STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

When life handed Cody Richmond lemons, he reached for some Idaho spuds.

The Wood River High School graduate worked through the upheaval of the pandemic to open the Tater Trailer, a bright yellow truck dishing out Idaho spuds in a variety of forms on Ketchum’s Main Street.

“Simple food done extremely well. Affordable, forward-thinking food,” said Brycen Prokasky, the Tater Trailer chef.

Richmond, a fourth-generation Wood River Valley native, returned to the Wood River Valley just before the pandemic hit after studying at Lewis Clark State College in Lewiston. He spent his first summers after college working as a river guide, then decided it was time for an office job.

He was five days into work with the marketing department of Visit Sun Valley when the pandemic shut everything down.

“As I waited for things to reopen, I began brainstorming what business I could start that wouldn’t be a huge financial undertaking,” he said.

Richmond tapped the help of Prokasky, who had been running a food truck in Moscow for four years—until COVID hit. Together they figured out what to cook and what prep and food storage would look like, along with how much food they could expect to run through.

The two devised a business plan and got a bank loan. Then they sat down with Food Concept Idaho, a food truck manufacturer in Nampa, to design a 16-foot trailer with two fryers and two ovens. They wrapped the finished product with their Tater Trailer logo with the help of Windy City Arts sign shop in Hailey.

“The food truck manufacturer in Nampa was booked out two years so I felt fortunate we could get ours as fast we did,” Richmond said. “They have people coming from Seattle and Portland to get them.”

Richmond and Prokasky staked out their trailer in the food truck court next to Whiskey Jacques with the idea of being able to offer food to the downtown crowd after nine when most restaurants have closed.

“We had all kinds of suggestions, including mac and cheese. We looked at potatoes and said, That’s Idaho,” Richmond said.

The truck offers a variety of fries and tater tots, including tasty crunchy sweet potato tots. The mainstay is humongous baked potatoes as long as 7 inches  covered with such toppings as barbecued pulled chicken, poutine gravy, Philadelphia cheese steak, chili and cheese and extras like caramelized onions and gravy.

The truck opened in late July and quickly captured the late-night crowd and Ketch’em Alive crowd. Now that COVID restrictions are loosening up, Richmond’s hoping to book weddings and other summer events.

“The majority of our customers are locals—some regulars come by twice a week,” he said. “We get a big rush about 10 at night, and then we get an insane wave between 12:30 and 2 a.m. Fridays and  Saturdays.”

Richmond said he stressed about whether they’d be able to make their loan payment the first few months. But, after six months, they’re beginning to put a little money away.

“It’s been a lot of fun. I like the challenge of it. I like the problem solving,” he said. “And I like getting to talk to the people.”

WANT TO TRY IT?

The Tater Trailer is open from 5 to 11 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and between 5 p.m. and 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Look for it next to Whiskey’s in Ketchum.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Idaho Potato Commission is celebrating Valentine’s Day with….potato perfume. Frites by Idaho is made from distilled Idaho potatoes and essential oils and designed to smell like a fresh plate of French fries.

Irresistible!????