Entrepreneur turns food truck into a local draw
Tim Nekritz | nekritz@gmail.com
Just off Route 11 in downtown Pulaski, behind a parking lot by the Salmon River, you can find a food truck full of tasty treats (and a growing menu), an angler’s paradise and another example of building community organically.
The heartbeat here is The Sugaree, created, owned and run by Brittany Pupello, with her food truck and friendly vibe situated at 4811 Salina St.
For Pupello, who had already put her baking skills into business, the venture came from “the need to be self-sufficient in a crazy economy,” she said. “I didn’t have the overhead to just go right in and open up a brick-and-mortar. And I thought to myself: What can I do?”
That meant finding an old food trailer at a bargain rate, rebuilding it from the ground up for several months and taking it wherever made sense.
“I traveled around with the trailer and I got to the point where I was just like, I can’t do this anymore,” she recalled. “Because I’m a one-woman show and trying to hitch and unhitch and travel around with it just was so much work. So, I really wanted to just plant my roots somewhere. And when I found this space, it just literally couldn’t have been more perfect.”
Pupello and her two kids were out for a stroll on the other bank of the riverwalk when they saw the work happening on this spot. She connected with John and Samantha Parker, who she said have been tremendous landlords ever since.
The Sugaree officially dropped anchor on the trailer in this location, behind the Fishville Antique Emporium, for a July 2025 grand opening and Pupello has been making it a more fun and whimsical place ever since.
Decorations include bright birdhouses of many types from area creators Roy and Brenda Smith, a percussion station put together by a local Girl Scout troupe and a large sign about changing the world via the Dr. Seuss quote from “The Lorax”: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
And changing the world for the better, one customer, one meal and one act of community at a time, is Pupello’s winning formula.
Creating connections
On a late-August visit on a sunny Saturday morning, Pupello chats with customers about their orders, their lives, their relatives, like everybody is an old friend. First-time customers get free samples. And nobody seems in much of a hurry to go anywhere else.
If you want quick, bland, homogenous food, visit a fast-food box. If you want fantastic food and beverages and an experience, that’s more The Sugaree’s flavor.
Pupello’s mother is helping on the grill this morning, cooking my delicious breakfast sandwich called Snagger’s Delight.
It’s locally sourced ingredients, including eggs, bacon and cheese, on a brioche bun. It’s important to Pupello to both deliver fresh ingredients and create connections with other area businesses.
“Especially when you’re working in a small town with other small businesses, that was a big part of my business model,” Pupello said. “I wanted to really try to stay connected to the other small businesses as much as possible.”
This is truly the farm-to-table movement, happening organically. Customers can enjoy eggs, milk and meat from local farms that Pupello has regular conversations with, plus the offerings of local favorite Colosse Cheese, who supported Pupello by providing a location when she was starting. Folks from those businesses stop down here to eat and the strong connections benefit everybody — including customers.
“When you’re sourcing local, you’re truly going to get the best product,” Pupello said, as customers know where it’s coming from without worrying about pesticides and chemicals. “So, it’s also better for you and you’re helping your local community at the same time. The small mom and pop shops are really the heart of the community, right?”
Going live
Pupello’s marketing background, effervescent personality and creativity are why I know about The Sugaree in the first place.
Her daily live video walking customers through what to expect at the site popped up in my Facebook feed one day and I was immediately curious (and hungry).
She shows folks around the business, the riverside, the scene and what’s on the menu that day. Not a sales pitch as much as a conversation.
“It was the dead of winter and I got to the point where I was like, I’m just really going to put myself out there at all costs,” Pupello said. “And I knew that live videos, it’s just common sense: If you’re scrolling along and you see somebody on live or you see somebody just even in a video, you stop. Yeah, check it out, you know?”
Operating a trailer year round, especially when it gets cold, meant Pupello wanted a way to connect with the world and stay on people’s minds.
“That was a good way to just put the good word out for myself, saying, hey, guys, I’m here, I’m ready for you,” Pupello said. “It just gives people the idea that I’m welcoming you in. And I’m glad that I started it when I did, because now clearly I’m much more comfortable with it.”
Instead of hoarding this idea, Pupello has tried to coach other businesses to try live video and other tactics to stand out and draw customers to town and their spaces.
“I try to tell them how I do it — treat the phone like it’s your friend,” Pupello said. “It’s your friend and you’re just having a conversation with it. It’s the best way to do it and it just kind of flows out after that.”
In her case, it’s unscripted and while she does have a regular almost trademark introduction “Hi guys, good morning, it’s Brittany over here at The Sugaree on the Salmon River…,” and the address, she does have points she wants to hit. But knowing her business and customers and having a good sense of humor, makes it all flow naturally.
“It gives the business a personality that a lot of the stuff that you might see doesn’t have,” Pupello said. “Just putting yourself out there goes a long way, too. I think people see you putting in an effort, and some people show up and just say, ‘hey, saw your video.’ You know, as simple as that. So, if you put yourself out there, it does work.”
Especially in the current state of Facebook, where walls are drowning in “AI”-generated flyers that all tend to look the same (i.e. like garbage), The Sugaree and others using live video, photos of food and humans and real personality just stand out all the more.
Ready for the run
For places in the world-renowned salmon run fishing corridor in Oswego County — this spot included — that fall brings anglers flocking to these banks. Puppello is ramping up for an opportunity to provide a respite, tasty meals and a sense of community to visitors.
“We’re actually rolling out a food menu this year, which is a bit different,” Pupello said. “We’ve never done that before. So, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, chips, that kind of vibe. Perfect. Easy, simple stuff. Hoffman hot dogs, of course.”
Pupello remembers how busy it was last year, when “we were just slinging sweet treats and coffee,” but the dedication to expanding the menu is just one more aspect of customer service.
It’s almost a way of giving back to what she calls “the great salmon fishing show” where people stand shoulder to shoulder, somehow never crossing their lines and respecting each other’s efforts.
“They have such harmony to them,” Pupello marveled. “So, it’s really cool to watch it all happen. And then you’ve got all the families and the kids, and the moms and the dads, so I always say my favorite part about salmon season is just the camaraderie of it. You know, just seeing everybody come together and do their thing.”
The Sugaree’s fall hours will likely be around 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays (unless she can find somebody to consistently open Sundays). Folks who come don’t see the effort in baking, sourcing and planning that happens throughout the rest of the week, all while Pupello raises two kids.
But then The Sugaree opens, customers come and have conversations, find a nice place to sit and check out the decor and just enjoy the sense of community.
For Pupello, this labor of love is absolutely worth it.
“I feel like this is genuinely like my home here,” Pupello said with a huge smile. “So, when people come, I try to make them feel so welcome. Because that’s such a big part of a business. Everybody that comes here is awesome. We really have built such a cool, cute little community down here and I love it.”
Tim Nekritz is director of communications at SUNY Oswego, where he spearheads telling the stories of the campus community.
