Toledo food truck celebrates opening of new, stationary location

TOLEDO, Ohio — After seven years on the road, a Toledo food truck has pumped its brakes and landed a new spot in the Franklin Park Mall.

The Saucy Slamwich, owned by Julia Fortinberry, opened its restaurant in the food court on Monday.

The food truck serves sandwiches at roughly 14 events each week between two trucks and will now be open seven days a week at the mall.

“We have always been looking for a location, and it just seemed the right time, the right place in order to start a stationary unit,” Fortinberry said.

She says the mall location will serve up fan favorites like the Reuben and signature burgers, alongside a few new items and a variety of salads and wraps.

Denny Wonser was the second customer on opening day. He lives next door to the Fortinberrys’ son, Alex, and was happy to finally try the family’s food.

“We never can seem to find them or get out to the truck,” Wonser said. “This will be nice because here you have tables and chairs, and sometimes with the food truck, you don’t have that available.”

Fortinberry says she plans on keeping both the food trucks and the mall location open with the help of her son and her husband, Jeffrey.

The family opened their second food truck, Avery’s Kitchen, two years ago. It’s named after their late son, Avery, who died from cancer about two years ago.

“Yes, he’s here with us,” Fortinberry said. “A lot of the people who are on our staff have worked with him previously whether it’s been on the food truck or on other ventures, so he was very well loved.”

In the future, the family hopes to expand their food truck collection and open a restaurant at another place like the mall to continue their passion.

Fortinberry says she owes all of the success to her loyal customers, who allow her to do what she loves every day.

“We love making food. We love making food that people love to eat, and we love serving the community.” Fortinberry said. “This is in our blood. My crew, my staff, my family, this is what we want to do.”

The Saucy Slamwich will be open every day during the same hours as the mall. For more information on where the food truck will be this summer, visit the Facebook page.