The Rise of Food Trucks in Antigonish

The Frankenstand: A spookily delicious hot dog stand

At the back of the Shoppers Drug Mart Parking lot, on the edge of the river, lies a peculiar looking food truck emblazoned with green, black and orange colors. Its aptly named The Frankenstand, and it’s the home to foot long hot dogs… with a twist. A Caesar salad on top of a hot dog? Yep. Chili, bacon, sauerkraut? That too. For owner Kirk Jones, the name is based after his favorite childhood character. 

Photo: Bowen Assman

“I love Frankenstein, everything about it. That is why everything is based off of it. All of our menu items have some relation to Frankenstein, such as The Bride, and the Thing.”

For Kirk, his stand opened at the beginning of May and is most certainly a family affair. His wife Tracy and children work the truck, preparing food and collecting the money. It is a great educational tool to teach his son. 

“We do not keep a calculator, so when he takes orders, he has to calculate the pricing and give back the correct amount. Because of this, it has improved his math skills”

He wanted to appease to the younger crowd, mainly the students. The idea of having a hot dog stand is unique to Antigonish, a town densely populated by pizza joints. As of now, the menu consists of hot dogs, burgers and onion rings. As young as the truck is, the plans for the future are wide ranging.

“My plan is to buy a six-wheeler, so I can have a bigger shop, and move our current truck to a permanent spot on the beach. We have been in talks with the city to have this whole parking lot become a sort of food court, with an array of choices from different food trucks dotting the lot.” 

In terms of new menu ideas, the idea of a foot-long French fry is in the works. Yes, a singular foot long French fry, something that would blow up the traditional fry culture, if done correctly. 

While he has a lot of future ideas, he is more than content with where he is right now. At any point during the days, and the numerous times I was present at the truck, there was no shortage of children, students, and locals all coalescing with Kirk near the truck. The friendly atmosphere really belies their slogan of “Monster-sized food, friendly service”. The real powerhouse is Tracy, who tirelessly works behind the BBQ in the heat to provide the food to everyone. 

What Kirk touched on repeatedly was his insistence on giving back to the customers who visit his truck, and helping those who are in need. 

“If someone is hungry, just come by the shop and you will be fed. I do not want to see students go hungry, they pay enough for tuition and textbooks.”

Photo: Bowen Assman

Across the parking lot is an elder statesman of the food truck industry, Little Asia. The truck opened way back in 2016, and has enjoyed relative success, albeit spotty in it’s customer base. Little Asia’s owner, Melvin is happy that they have an outlet to serve their native food to anyone who is interested. Having the ease of a food truck makes life easier, with cheaper rent, and less maintenance costs then a brick and mortar storefront. 

What is clear is that the rise of food trucks greatly decreases barrier-to-entry costs, forging the opportunity for more trucks to pop up around town, and maybe, just maybe, take a slice out of the Kenny and Wheel student stranglehold for late night eats.

Cultivating Consent Culture

How do we rewrite the narrative of sexual violence in our communities?

"Smile and be nice." "Don’t overreact." "Don’t make a scene." "It’s just guys being guys." "He only picks on you because he like you." "Cover up." "You’re showing too much skin - it’s distracting." "He was just trying to be friendly." "You were pretty much asking for it."

As women, we’re constantly taught to remain idle in the face of sexual violence. Whether that’s through what we're told, media depicting violence as a gateway for sex, or simply the lack of recognition that sexual violence is a problem to begin with. Is it no surprise, then, that 1 in 4 women aged 15 to 24 will experience sexual violence? We’ve normalized sexual violence to such a degree that more often than not, women don’t feel comfortable or validated in coming forward - instead, they pass it off as “just a bad date,” or stay silent.

That is not okay.

On March 7, the Antigonish community came together to discuss what sexual violence looks like here in our community, and what we can do to change the narrative, and have an impact. Panelists Suzi Synishin, Sam Gan, and Katie MacDonald shared their research findings and experiences with the group - speaking to the normalization of sexual violence and the meaning of consent, the male perspective on leadership in consent culture, and sexual violence response in customer service positions respectively. Following the panel, the room was asked to answer two questions:

1. What does sexual violence look like in your community?
2. What needs to change? How can we make these changes happen?

Though the questions were discussed in a number of smaller groups, the answers of what sexual violence looks like all seemed to follow the same core idea:  sexual violence is simultaneously extremely pervasive, and invisible. The social repercussions facing victims prevent large numbers from speaking out, things like dick pics, revenge porn, and “kill counts” have become synonymous with teen and young adult culture, and university culture, as well, has become so intertwined with rape culture that it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. On top of all of this, there is a general refusal to acknowledge that we have a problem.

So, what needs to change? How can we break the silence around sexual violence, and stop teaching our women to grin and bear it? We can start by teaching consent in our elementary and high schools - re-configuring Sex Ed to teach about healthy relationships, pleasure, and bodily autonomy - and integrating the conversation into every school, and every classroom. We can stand up and call out instances of toxic masculinity, harassment, and violence we witness every day, and turn to education to call people in.

Most importantly, however, in this fight, is that we not stay silent in the face of injustice. The actions above all came from this one conversation - but conversations like this one, when held as events or panels, attract the people who already care about these issues, and are already working to make change. For this conversation to be truly successful and sustainable, everyone has to be involved. So, keep on speaking out, speaking up, and being loud - ultimately, that is what will make a difference.

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