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Date: 4/25/2023
MONSON — Rad-Goon Saloon is serving up local flavor in a well-known snack with a twist, putting family first, and working towards their dream future, all in one bite.
Owner Carrie Lavallie said she always wanted to have a food truck. Lavallie said she worked in food service and the restaurant industry since she was 16, so when the opportunity finally arose to start her own adventure with a new food truck business, she was prepared for the endeavor.
Rad-Goon Saloon has taken the rangoon in a new direction. Their rangoons come in a variety of flavors like steak and cheese, classic Reuben, and banana chocolate chip cheesecake with homemade strawberry rhubarb drizzle, and new options are being added all the time, Lavallie said. They are also becoming known for their pasta salads and sides, which customers are raving about, Lavallie said. The most recent variation, a big hit, was Mexican street corn pasta salad, served on the side with an order of rangoons.
One of their priorities, Lavallie said, is keeping things local. “It’s important to us to have locally sourced meat and veggies, which is something customers care about as well.”
Lavallie said the idea for the food truck and the name of it came in the same night. “My fiancé and I were sitting at a restaurant on a date one night last September, eating rangoons, and we came up with the idea for the food truck and the name all at once.” Lavallie said the name is in memory of her son, whose initials were R.A.D. Lavallie and Belisle had been searching for a name that incorporated her son’s initials, and Rad-Goon seemed like a good fit.
“I make rangoons for the Super Bowl, for New Years Eve, for parties, and I just put together all different combinations of flavors,” Lavallie said, and it occurred to her and her fiancé, Derek Belisle, that this might be the “something different” they were looking for to start their food truck.
Recently, their dream started coming true with “an opportunity to purchase a pretty decent food truck,” at a price that matched their budget, Lavallie said.
Not only their name and a start-up menu have a backstory, Lavallie said their logo also has a tale to tell.
“We got a lot of flack about our logo about the beginning,” she said. “Our logo and how we got it is we have a rescue dog named Kota who almost passed away in October. We wanted the dog to be involved, too. Some of the days when you find things tough you get those cold nose kisses and it makes everything alright again.” Lavallie said the truck is going to have a doggie menu coming soon, too.
The business is intended to be a family venture, Lavallie said. Her son, Keith, is graduating from high school this year, with plans to enter the culinary program at Holyoke Community College in the fall, and her daughter, Ruby, graduated from the hospitality management program at Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School last year. Both are an integral part of the business, Lavallie said, and also credited Belisle with assisting financial backing and also working as a team with her in the food truck.
Rad-Goon Saloon will someday be a traveling “retirement plan” for Lavallie, Belisle, and their family. Lavallie said in five years she hopes to see the family purchase a second food truck, with the original food truck potentially going to her son for a catering business he would like to open after college. The family has plans to renovate an old school bus into a traveling caravan style home, and travel together to festivals and events. “It is a family business, through and through,” Lavallie said.
Lavallie, who said she is indigenous to the Abanaki tribe, would like to travel to pow wow’s and become more involved in these events.
Rad-Goon Saloon had a soft opening on May 2 at the family’s home, and have already set up at a few public events — starting with Squire’s Lumber on Tuesday, May 9, and going on to set up at a brewery, the Hardwick Winery, will be potentially at the library on a semi-regular basis and have a store event coming up. Lavallie said all have all been well attended.
The food truck is available to come to events, stores, and more. Contact them at radgoonsaloon@gmail.com for more information. To catch up with them at one of their upcoming events, visit their Facebook page to see where they will be next.