There’s A New Spot To Grab A Homemade Snack In Levant

Running a food truck has got to be a labor of love. Creating delicious treats in a tiny spot certainly has its challenges, and that's why I always think it's cool when folks who have that passion and talent get a chance to expand their space a bit.

That's what's happened with Holli Allen. Allen's family the "Maineiac Snack Shack" out of an RV during food truck season this summer.

"My husband and I with our three kids moved to Hermon in 2019 from Parker, CO.  We are originally from northern Nevada and spent the majority of our lives in a small town similar to Hermon."

"My husband’s grandfather was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, and has provided the Hispanic flair that goes into a lot of our food.  We started our food business this year after purchasing a travel trailer in the winter and converting it into a food truck."

They opened up for business, selling homemade snacks and meals from their "Maineiac Snack Shack" in parking lots and at festivals.

" When the opportunity came up to park it down at the Bangor waterfront for the season we jumped on it.  So that was where we could be found for most of the summer.  We also were given the chance to provide food at the soccer and football rec games in Hermon.  Which really was one of our favorite things.  To be able to work for our own community was very rewarding and in the end, we were able to donate over $2,000 to the Hermon Rec. Department. "

Allen says that following the success of a great first summer season, the family started to think about what they could do in the coming colder months.

"As the colder temperatures started in though we had to put the food truck away and decide what we were going to do for the winter.  We’ve always believed that sitting down at the dinner table and eating dinner as a family is one of the most important things to do and going out to dinner has become so expensive.  We’ve seen the trend of eating out or bringing home fast food increase over the years and thought how great would it be to offer take-home meals.  Something quick and less expensive than going out to eat so that busy families can still get that time together at the dinner table. "

With the help of some great friends, who also happen to be local business owners themselves, Allen says they came up with a plan to park the RV for the winter and open up a storefront from which to sell their baked goods, take-home meals, and breakfasts.

And so just last week, The Mainiac Snack Shack opened in their new location at 45 Kenduskead Rd. in Levant.

"I just want to make sure Shari and Steve Hachey of Hachey’s Auto Enhancing get credit for making all of this a reality."

"They were the ones who provided us with the space to set up and have helped us since day one from helping work in the food truck to helping us transform their old home into what is now the Maineiac Snack Shack which is located directly next door to Hachey’s Auto Enhancing."

Let's talk about the food!

"Our dinners range from a vegetable beef barley soup that my husband learned in middle school home economics class to a tamales recipe passed down from generation to generation from my husband’s grandfather.  This week we are going to be doing meatloaf and mashed potatoes which I think pairs well with the winter.  Chicken enchiladas(one of my favorites), homemade chicken pot pies, Bok Bok chicken pasta(named by my daughter and one of her favorites), just made my 1st quiche the other day for some friends and was surprised at how good it was.  I’m always discovering new things that I want to try to make (thank you Facebook)."

"I love to bake.  We made some chocolate-covered cherries that we make every year this time of year.  Although, you’d be surprised at how many people told me they don’t like cherries.  So, at the request of my friend, we made chocolate-covered peanut butter balls, which were a huge hit.  So, we started making chunky peanut butter ones and M&M ones and can’t wait to try other variations."

"One of the things I’m most proud of is our gluten-free sugar cookies.  My daughter was diagnosed with celiac when she was 9 so a lot of things had to change in the way that we cook in the house.  It is one of the things that I am very proud to offer to our customers is the chance to make many of our foods gluten-free.  But, these sugar cookies are so good and I would dare to say better than the regular ones and I have a dedicated oven and room that I cook it all in so that there is no cross-contamination. "

"Other than the take-home dinners and the baked goods we also offer a daily breakfast and lunch menu that we carried over from the food truck.  Right now I’ve got breakfast burritos available for a quick grab and French toast topped with fruit, syrup, and whipped cream.  For lunch, I always have chicken and either steak or beef that we can do burritos, nachos, or quesadillas with.  The nachos and burritos both come stuffed or topped with Spanish rice, lettuce, pico de gallo, homemade guacamole, sour cream, and homemade Queso cheese.  We also always have hotdogs(red or beef) and grilled cheese.  One other thing that we are excited to serve and it’s a little odd is Hawaiian shaved ice.  It’s one of the things that we brought over from our time that we lived near Las Vegas.  We’ve got over 30 flavors, the shaved ice is like snow and it comes with a little scoop of vanilla ice cream in the middle.  Which I highly recommend trying that way if you’ve never had it."

"Right now my hours are every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday from 8:00-5:30.  I can be reached on my cell at 207-631-9813 call or text or you can look us up on Facebook under Maineiac Snack Shack."

So if you're in the Levant area, and your tummy's a rumblin', there's a spot you can stop to fix what ails ya, and pick up some homemade goodies!

Welcome to town, Maineiac Snack Shack. Best of luck with your new business!