“FOOD IS MY PASSION,” says Ashley Trebitowski, founder of Toasted Albuquerque. “I travel for food, I cook for food, I live for food.” But until last summer, Trebitowski wasn’t in the business of food. Even while running the software development company Pixegon with her husband, Brandon, Ashley always had another dream: to open a coffee shop or food truck. One night while in Portland, Oregon, for work, she had a craving for dessert. “I saw this place that had s’mores,” she recalls, “I thought, How great—my favorite!”
After the experience, Trebitowski couldn’t stop thinking about starting her own shop. She’d converted a school bus into an RV and lived on the road with her family for three years, which gave her the confidence to build a food truck. Last summer, she fixed up a two-horse trailer and served her first customers.
Cookies and Cream s’more, $6.50
Photograph courtesy of Toasted.
Since then, the little side business has become a family affair, operating at a variety of pop-up locations throughout Albuquerque. Trebitowski’s 10-year-old daughter, Reagan, works the register, while her 16-year-old son, Cayden, has taken over special event bookings. Everyone, including her 13-year-old, Jackson, contributes ideas: This summer they’re hoping to introduce either a s’mores ice cream or a frozen hot chocolate.
But while they’ve experimented with seasonal flavors—from peppermint for December markets to pumpkin spice for fall—Trebitowski says most of her customers crave the classic. “It’s a nostalgia thing,” she says. The improvement comes from homemade marshmallows: “They melt perfectly,” she says. “You never get that burnt flavor on the outside with a hard middle. They’re gooey and yummy and warm all the way through.”
READ MORE: Keep the fire burning—and the cravings coming—with these irresistible camping desserts.
