Alan “Wild Al” Bouda heard Mustang and Yukon city councils' message loud and clear — No parking. No food trucks here.
So in the morning, the Westbury South resident loads up his Wild Al's Famous Foods and Mobile Catering food truck and hits the highway, driving a half-hour to hunt for hungry downtowners. Bouda didn't find the same resistance in Oklahoma City or Bethany.
“We are not looking to pull up in front of Taco Bell or any of the eateries in Mustang,” he said. “We are wanting to go to people's events. Maybe if they are having a big birthday party here or a family reunion, they don't want to cook. They want somebody else to do it — that's what we want to do.”
Bouda sought a sales permit last spring to operate in Mustang, and City Manager Mike Rutledge said the city's attorney is looking at other municipalities' ordinances and how it could impact other concessions before bringing the issue back to the City Council. He said the work should be completed “shortly.”
Bouda said he's heard that before — months ago. City officials also recommended he file for a special use permit, instead, every time he wanted to park the truck, he said.
“I keep getting nothing out of Mike (Rutledge),” Bouda said. “He keeps talking to me, 'We are looking at it. We are looking at it.' So I don't know.”

Getting on the road
Bouda worked more than 20 years in the food business before he started dreaming about putting his time-tested recipes on wheels. Then an opportunity opened up to start Jack's Diner with some friends in May 2009 located where Boomerang Grill is now.
Bouda said he put his food truck dream on the back burner and gave the diner a try. When the partnership dissolved, he went back to his original idea. Slowly he bought restaurant equipment and piled it into storage.

Then he found it
— the truck.
“I bought the truck off eBay,” Bouda said. “I drove all of the way to Virginia to get the truck, drove it back, which is freaking insane.”
Next came remodeling the former Snap-On tool truck into a mobile commercial kitchen, and tying or bolting everything down securely for travel. Wild Al's truck also had to pass state and Oklahoma City health inspections before Bouda could consider hitting the road.
Bouda said he didn't expect seeking permission from the cities to be an obstacle, especially after paying $15 for Oklahoma City's permit. Bethany didn't require any permitting fee, he said.
In a year and a half on the road, Wild Als mostly sets up to sell at area auctions and farmers' markets. On Thursdays and Fridays, Bouda sells lunch at NE 4th Street and East Harrison Avenue, a few blocks east of downtown.
Besides Yukon and Mustang, Bouda said he hasn't tried any other cities.
“I have tried to do everything to make sure I'm legal,” Bouda said. “I want to stay that way. I want to be a good business person and contribute to the tax base. And everybody gets their sales tax, and everybody can win. There are enough people out here to eat that is for sure.”

Food truck life
Wild Als and Big Truck Tacos were the only two Oklahoma trucks nominated for the Food Network's “The Great Food Truck Race.” Bouda readily admits he nominated himself. He said he figured, what could it hurt?
But Big Truck Tacos won the race and trail blazed a path for other mobile kitchens, including Wild Al's.
With more than 300 people following him on Facebook and growing, Bouda said he sees opportunity ripe for the picking.
“I feel there is this huge potential in the food truck market,” he said.
Bouda cooks up a lot of the same foods that were hits on the diner's menu — pulled pork and brisket, to meatball subs and chicken salad sandwiches. His best seller is his ground brisket burger.
“I can do that now,” he said. “Every place I have served brisket burgers it has gone over gangbusters.”
Bouda is also selling his own sauces and seasoning rubs. He said he's protective of his recipes and does it all from mixing, bottling, labeling and heat sealing. The Wild Al's line is available at several Oklahoma shops and his website.
“We really hope between the truck and the sauce and rub business that it will be enough to sustain us,” Bouda said. “Whether or not it ever will be, I don't know. Those are the hopes and dreams.”