Meet a Columbus food truck thriving during the pandemic — with plans to expand

The Spankin’ Spoon has achieved the impossible. The food truck has found a way to thrive, not just survive, during the pandemic — so much so that co-owners Desi and Melanie Jones are making expansion plans for the “new normal” after coronavirus.

As the pandemic continues to stunt business or keep doors shuttered among many Columbus restaurants, the Spankin’ Spoon has found an unlikely recipe for success: unique cuisine and parking lots. It combines social distancing-friendly structure, a refreshingly varied chalkboard menu, and a capacity for fluidity and adaptation.

Chef Desi Jones and her wife Melanie Jones, who handles the eatery’s marketing, have been rolling with the pandemic’s punches for as long as they’ve been in business — the food truck opened this spring.

In the post-coronavirus future, the Spankin’ Spoon will expand into its first brick-and-mortar location, at a glass window storefront on Linwood Boulevard. When the Joneses feel it’s safe, the restaurant will open for breakfast and grab-and-go lunch options while the food truck will continue to go out on afternoons and weekends.

The food truck has seen an uptick in business on weekends, which Melanie and Desi attribute to pandemic-fueled cabin fever. They already have a busy schedule for the fall as events of all stripes transition to outdoor formats better suited to a food truck than traditional catering.

Food trucks in general are designed to be mobile and versatile, but the Spankin’ Spoon has fluidity built into its DNA.

Just keep truckin’ on

The Spankin’ Spoon food truck first hit the streets of Columbus during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. The Joneses had been hard at work for the past three years to renovate the truck and had planned to open in March 2020. But as coronavirus took root in Georgia, their plans continued to hit delays until June, when the fully-functional Spankin’ Spoon food truck was finally ready for business.

“We were decided, there was no going back. We both had already left our previous jobs,” Melanie Jones said. “This was the birth of the Spankin’ Spoon, so one way or another we were moving forward.”

Opening a business during the pandemic has involved “a lot of sleepless nights,” she said, but has ultimately been worth it for the success and community connection they’ve since experienced.

“It was challenging, but I think because we’re mobile and our concept is so different people are excited and we do really try to be very COVID-safe and sanitized,” Melanie Jones said.

The food truck model, along with chef Desi Jones’ creativity, grants the Spankin’ Spoon many of its signature traits that are now coveted advantages during the coronavirus pandemic.

As downtown Columbus restaurants squeeze tables onto pedestrian-heavy sidewalks, the Spankin’ Spoon can simply turn the key in the ignition and drive to a more spacious location. Since the pandemic began, the food truck has served up food everywhere from a Harley Davidson parking lot near Fort Benning to a drive-in movie night at the Columbus Civic Center.

The Spankin’ Spoon’s customer base has made a seamless transition to leaning more heavily on social media to communicate. On its Instagram and Facebook pages (@thespankinspoon), they update customers on their menu, location and hours for the day.

“Catering to people online has been a big benefit to us because a lot more people DM (direct message) us,” Desi Jones said. “Once you DM us, we kind of know who you are ... that way we can create more of a personal relationship.”

Connecting with customers via social media also gives them the opportunity to encourage pick-up orders and lets them stagger customers in order to avoid crowds. Customers are encouraged to wait in their cars, allowing the Spankin’ Spoon to offer an outdoor dining experience without all the sweat and sun that comes with outdoor anything in Georgia summers.

Hardwired for creativity

But what sets the Spankin’ Spoon apart, not just in the larger restaurant scene but among other food trucks, is the constant variety and creativity found on its chalkboard menu. The concept is inspired by Desi’s background as a banquet chef, which brought her from her native Columbus to the Ritz Carlton in Atlanta and a banquet hall in Miami Beach. When she decided to move back to Columbus to launch her own culinary venture, a food truck seemed like the perfect fit for her culinary style.

“My background is a banquet chef, so I don’t like the concept of having the same menu all the time, for me and for the customers, because then if you’re going out to eat a couple days a week you don’t want the same meals all those times,” she said. “Every time the chalkboard is out, it’s completely different.”

Some favorites reappear on the menu — like the lobster-laden “grown man grilled cheese” — but what’s most consistent in the food truck’s menu is its element of surprise. Ingredients both familiar and unusual are paired in creative combinations. Cucumber gazpacho meets fried onion and heart of palm “crab” to make a vegan blackened-crab cake sandwich. The classic pulled pork sandwich is upgraded with plum pepper jelly and a sprinkling of crumbled pork rinds.

The menu does not shy away from taking inspiration from an eclectic mix of cuisines. One day they’ll whip up tandoori sandwiches, the next short rib roti. Melanie’s Puerto Rican roots also show up in the menu, like with Bacalitos, a Puerto Rican-style cod fritter served with avocado salad.

“And I mean I’m from Georgia, so sometimes we’ll do something really Southern,” says Desi.

The “FGT BLT” adds pimento cheese and fried green tomatoes to a classic BLT sandwich. The concoction was also conceived out of a desire to collaborate with local markets and farmers, who had a surplus of green tomatoes in late summer. Thus, the FGT was born.

It’s a breath of fresh air for customers who are tired of eating within the limits of their own cooking ability while stuck at home. Desi Jones says the food truck has amassed a loyal circle of regulars, many of whom work from home, that visit the food truck several times a week.

The Spankin’ Spoon has also attracted a strong vegan following for its daily vegan meal options, which are no exception to Desi Jones’ commitment to intentional flavor combinations. Chick pea arepas, a veggie-filed hot pocket, and vegan ribs all have made appearances on the chalkboard menu.

Brick-and-mortar horizons

At their upcoming Linwood Boulevard location, they hope to cater to nearby hospitals and downtown commuters. There isn’t a set opening date yet, as the Joneses want to play it by ear depending on how the pandemic develops. At least to start out, the Spankin’ Spoon’s Linwood restaurant will stick close to its grab-and-go roots while the pandemic continues.

The owners are working on setting up the new location to have it ready for its eventual opening. Local artist Ralph Frank will paint a chalkboard menu and mural inside the restaurant and the space will also feature a large courtyard. Desi Jones hopes to keep her concept of constant variety alive in the restaurant, which will feature daily local specials.

While restrictions are in place, it’s more financially feasible to take the truck out, so in the meantime, the Spankin’ Spoon will continue to sling up funky sandwiches, loaded nachos and whatever else Desi dreams up.

“If you’re creative and can adjust, I think a lot of good things can come out of it,” Desi Jones said.

The Spankin’ Spoon

Phone number: (404) 441-1707

Social media: Instagram and Facebook, @thespankinspoon

Locations: Wednesdays in the parking lot of Reaves Restoration at 701 10th Street; Thursdays at 1218 Linwood Boulevard, the future site of its restaurant; and weekends outside ReDesign Time at 1301 6th Street. Schedule subject to change. Refer to the Spankin’ Spoon’s social media channels for weekly schedules and menus.

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This reporting is financially supported by Report for America/GroundTruth Project and the Local News and Information Fund at the Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley. The Ledger-Enquirer maintains full editorial control of the work.

This story was originally published September 1, 2020 at 7:00 AM.