Meet Jillian Lovelace | Co-Owner/Operator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jillian Lovelace and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jillian, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My husband, Bryan, has been cooking in the industry for 30+ years and the culinary arts have always been a passion of mine. I wanted to go to culinary school once upon a time, but didn’t want to get stuck with the hours that lifestyle requires… little did I know I would marry into them! Owning our own restaurant is something we daydreamt about together, and as the climate of the work enironment changed in my career of 12 years, we decided to go for a food truck as a stepping stone to our ultimate goal.
I left my career, we started the food truck full-time in 2018, and we haven’t looked back!

We both get so much happiness and fulfillment from creating dishes we love and having people enjoy them – it’s our love language!
Seeing all of the smiling faces at the food truck window every week is so much fun and the reason why we do it! One of my favorite parts of my job is getting to know our regulars and seeing them week-in and week-out. Food brings people together in such a powerful way, and it’s truly a pleasure and honor to be part of the food truck community in Colorado Springs. We feel blessed that we get to do what we love and owe it to this community, who keeps supporting us and allowing us to do just that.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
At Scratch, we serve American comfort food – food we love to eat! We make *almost* every item on our menu from scratch (a couple items aren’t logistically realistic to pull off, given the space and storage constraints of the food truck) from our pork belly, to hand-pattying every burger, to all of our sauces!
Our most popular menu item is the Pork Belly Sandwich, which is a true labor of love! We prepare our pork belly a little differently than most others because we confit ours (slowly cook it imersed in its own fat… can you say flavor?!). Once it’s ordered, we then slice it, sear it on the flat top to give it a little crunch, and then stack it on a bed of crunchy red onion slaw and drizzle our house-made Blueberry BBQ sauce over the top – all stacked high on a butter-toasted brioche bun. It’s to die for!

Our menu items and food is simple, but it’s packed with so much love, I feel like that comes through in the quality and that’s what sets us apart. Our customers work hard for their money, just like we do, and we want them to be satisfied with the food they spend that money on at our window.
We’re dedicated try and please every customer (within reason) who orders our food and to make sure they’re happy. If they’re not, we will always do our best to try and make it right.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If I was showing a friend around Colorado Springs, Garden of the Gods is a given for a tour, but I would also take them on a mini brewery tour! Some of the different breweries Scratch has served at are so much fun and we’ve met some really great people! It’s not only a pleasure to enjoy the local craft beers (which are amazing!), but you can also find a good rotation of some of the best food trucks our town has to offer. What’s not love – great company, great beer and great food!! Another fun place I would swing a friend by would be a couple of the food truck rallies. There’s always a diverse selection of cuisines to choose from, and it’s the perfect opportunity to try a little from eat truck – or what you can fit in your tummy!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We owe so much to the wonderful community we serve every single day and the food truck community, as well! Especially during the covid shutdowns, the community showed up to support us and keep us afloat in such a big way – we were so grateful! We have regulars that follow us from location to location and their dedication and loyalty keeps us going. The food truck community itself is also so friendly and supportive, for the most part. We never expected to meet such amazing people along the way. There have been several instances where we’ve been in need and peers in our industry have been there to provide a helping hand in one way or anyother – even if it’s just moral support – and that’s a powerful, comforting thing. We all cheer each other on, help when we can, and most importantly, laugh together! It’s an amazing world to be part of!

Website: https://www.scratchmk.com/

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