We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Halla Horn a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Halla , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

My dream started in 2016 when I went to an antique festival with my friends. During our time there we began looking around for lunch options. Unless you wanted something fried there were not many choices. This was the moment that I realized what I really wanted was a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich. One made on quality bread with melty cheese and some delicious toppings; a lunch that would taste great, satisfy my hunger and that would not be a weeks worth of calories! I thought “how great would it be to have my own food truck and take it to interesting places where I could serve food that I am really passionate about to people and have them fall in love with that food as well.” Since childhood, I have been passionate about grilled cheese sandwiches. Even as the daughter of a caterer, my meal request since I was three years old was always a grilled cheese. I believe in making delicious, nutritious food that serves peoples’ appetites for both quality and taste. I heavily researched the requirements to be a licensed food truck back in 2016 but due to financial costs decided that I needed to set my dream aside temporarily. After being in the workforce for several years, I was financially stable enough to purchase a used ambulance in October 2022 that I converted into a food truck. We launched E.M. Cheese in May 2023 and we have been having a blast and learning a ton!

Halla , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have always been a creative person and I received my Bachelor’s of Violin Performance and Music Education from Oakland University. During my college years I worked for my mom’s catering company and also worked as a server in the restaurant industry. This gave me a lot of insight into the difficulties, demands and joys of the food service industry, Another one of my passions is travel and this opened my eyes to how different cultures treat their ingredients. Countries with famous cuisine, like Italy and France, place a high level of importance on the quality of their ingredients and the value of eating locally produced food. This is something that I really wanted to incorporate into our business model. Not only does it improve our product’s overall taste but it also supports our local economy and fellow small businesses. We pick up our bread directly from the factory that is 15 minutes from our location, choose kettle chips that are a Michigan-owned company and use kosher dill pickles that are packed in my very own hometown. Another important part of our business model is our commitment to sustainability and community. We are a fully vegetarian truck with gluten-free soup, and dairy-free cheese options. One of the issues with the restaurant industry is the necessity of single use disposables so we choose compostable and recyclable materials whenever possible, even though they cost more than plastic alternatives. We also donate our extra, usable food items to a religious organization that works in the Detroit neighborhoods, 10 minutes from our location. I think that this commitment to quality and supportive business practices comes across to our customers. With the plethora of food choices available, we want to make sure that not only do you love our food but that you also love the way that we consciously choose to do business.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I am so proud to say that our truck was completely self-funded! I had stockpiled a large amount of savings and was able to purchase the ambulance at auction. My uncle specializes in graphic design and branding so he took the ambulance concept and gave us an amazing new look, logo and brand. My father-in-law completely renovated and converted the interior for me, which resulted in a huge savings! I also scoured restaurant auctions and Facebook marketplace for gently used restaurant equipment. Because of this, I was able to purchase top of the line equipment that I normally would not have been able to afford new. My father repainted the entire truck and installed our vinyl graphics which was another large savings. I’m so grateful to my entire family and community who helped make this dream come true and how hard we all worked in order to self-fund this business.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy has been our social media community and our direct contact with potential clientele. We are active members of food truck facebook groups in our area where clients can post and search for trucks that meet their needs. We have also done a lot of direct contact in reaching out to festival managers and breweries in the area to introduce ourselves and our desire to collaborate. These have been the most effective means of marketing to get our truck out there and have led to our biggest events and bookings.

Contact Info:

• Website: Emcheese.com
• Instagram: @e.m.cheese
• Facebook: @e.m.cheesey

Image Credits
JL Boone Photography