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ARCADIA PC

New owners take over Big Red Food Truck with plans to revamp the menu

  • Writer: Arcadia Polk City
    Arcadia Polk City
  • 3 days ago
  • 2 min read

Photo of Big Red Foodtruck

Susan Stapleton Des Moines Register

Jan. 9, 2026, 6:22 a.m. CT



One of the first food trucks in the Des Moines metro now has new owners. Arcadia, the modern American restaurant with Vietnamese and Asian fusion influences that emphasizes farm-to-table local ingredients, bought the Big Red Food Truck.


Shon and Julie Bruellman launched the food truck 15 years ago, “helping define what the mobile food scene could be. Their leadership, consistency, and community-first approach turned Big Red into a name people instantly recognize across Central Iowa,” Arcadia wrote on Facebook.


Arcadia, which opened in Polk City in 2024, plans to keep much of the menu, adding “just a couple thoughtful tweaks.”


Chef Mikel Nguyen said he is influenced by Roy Choi, the Los Angeles-based chef who launched Kogi BBQ truck in 2008, making him a pioneer of the gourmet food truck movement with his fusion of Korean and Mexican flavors.


“He's someone who helped popularize food trucks and the ability to maintain restaurant-quality food while increasing its accessibility and not breaking the bank,” Nguyen said in an email to the Des Moines Register. “That approach is something we think we can recreate here through our partnership with The Big Red Food Truck.”



What new dishes will be on the Big Red Food Truck menu?


Nguyen, who is a partner of Lakes Hospitality, said he plans to add Arcadia’s smash burgers, which made the Top 10 in the Iowa’s Best Burger contest from the Iowa Beef Industry Council and the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association’s 16th annual Iowa’s Best Burger contest in 2025, and egg rolls, made by his family, to the food truck.


Bringing Arcadia and Big Red food to customers year-round at festivals, corporate events, weddings, private parties and community events is another of Nguyen’s goals. “We know proximity matters to customers when deciding where to eat. Being able to help make that decision easier by bringing the Arcadia experience closer to home for new or even returning customers is extremely exciting to us,” he said.


What’s on the Big Red Food Truck menu?


Big Red Food Truck a mix of American pub-style, Tex-Mex, fried comfort foods and street tacos. Favorites include al pastor and grilled shrimp tacos, fish and fried flatbread stuffed with taco meat, and a jumbo walking taco boat served with Doritos in a boat with taco meat, lettuce, cheese, salsa and sour cream.


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Panko-breaded pork tenderloins, a beef and lamb gyro, fried lobster ravioli bites, fried pickles and mozzarella sticks are among the menu items.


The Big Red Food Truck appeared on an episode of “Family Food Showdown with Valerie Bertinelli” on The Food Network.


Where to find Arcadia


Where to find the Big Red Food Truck


 
 
 

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