The late Richard Nichols didn’t know how to read or write, but he knew how to put food on the table for his family.
With the help of his wife, Lola, and his daughters, Nichols was able to run two delis and a coffee canteen truck in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.
And he operated Nichols Dog House, a food truck on Roosevelt Drive in Derby near the Seymour border, for about 40 years.
When he died last year, his family paid tribute by bringing the truck to his wake and serving food to the mourners.
Now, after an extended absence, Nichols Food Truck is back on Roosevelt Drive, and the tradition continues with Nichols’ daughter, Debbie Nichols Smith; his grandson, Shaun Gonzales, and Gonzales’ girlfriend, Janaye Hernandez.
The Valley Indy recently interviewed the trio about continuing the family business. The interview has been condensed with minor editing alterations.
Valley Independent Sentinel: For somebody that’s never been here before, what would you recommend from your menu?
Shaun Gonzales: The chili dog. If you like it hot then you can get a chili on a Georgia Hot.
Debbie Nichols-Smith: The chili is a secret recipe.
VIS: Is there anything your father wouldn’t make? Was there any orders he thought was taboo?
Gonzales: Oh no he would make anything. There’s a couple of truck drivers that come by with these thick Spanish accents and they would order hot dogs with mayonnaise and have him crush up potato chips on top of it. If he had it he made it.
VIS: Shaun, when did you start working with your grandfather?
Gonzales: I probably started working there when I was about ten, and then when I was about 18 I started taking it over full-time for him. When I was 10 I would just set things up. Like if he needed hot dogs I would set up the bun for him. He would teach me what people wanted and what ‘the works’ meant. I would clean the pots and pans stuff like that.
VIS: So you were setting up orders when you were ten, you turn 18, and so what were some of the additional responsibilities he gave you?
Gonzales: Well that was when he had a heart attack and got his first bypass surgery. So I took it over part-time. I would drive the truck here, set it up in the morning, run it all day and bring the truck back home.
Debbie Nichols-Smith: The last two years of his life his health problems were getting more serious and he was getting less able to do things.
Gonzales::We would take shifts on trying to help out whenever we could, but without taking [the business] away from him because he still wanted to be a part of it. Debbie’s husband Edward was a big help too.
VIS: At 18 years old that seems to be a lot of responsibility. It sounds like you had some big shoes to fill.
Gonzales: Yeah. I mean I had other things I wanted to do. As a kid you want to go out and hang out and stuff, but my family needed help.
Nichols-Smith: My father was all about family.
Janaye Hernandez: When Shaun and I got together he was 18 and every time I would be at his house, he would hear the truck pull in and Shaun would get up and help out his grandfather with the truck. He’s always been like that.
Gonzales: My father wasn’t around when I was growing up so my grandfather was my main father figure.
VIS: You guys had to clear a number of hurdles with local government to get back on the road, and then you had emergency repairs for the truck. What happened?
Gonzales: We had to get a new motor in it. It seized up over there by Griffin Hospital and it wasn’t too far from home!
Nichols-Smith: The guys at D‑Street Garage fixed it. They always fix the truck when something’s broken.
VIS: Do you guys have a regular customer that stands out?
Gonzales: Oh yeah we have a couple of those. She [Hernandez] has a few fans.
Hernandez: Yeah, I’ve had customers bring me flowers.
Gonzales: We’ve got one customer that orders three iced teas and two hot dogs or two hamburgers. He orders two of everything.
VIS: We’ve been seeing more food truck festivals nowadays. It’s a growing trend like craft beer in this state. Why do you think people are attracted to these food trucks?
Nichols-Smith: Good and fresh cooked food.
Gonzales: Yeah, that and it’s a smaller business. Smaller businesses just give more attention to detail with their food.
Nichols-Smith: This area here is the iconic spot. My father was here for so long, this is where he was known.
VIS: Are there any events that you guys go to?
Nichols-Smith: Keeping with my father’s tradition we go to the Annual Model A Antique Car show at Beardsley Cider Mill. He use to do the Derby-Shelton memorial day parade every year for 20 years and a couple years ago they threw him out.
VIS: Why was that?
Nichols-Smith: They said he needed a special permit. He could never figure that out so he just stopped because he didn’t like confrontation. He was always a peaceful person.
I always took care of the licenses and permits. My dad couldn’t read. He worked this whole business, his whole life, illiterate. But he got numbers like he was a human calculator.
Gonzales: He dropped out of school when he was young because his mom was sick.
VIS: How did he manage his food truck if he couldn’t read?
Nichols-Smith: No one knew. He would remember the sodas by the color of the cans. He told us he passed the driver’s test by memory.
Gonzales: Sometimes I see people look at our menu list for a little bit, and then they ask ‘Yo, what do you have to drink?’ I’ll just [verbally] list them because you never know they might not be able to read.
Nichols-Smith: My father could tell you what was on that list but he couldn’t read that list.
That’s why he had a simple menu. He couldn’t chance the embarrassment. He was proud of what he did and we were proud of him. I just couldn’t imagine growing up not knowing how to read.
As long as he could put food on the table he was happy.
VIS: It sounds like he had a great work ethic that helped him through life. Shaun, after being around him for so long what was one thing that you learned from him?
Gonzales: Just be good. Just be a good person and everybody will remember you. And that’s not something he taught me, I saw it. I saw it from him. Be a good person and work hard. He was the hardest working person I knew.
The truck is open from 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Click here for the truck’s Facebook page.
