Jun 12, 2019
An entrepreneurial spirit got Over the Border rolling and the food truck business celebrated with a ribbon-cutting today at a familiar spot, in front of Tompkins Bank of Castile on Main Street.
Brothers Ryan and Evan Bender and friend Nick Melchiore have been offering tacos and burritos at multiple locations in Batavia for the last couple of weeks and this afternoon were at the place where it all began — Tompkins Bank — as a crowd of 20-30 people had the chance to sample menu items for free.
“We just wanted to get in the entrepreneurial space and what better way to do it than with your brother?” Ryan Bender said, standing next to Evan as the two of them, along with Melchiore, got the food ready for people to sample.
In joining the Red Osier Restaurant in Stafford and the Center Street Grill in Batavia in the local food truck business, Over the Border wants to provide a service that is a lot more common in places such as Buffalo and Rochester.
“This is our first year. We’re getting our feet wet with one truck,” Evan said.
The hours the Over the Border truck will be at a location are generally 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. any day except for Sundays and Wednesdays. Those who want to know when and where the truck will be serving should check out the Over the Border Food Truck Facebook page.
“We’re going to post to Facebook every night. Let everybody know what our hours are,” Ryan Bender said.
Nick Melchiore said it’s been great to see interest in Over the Border grow as quickly as it has.
“The people make serving them really enjoyable,” he said. “It’s been these two guys’ (Ryan and Evan Bender) project to get it started as quickly as they could.”
The menu Over the Border offers as it rolls from place to place includes: Taco Trio for $10, Burrito for $12 and Burrito Bowl for $12. Once a person chooses one, he or she may choose ground beef, chicken breast, fish or pulled pork as meat. There are several toppings available: pico de gallo, lettuce, cheese, jalapeno, sour cream, black beans or mango salsa. Drink choices are bottled water, homemade lemonade or homemade iced tea. For sides, there is queso for $1.50 or guac for $2.50. Churro Bites are $6 (add Nutella for $2.).
“Everything on our menu is made fresh daily,” Ryan and Evan Bender both said.
“Our salsa, for example, we get up really early to make it fresh every day,” Evan said. “Our plastic products are 100% compost-friendly — even the plastic bags we use. With the food aspect, Nick and I have been working in the test kitchen, testing different flavors, honing in on what works. That’s how we get our recipes down.”
Ryan said a bag of chips comes with every meal.
“You’ve got your choice of queso, guacamole or salsa. They’re mainly used as dipping for the nachos,” he said. “You can get them (the queso, guacamole or salsa) put on your tacos upon request.”
People Wednesday afternoon were encouraged to try tacos for free.
“I’ve got to try the fish. I’ve never had a fish taco,” one woman said as she approached the table in front of the truck.
Jim Carney of Batavia told the Benders and Melchiore the jalapenos tasted great.
“They’ve got jalapenos that are actually hot,” he said. “The food was great, but the jalapenos are a nice touch. The fish — it was spicy and sweet. My sister is in Austin, Texas, and there’s hundreds of things like this.”
During the ribbon-cutting, Genesee County Chamber of Commerce President Tom Turnbull said. “I want to welcome the boys here. It’s great to see them staying in town, investing in the community,”
