If you're ever walking around the Yonge and Eglinton area, you may notice a pink and teal vehicle perched in a parking lot at Roselawn Avenue.
What you'd be looking at is Home Appliances Food Co., the product of an eight-month long process from Jennifer Liu and her partner Robert Lalonde. The name refers to the city's many mom and pop shops and pays homage to their "good and honest work", according to their website.
The couple previously worked together at SoSo Food Club, which regrettably closed down after not being able to sustain the pandemic. Liu worked as the general manager and Lalonde as chef. When the duo found themselves out of work in the middle of a global pandemic, they turned to doing something out of the ordinary––starting up a food truck.
Liu has expressed that the process of getting to where they are now has been a challenging effort.
"We had to move out of our apartment and in with family in order to make ends meet and so we could be able to invest in the truck," says Liu.
Even when they were ready to open for business, problems with the truck they had purchased caused them to push back their launch. Liu says that their plans to open were slated for the end of the summer and into the fall––but some setbacks cost them four months of time, eventually having to open in the unforgiving winter.
"It’s never ideal to open in first quarter winter, during or post holidays, but we really had no choice," she says. "It was sink or swim."
Jen and Rob are no strangers to food in Toronto––Liu estimates that the two have a combined 35 years or more of industry experience, and are using what they know and what they have learned over those years to bring something new and refreshing to the streets.
The menu features what Jen likes to refer to as a "short but mighty" selection of food truck fare. HAFC is serving up a series of smash burgers and fried chicken sandwiches out of their truck along with fresh fries. Also available are their hand-rolled, made in-house honey glazed donuts––an item that Liu and Lalonde are "really proud" of. The donuts are fried to order and are received hot and fresh. The recipe was passed down from Lalonde's grandmother.
Much of their ingredients, primarily their meat and produce, are sourced locally and are supplied through vendors within two blocks of their operating grounds. Liu says being supplied by locally is one important aspect to their truck's identity.
"It's important for us to keep things within the community as much as possible and to support locals where we can," she says.
The couple previously lived in the Yonge and Eglinton area––just down the street from the lot where the truck currently sits. The space was always a point of interest for the two, and always dreamed of opening a spot there. For Liu and Lalonde, the food truck seemed like the most feasible and affordable option, but they have come to fully embrace the truck life.
While their menu is limited, the two plan on building out the business in the future, having so much space to work with. Come spring time, they plan on bringing out picnic tables, live performances from local comedians and musicians as well as an updated and rotating menu. For HAFC, the sky seems to be limit, but they are currently focused on surviving the winter––a proven downtime for many in the hospitality industry, and only more amplified by Toronto's current lockdown measures.
Home Appliances is located at 2444 Yonge Street right at Roselawn Avenue. They are open Wednesday through to Saturday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m., as well as on Sundays from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
