Rusty Truck to make public debut June 27

Hungry Arizonans are about to be treated to six feet of rusty love. On June 27, entrepreneurs Jake and Amy Walker will debut their Rusty Truck BBQ Company to the public at the inaugural Smokin’ Showdown at Hotel Congress to benefit Steele Children’s Research Center in Tucson.
 
“We plan to smoke the competition,” Jake said, “while raising funds for a very good cause.”
 
The gauntlet has been thrown. And Steele Memorial Research Center wins, no matter what.
 
Jake and Amy met as KU students in rowdy Lawrence, Kansas. To subsidize his Jayhawks education, Jake owned a popular restaurant near campus that specialized in BBQ, and beer of course. After marrying, the couple relocated to Amy’s hometown of Tucson, where cooking took a back seat to babies and other business. 
 
Jake was never lounging far away from a smoker, however, and his Q was always in high demand among family and friends. So much so, in fact, that in 2012, he and his friends ingeniously converted an old, rusty water tank into a six-foot vessel for smoking meats and other delicacies like mac’n’cheese and grilled brownies.
 
The affectionately dubbed Rusty Truck roved between friends’ backyards and tailgate parties, accumulating a devoted following of Rusty Truckers and a growing notebook of signature recipes, tried and true. T-shirts, hats, beer coozies and other collectibles weren’t far behind, along with locally published stories that made salivating readers envy Walker’s circle of gluttonous friends (Bear Down Die-Hard Tailgaters, Kristen Cook and Johanna Willett, Arizona Daily Star, August 22, 2013; Smoke and Rust, Shelly Littin, Edible Baja, April, 2015).

By the summer of 2015, the Rusty Truck brand was all but begging to bust loose. Following its public debut on June 27, Jake says Rusty Truck will be available to cater parties from five to 500. Heck, he’ll even hitch up his iconic, hand-built smoker and park it at a customer’s party, wedding or festival where, he claims, the smoky, sweet and savory aromas wafting out of that piece of junk will be powerful enough to convert even downwind vegetarians into die-hard Rusty Truckers.
 
Rusty Truck isn’t just a party on wheels, Jake forewarns. It’s an attitude, and Jake and Amy have it down.
 
“Living Rusty is about taking your time and counting your blessings,” explains Jake. “It’s about making friends, making memories, and maybe even making a bit of mischief along the way.”
 
IF YOU GO: Smokin’ Showdown at Hotel Congress to benefit Steele Children’s Research Center,  June 27, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. $30 admission includes BBQ beef brisket from seven participating vendors, beer by Pueblo Vida and live music by Greyhound Soul. Rusty Truck tee-shirts, hats and packaged sauces will also be available for purchase at the event, with 10% of proceeds to charity. Party goers must be 21 or over. Purchase tickets here.
 

Contact Information

June Hussey

Publicist

Brazen Communications

(1) 520-977-5133

junehussey@msn.com