The story starts in a little town called West Bend, IA where Shon was born and raised on a farm by his parents Don and Verda Bruellman. His mother was an excellent cook who spent much time in the kitchen preparing food for family and those in the community who would be encouraged by a visit and a meal. Shon learned early on the subtleties of made from scratch, down home cooking and not only did his love for cooking increase as he got older but so did his desire to share his recipes and his food with others. This was achieved initially through his parents bed and breakfast called “The Prairie Oasis” where they would cater and serve groups of 12-50 people for receptions and special events. This grew into Shon and his wife Julie eventually purchasing and operating a restaurant in West Bend called “Shon’s Taste Of Home”.
In 2014 Shon and Julie found themselves as Empty Nester's Ready for a change in life and decided to move to Des Moines. Not only were there more business opportunities in the area, but that was where two of their three children had chosen to live so they thought ‘Why not?’ The idea for the food truck grew from a desire to get back into cooking for people in a different way than they had done before.
With the advent of the pilot food truck program in Des Moines they dipped their toe into the water in the summer of 2015 and started off with a limited menu in The Little Red Food Truck. Finding that the water was warm and welcoming they upgraded to a full size professionally outfitted truck in the spring of 2016 aptly named: "The Big Red Food Truck” where they service the Des Moines metro area with great food, free smiles, and what they hope is a unique and satisfying food truck experience.
The Big Red Food Truck has a strong presence on the local food truck scene and has branched out into other areas as well. Through a partnership with The Iowa Egg Council and The Poultry Association they have a second truck now called The Cluck’n Coop which was not only at the Iowa State Fair but had the honor of winning Best Of Show. They were also featured in an episode of “Family Food Showdown with Valerie Bertinelli” on The Food Network.