San Angelo officially has a German-food establishment in town.
Not as a brick-and-mortar location, but the kind that gets around on wheels. The Tasty Kraut Food Truck is a German street-food trailer that has been making regular stops in San Angelo since late January.
You may have already seen them around on social media, or heard about them from others around town — and for good reason; it’s’ really good!
Foreign Beginnings
Couple co-owners, Pia (wife), and Holger (husband), born and raised in Rammstein Germany, had been thinking about moving to the States to start a food truck business since the late 1990s, but never found the timing right to make the big move.
It wasn’t until early 2023 that their situation changed, making the leap possible.
In November of that year, they arrived in Texas, which was always the intended location.
Mertzon was their target because Pia’s brother moved there 20-some years ago, so they could move in with him to get a new beginning, before launching the food-truck business.
Pia has three years of formal culinary training in Germany under well-known chefs.
She has since acquired 30 years of kitchen skills, working across the full spectrum of restaurants and cuisines, including fast-casual, fast food, Air Force Food Service units, fine dining, ethnic dining, and more.
Husband Holger is a trained (degree-holding equivalent) mechanic and welder. In fact, he owned a custom motorcycle shop in Germany for many years.
So how did this couple wind-up opening a German street food truck in Mertzon and San Angelo?
Let me explain what I learned during my interview with the two of them.
The Brand and Logo
How did the catchy little chefs hat-wearing squirrel, and name “The Tasty Kraut,” come to be, you ask?
According to the couple, it was a blend of what Pia’s brother wanted to name a food truck or restaurant if he ever started one.
That idea was going to be either “Sauer Kraut,” or “Nasty Kraut.”
Not being an ideal fit for what Pia and Holger had in mind, it took a small twist.
Holger has always joking called Pia “a grumpy squirrel” when she got angry or upset; furrowing her nose and eyes the way a squirrel does.
That character, along with a more-appealing spin on Sauerkraut, landed the food truck and business with the name we see today.
The Menu
Holger and Pia told me their menu is focused on the most popular street foods you would find in Germany.
It lends itself well to items that can be made in the confines and limits of a food truck, but allows them to be made quickly, consistently, and effectively, while sticking to traditional ingredients and recipes.
“Everything we make is done exactly as we would expect to find it in Germany,” said Pia.
“The best comment we can ever get from a customer is when [someone] native to Germany, or who spent a period of time in Germany, tells us our food tastes exactly how they remember it as a child, or when mom or grandma used to make it,” Holger explained.
The potato salad, for instance, is a simple recipe of only a few ingredients that has been passed down over three generations according to Pia.
“I have not changed a thing with that recipe; I want people to taste what my grandma and mother made for me and what I want to make for people here, she said.
Holger said the three top-selling items on the menu are the pork or chicken schnitzel sandwiches, the Jager Schnitzel plate, and the German Bratwurst.
The Tasting
I want to mention that even the sides and desserts are traditional-recipe items made from scratch.
I have personally tried the chicken schnitzel sandwich, the Fleischkasa, the fresh-baked made-to-order German pretzel, and the classic spätzle.
All of it is truly spectacular. It’s not like anything else we have here in San Angelo or the Concho Valley, as far as I know.
Only Fredericksburg would have something of this nature, and this caliber, that I know of when it comes to German cuisine.
An Explosive Turn of Events
Almost as soon as things got ‘cooking’, disaster stuck the food truck.
An explosion inside the truck while (thankfully) in storage overnight, destroyed the truck entirely.
It’s unknown what lead to the explosion, but it looked liked their operation might be done before it even really got going.
But this is San Angelo. This is the Concho Valley, where we help others get back on their feet, and this case was no different.
The couple started a GoFundMe campaign aiming to raise $10,000, hoping to re-establish the business as quickly as possible, given this was their primary income.
Support Across Two Continents
Due to the amazing support of friends and family back in Germany, locals in Mertzon and San Angelo alike, the couple raised $6,500.
That, coupled with some insurance, allowed the couple to find a new trailer, outfit it mostly by themselves nearly from scratch, and get things up-and-running once again.
After about six weeks of semi-frequent Facebook page updates from the couple, they announced they were back in business, ready to serve the people of Mertzon and San Angelo once again.
Where and When to Find Them
The Tasty Kraut now has a regular routine in San Angelo.
Pia and Holger will be serving from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and every-other Thursday in the Office Depot parking lot at the corner of Sherwood Way and Sunset Drive.
The couple says they are considering doing formal catering in the very near future and are building plans as to how that side of the business would operate.
People already eager to consider asking about catering form them should contact them directly, as they can likely handle smaller groups of less-than 150 depending on menu items being requested.
You can also find them on selected Saturday evenings out front of SoCo Taphouse selling their goods to folks looking for a bite to go with their cold beer (hefeweizen anyone?).
Giving Back To The Community
Pia and Holger also told me they are eager to put on a special event of sorts, where a large portion of the revenue could be donated to a worthy local cause.
They said it would be one way for them to show how grateful they are to the community for helping them get back on their feet when they needed it most.
An amazing story of an amazing couple offering something different to the people of San Angelo who helped them sustain their dream of moving here, working here, living here, and serving us great German food from their homeland.
Be sure to go and pay them and visit, and welcome them to our great city.
Make them feel a little bit at home also!
Try these simple phrases to welcome them to San Angelo with these German language basics: (click below for short audio clips of the German translations)
1 Comment
I have known Holger and Pia for many years and for one can tell you that they’re humbleness is genuine. They’re great people and I’m very proud to say that that I call them my friend s, my family holds much love for them we were so happy to see them recover quickly and get back to doing what they do best and love the most. see you soon Holger & Pia!!!!!