38°
Literally.
For many years, Joe Defeis worked as a franchise regional manager at BurgerFi and was starting to feel restless.
The Yonkers resident mentioned the dream of owning a truck to his girlfriend.
"At the moment our house was a bit of a mess and as a joke, she said,' Yeah, and you should name the truck sloppy joes.'
"I looked at her and said, 'You know what? That’s actually a great idea."
After testing out recipes for three months, he launched Sloppy Joe's Gourmet Grub in October 2017, mainly parking on Boston Post in Larchmont (across from Ray Cantena Lexus) but also in Mamaroneck (check Instagram for up to date spots).
His mission: To elevate the classic sloppy joe to "a new level of delicious with premium ingredients and flavor fusions that make each an artisan-style creation."
Defeis, who co-owns the business with Natalie Minafri (the girlfriend behind the namesake), said his product is unique in several ways. For one, he uses 100 percent fresh never frozen Angus beef.
He also has several signature sandwiches to cater to different tastes -- think the Slop-a-Cado-Joe with avocado, bacon, lettuce and sloppie sauce on a multi-grain bun or the Slop, Drop and Roll with grilled jalapenos, creamy sriracha mayo, pepper jack cheese and a jalapeno hopper on a brioche.
There's also a vegan style-version with no meat (made with a red lentil base) as well as pulled pork sandwiches, wings, regular burgers, fresh cut fries and more.
Catering and private events are also part of the business. He also does UBEREats.
"We have lots of plans for the truck in the near future and are looking to expand to more than one truck once we're established properly," he said. In other words, franchise opportunities are a possibility.
Said Defeis: "I'm looking forward to spreading the flavor and hopefully, booking more folks to 'get sloppie.'"
Go to www.sloppiejoes.com/ for more information.
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