The Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce celebrated Ledgeview Brewing Co. of Warsaw’s new food truck with a ribbon-cutting on Thursday, Oct. 13. From left: Chamber President and CEO Rob Parker and Ambassadors Shawn Brown, Heather Lardino, Scott Clay and Stacie Schlichtenmyer; Ledgeview’s Nicole Schuh, Derek Bowers and Olivia Haskins; Ledgeview Co-Owner Craig McLaren; Ledgeview’s Mike Hollingsworth; Ledgeview Co-Owner Abby McLaren; Ledgeview’s Tasha Alexander and Marta Murillo; and Chamber Ambassador Chad Hummel and Member Relations Manager Scott Wiley. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Customers can now enjoy Ledgeview Brewing Co.’s food on the road thanks to its new food truck.

The Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce had a ribbon-cutting for the truck on Thursday, Oct. 13.

The truck has been in use since this year’s Fat & Skinny Tire Fest in May, said Craig McLaren, who co-owns Ledgeview with his wife, Abby McLaren.

“We were building it, and it was our goal to be ready for that,” said Craig.

The McLarens are primarily taking the truck to events in both Elkhart and Kosciusko counties.

Craig said the truck was at Ledgeview’s property at 975 Warren St., Warsaw, when they bought it.

“It wasn’t working or anything like that, so we broke the whole thing down to the frame and rebuilt it from scratch,” he said.

The food truck’s menu is tweaked from Ledgeview’s regular one.

“We utilize everything that we make here … so the brisket that we make here we turn into chopped brisket sandwiches,” said Craig. “We make sandwiches on the truck instead of platters … We have a chicken sandwich, a beef sandwich, a pork sandwich … we have nachos on there and we also do a vegan sausage as well.”

Drinks are limited to pop and water and “beer with enough time in between because we’ve got to go get the permit and all that stuff for it,” he said.

The McLarens announce their schedule for the food truck on Ledgeview’s Facebook page.

Craig said he and Abby see the truck as a supplement to the regular business.

“We have the restaurant and the brewery first and then the food truck is just an opportunity to get out to more places,” he said. “It helps with publicity.”

Craig said the couple’s aim with the truck is not to put full-time food trucks out of business.

“That’s their living … and I don’t want to take away from what they have,” he said. “Now if someone’s running a festival and gives us a call, ‘You guys want to attend?’ we’re going to attend, but we’re not going to call around like, ‘Can you put us in?'”

Aside from the truck, other new or upcoming features for the nearly two-year-old business are expanding its events and catering work and putting another building next to Ledgeview’s current one, said Craig.

“We’re going to move the brewery out there and make it bigger,” he said. “We’re going to move out into more of the field because we have all that field that’s out there, so put more seating out there, more walkways around, try to get a gazebo out there for weddings and stuff like that in the future.”