La Crosse’s got a food truck

First step in larger plan for owner, Maria Norberg

Maria Norberg has big plans for her little grassy knoll in downtown La Crosse.

There now, however, a big truck. It’s her truck, but a big truck nonetheless, and one someone hungry might be interested in.

If La Crosse needed some more diversity in cuisine, Norberg has provided it in the form of a food truck called the Apothik. It’s step one – or 10 or 18 – in the Viterbo University grad’s grand scheme for downtown.

Wednesday afternoon, for the first time, the Apothik Food Truck was open for business on Norberg’s corner at Third and Main, where one will find it most days for breakfast and lunch.

Norberg, a Prairie Farms, Wis., native, who grew up on a farm, also owns Grounded Specialty Coffee, adjacent to the grassy knoll. And her next step for that portion of the block is a full blown restaurant with rooftop dining – something else downtown La Crosse does not yet have.

“We have a temporary holdup on that plan,” she said Wednesday after their grand opening. “So in the meantime, we decided we wanted to keep the brand going, keep our chefs and do a food truck.”

This decision came after “a few beers,” she said, and admitted – whether to save face later or give credit where credit is due  – came from her chef, Alex Brevik, who may or may not have realized this idea would place him, not in a kitchen, but in a hot truck in the middle of summer.

Come winter, they joked of taking the truck to Florida. Norberg later admitted, jokingly, these ideas may have all come after more than “a few beers.”

As for the next step – the rooftop dining experience – it’s one that could come in the not-too-distant future.

“We were going to break ground this spring, but we came across a very unfortunate easement issue that we’re still working through,” Norberg said. “I’m confident we’ll make something work out.”

The ‘beers meeting’ happened next with the Apothik crew and, six weeks later, here they are. Norberg thought the grand opening was a success with 100 or so people stopping by for lunch.

The menu is going to focus on fresh, local ingredients, giving them the ability to “change that up very frequently,” Norberg said. “So, rather than getting the big quantities of frozen stuff, we want to be fresh and local as much as we can.”

She added there will usually be some type of taco and ramen. But, “it’s not your college-style ramen,” she said with a laugh. “It’s your traditional Japanese ramen.”

She went on describing the intricacies of the ramen noodle that no hungry person would want to listen to. To hear all about it, or just eat, the truck will be at Third and Main from 7-10 a.m. for breakfast and 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. for lunch today.

Check out the menu, schedule and where the truck will be at EatApothik.com.