjacent grassy area across the street. Despite the cars coming into or leaving our driveway, the turtle was determined to get to its destination and a few drivers even paused to let the wayward reptile cross in relative safety.

Luckily, some quick thinking members of our Merchandise team saw the events unfolding and “escorted” the turtle from a safe distance and made sure that he/she made it to the other side safely and was out of harm’s way.

Thanks, Guys!