By Rebecca Flannery, Arts Editor
Change and renovation are a theme this year on South Eighth Street. With the ushering in of Heritage Creamery, the expansion of Common Grounds’ backyard and the addition of a food truck behind both buildings, it’s become a hangout mecca for students and Wacoans alike.
Most notable of changes in recent weeks has been the opening of Milo Waco where the El Crucero taco truck once stood. El Crucero left the truck space in order to focus on their existing shop located at 2505 N. Robinson Drive.
Corey McEntyre, owner and menu mastermind, moved from Nashville to Waco in December 2014. One month later, he began operations on his Milo dream, he said.
“Everything started with the biscuit,” McEntyre said. “Growing up, no one in my family except for my mom could replicate [my grandmother’s] recipe, so she taught me. It’s in the family vein.”
McEntyre said the only difference between his biscuits and his grandmother’s is that he uses butter instead of Crisco.
“We make about 140 biscuits every two days,” said employee and baker Laney Horton. “The process is a secret just as much as the recipe.”
Fresh ingredients are the key to every item on the menu, McEntyre said. He sources all of the produce, eggs and chicken from farms in Waco and Austin.
“It’s the way I eat,” McEntyre said. “If people are paying money for what I’m cooking, they’re not going to get genetically-grown fruits and vegetables.”
Farms in Waco outsource their bounty to restaurants all over the state, McEntyre said. He decided there should be an establishment in Waco taking advantage of the same benefits.
“I meet with the farmers and we negotiate,” McEntyre said. “I tell them I can accept their goods for a certain price, and they meet me. They’re not used to selling wholesale because they typically sell retail. So we’re all learning and benefiting from each other.”
Their menu has featured an array of breakfast items since their opening on Aug. 14 behind the almost-complete Heritage Creamery brick-and-mortar location. However, McEntyre said in coming months, the truck will begin offering a lunch menu as the operating hours shift to a 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. schedule.
“When the [Magnolia Market] Silos open [on Oct. 30], we’ll have another truck there selling from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.,” McEntyre said. “I’m working on a burger to sell for lunch. It’ll have an egg and [instead of using a biscuit,] I’m going to bake a brioche bun.”
That same truck will be moved to the Downtown Waco Farmers market every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., where they currently have a presence, he said.
Because Milo only serves food within the two days they receive it from their farmers, the menu has to accommodate the variations throughout the weeks and months. Ordering their most popular “Sic ‘Em on a Chicken” one day will warrant pickled cucumbers, while on another might warrant pickled zucchini.
“Everything is kept fresh that way,” McEntyre said. “There’s no way you’ll find any of my produce sitting in a gas chamber to be kept fresh.”
Throughout the year as crops change with the seasons, McEntyre’s menu will as well. He said he will incorporate whatever vegetables and fruits are in season with his already-rotating menu.
“We teach all our employees how to cook all the food,” McEntyre said. “It’s a very long training we do.”
