Written Kenzie James // Photo by Macy Cox
New food trucks are introducing more variety to the food culture around Searcy. Crepes Maker and Ananya’s Authentic Thai Food and Bubble both opened in the past year, providing Searcy citizens with glimpses into Ukrainian and Thai culture.
Yevhenii Kissa, the owner of Crepes Maker, moved to Searcy in August and opened his food truck in January. Kissa makes crepes with a variety of sweet or savory fillings, including spinach, egg, cheese, strawberry, banana and Nutella. He also offers coffee and espresso drinks.
“When I lived in Ukraine, it was my dream to open my own café,” Kissa said.
Moving to the United States provided Kissa the opportunity to pursue that dream, and the food truck is the first step toward a storefront.
Kissa said he also hopes to use Crepes Maker as a way to introduce dishes from other cultures to the community.
Ananya Reeves shares Kissa’s goal of introducing new foods to Searcy. She opened her food truck next to Stu’s Brew on Beebe Capps Expressway in October 2023.
Reeves said that in Thailand, cooking is passed down each generation among the women in the family.
“All of the women in Thailand know how to cook,” Reeves said. “I learned from my mom. I like to cook, too.”
Reeves said she wants to introduce authentic Thai food to Searcy residents. She also said some Thai food is spicy, but not all of it is. In addition to Thai dishes and appetizers, she offers a variety of milk teas and specialty teas.
The Joyful Baking Co., which opened their food truck in 2019, has been in Searcy longer than Crepes Maker and Ananya’s Authentic Thai Food and Bubble but offers another unique taste to Searcy.
Searcy native Ben Robinson helped his wife Kaytlin Robinson open Joyful Baking Co. because of her love for French macarons.
“We would go to Little Rock at Whole Foods and get them there,” Robinson said. “One day she was like, ‘I don’t feel like driving, and I feel I’m going to make them myself.’”
The macarons were a success, and their friends soon started buying them, he said, which launched the business.
Joyful Baking Co. serves a variety of macaron flavors from chocolate peanut butter to the “Joy” — their bestseller blueberry cheesecake macaron. Robinson said they also started baking chocolate chip cookies at the start of the new year and plan to keep them on the menu.
Searcy food trucks are featured in community events like Get Down Downtown and Beats and Eats, but the day-to-day community is what helps them grow.
“It’s fun watching it grow, seeing new things come in and … all the small businesses grow and get bigger,” Robinson said.
