Food truck owner hosts 'ghost kitchen' in Vandergrift

Tom Scanga, owner of Del Vecchio’s Sausage & Fries, is branching out this weekend with a ghost kitchen — a temporary, pop-up restaurant focusing on something completely outside of his specialty.

Friday through Sunday, from 3 to 7 p.m., Scanga will be operating out of his commissary at 328 Lowell St. in Vandergrift, making handcrafted burgers. Everything will be offered for delivery and curbside pickup only.

A butcher by trade, Scanga said he’s excited to give customers burgers made from scratch this weekend. He said he’s using cuts of chuck and brisket, which will be unique from burgers sold in most other restaurants.

While his food truck focuses on sausages, fries, meatballs and other “street foods,” Scanga said “this will be totally different.”

Scanga’s ghost kitchen begins just one day after Gov. Tom Wolf suspended indoor dining at restaurants across the state.

During the state’s first shutdown in the spring, Scanga said his food truck did well, especially when he began offering dinner specials for $10 that also branched out from the usual sausage and fries. He started offering everything from meatloaf and stuffed steak to lasagna, changing the special every week.

Over the winter, Scanga said he plans to continue the $10 meals and operate the ghost kitchen for a weekend once a month, in tandem. He plans to follow a different theme every month — he’s already planning Italian- and Mexican-inspired dishes.

“It’s the foodie in me,” he said. “I truly love creating and trying new things.”

At different times in his life, Scanga said he’s worked at diners, pizza shops and catering companies. But he was especially intrigued by the idea of the ghost kitchen — a trend in the food industry he said encourages spontaneity, experimentation and a chance to try something new.

It’s an especially unique concept in the Alle-Kiski Valley, he said, as most pop-up kitchens take place in big cities with a more established network of restaurant owners.

“It sounds really fun,” he said. “I’ve never done something like this before.”