March 4, 2021

A Mitchell-based Mexican food truck is planning to spend more time this year in Sioux Falls, beginning today with a three-day run.

Chubby’s will be in the parking lot of Runnings at 49th Street and Western Avenue from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. today through Saturday.

Founder Stephvon “Von” Bailey grew up on Chicago’s South Side and ended up in South Dakota after a cousin got a football scholarship at Mitchell’s Dakota Wesleyan University. His cousin and aunt invited him to come to live here in 2012.

“I was a young, dumb kid and took a chance and got out of the ‘hood,” Bailey said. “There’s no secret there that it’s not one of the most safest places in the world.”

He eventually ended up working construction in Colorado and that’s where he discovered the Mexican food trucks that would pull up to job sites. It gave him the idea to pursue his own business.

“I’ve always been good at cooking. I always like to make something taste good,” Bailey said. “I would make omelets for my mom, and she would tell me, ‘This is good. You should cook.’”

He returned to Mitchell and saved up money with a friend to buy a food truck in January 2020. The pandemic struck, and he ended up buying out his friend and waiting until May to start selling food. Another friend, Tyler Brinkman, became his partner in November.

“I like to travel, I like people, and I like food,” Brinkman said. “It fit the gig.”

Chubby’s built a following serving the late-night bar crowd outside Thirsty’s in Mitchell and made a few road trips to serve college crowds in Brookings and Vermillion. The food truck made a couple of appearances in Sioux Falls in the fall  for Urban Nerd events at Bigs Bar.

The signature item for Chubby’s is a birria street taco, which is shredded beef on a grilled corn tortilla that comes with consomme for dipping.

Other specialties include elote, or Mexican street corn, which includes mayo, parmesan and Tajin, a chile lime seasoning blend.

The menu includes other tacos, burritos, quesadillas and nachos. In addition to birria, meat choices are  steak and chicken.

“We try to keep it as close to authentic as we can with all the Mexican seasonings,” he said.

This early spring outing in Sioux Falls is the sign of things to come, Bailey said.

“We’re going to do a majority of Sioux Falls if all goes well,” he said. “Even up to like five days a week unless we have events elsewhere.”

Customers can track locations on Chubby’s Facebook page.