Posted Thursday, July 18, 2019 10:21 am

Chef and owner Aaron Hebert is living the food truck dream. After years spent slinging breakfast sandwiches in Portland, Maine, Hebert buckles down in Lansing to bring his breakfast fare to the Midwest on four wheels.

On the menu are five distinct breakfast sandwiches with a choice of bagel or English muffin. Bangos additionally stocks vegan sausage, cream cheese and butter options. Rounding out the choices are two types of chicken salad wraps as well as fried potatoes. Most sandwiches are around $5.

Hebert grew up in the restaurant industry working with his dad at 11 years old. His journey through the food industry saw him work in Boston and Brooklyn, before settling down for a few years in Portland, Maine.

“I was working at a place called Ono Cafe,” Hebert said. “We were featured as one of the best breakfast sandwich places in America. I was the main cook there for five years. I must’ve made over 20,000 sandwiches in that time.”

For Bangos, he runs the same setup inside the food truck and took inspiration from some of the past dishes he used to make.

“Brunch was big, but breakfast sandwiches were bigger there,” Hebert said. “When we came to Lansing, we saw people going to work in need of a real breakfast sandwich — instead of what you get at a chain coffee shop.”

Hebert, who moonlights as a comedian, moved to Lansing because his girlfriend, Melissa Libby, is going to school at the University of Michigan. Will Green, a fellow comedian and the food truck co-owner, suggested Lansing as a great place to live. As co-owner, Green works Bangos’ counter.

For the pair, the food truck is only half the dream. Both run the Michigan Comedy Co-op, a booking agency for comedians to work in Michigan. Connxtions, Lansing’s last comedy club, went out of business in 2014. Working on the truck will hopefully enable them to raise funding for a comedy club in Lansing, Hebert said.

Bangos’ truck — formerly a chip delivery vehicle — would later be the attached kitchen to the club.

“We got this from a guy in Texas and getting this ready was hellish,” Hebert said referring to the truck renovation. “It was supposed to take six to 10 weeks, but it took nine months.”

Hebert designed the vehicle outside as well in pastel pink with a flower pattern.

Bangos is looking for more opportunities to park and a local bagel shop to provide them with the freshest bagels available.

“There is definitely room for another cool breakfast place here and specifically breakfast sandwiches,” Hebert said.

“It feels good to be here because Portland is a huge foodie town and you can walk by amazing restaurants constantly. Here, things are all a little more spread out. With Bangos, we are able to bring something else to Lansing that we wanted to see.”

Bangos Food Truck

Tuesday, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.

The Crafted Bean, 800 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing

Wednesday and Friday, 7 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Allegan and Walnut St., Lansing, MI

Thursday, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Prudden Tech Center, 700 May St., Lansing

Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.

The Brew Cafe, 610 N. Creyts Road, Lansing

(989) 277-5088

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