NEWS PHOTO MO CRANKER - Mike Conljemovic tends to his new food truck downtown while waiting for the lunch rush to show up. Conljemovic started the business recently because he's been unable to find work.
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com@MHNmocranker
Mike Conljemovic was having no luck finding work … so he made some.
The Hatter has taken to the streets downtown to launch his new NOMaste Eatery food truck, which aims to bring healthy, affordable meals to residents.
“I’ve spent a long time in the restaurant industry and just couldn’t find anything,” he said. “I thought – why not create a business?
“I’ve done this all by myself and I think it adds a really nice, healthy option to our downtown.”
Conljemovic says he focuses on natural, healthy food – with a menu that changes every day. People with a short lunch break can text him at 403-793-5431 to see what the menu is and pick up a finished order.
“It’s a basic menu of building a buddha bowl and the vegetables change every day,” he said. “People start with a base of rice, beans or quinoa and they go from there.
“The menu can be made vegetarian or vegan, but we have great meat options.
“We also have paninis and wraps.”
Conljemovic built his food-creating hut from scratch using materials he could find, giving him a unique spot to serve his meals.
“I built it and had fun with it,” he said. “I found all the recycled parts and was able to make this work.
“I think it’s a cool look.”
For now, Conljemovic is doing lunch hours near city hall on days where it’s nice out. He says he plans on doing festivals this year if they happen.
“I started just in the beginning of March, before all of the craziness started,” he said. “The interesting thing about all of this, is that food trucks are designed to be socially distanced – restaurants are not.
“I’ve put myself in a bit of a unique situation here and I’m going to make the best of it.”
