Gaztro-Wagon chef Matt Maroni will be off the streets soon but his food truck will keep rolling along.
Maroni will be the chef at Morso, a new restaurant taking the space of Pastaterra on Armitage in Lincoln Park. He promises that "the Wagon's gonna keep rolling" and that he'll be involved in it day-to-day even if he's not on the truck itself.
"It was an opportunity to do some food without limitations," he tells The Stew. The new menu will be all shared plates with a price range of $9 up to a $24 antelope dish. "When I go out to eat, I order all appetizers and share," he said, and the game-centric fare he'll serve will be the same way.
He and partner Brian Troglia have been working on a bricks-and-mortar space for more than a year, but in a down economy and without a huge reputation to leverage, he opted to start the Gaztro-Wagon and has been met with great reviews and lines for his naanwiches. In the process, he has helped spearhead efforts to change Chicago's food ordinances that prevent actual cooking on a truck.
All of this exposure got him the chance to do Morso, a partnership with the folks from Terragusto who operated Pastaterra.
"There's no question that if I didn't do the Gaztro-Wagon, I wouldn't be doing this right now," he said.
With the Morso space in relatively good shape, they only have to add a few lights and do some painting before opening in early August.
As for the mobile operation, Maroni says contingency plans have been made for any ordinance changes, including buying a new Wagon based on some models in L.A.
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