(From left) Justin Shaw, Frederico Enriquez and Zach Brenner, co-owners of Auntie Ning's food truck, during a pop-up at The Veil Brewing Co. (Photo by Monica Escamilla)
Drawing on recipes and traditions from his family, 34-year-old Frederico Enriquez, along with friends and co-owners Justin Shaw, 31, and Zach Brenner, 33, launched the food truck Auntie Ning’s last summer. In addition to balancing full-time jobs, the partners offer a rotating lineup of dishes such as lumpia (Filipino egg rolls) and lechon kawali (crispy pork belly) that celebrate the Southeast Asian nation. While awaiting a permanent home, Auntie Ning's is making appearances in neighborhoods and at breweries and farmers markets around the region.
Richmond magazine: Where did the idea for Auntie Ning’s come from?
Zach Brenner: I told Fred it would work. [Laughs]
Frederico Enriquez: [Laughs] When I moved to Richmond, I wanted Filipino food, and there was none.
Brenner: We have a food-centric culture here in Richmond, and [Filipino food is] one that’s missing and that people should know about. Fred cooked lumpia for his office and took orders from people. He sold 100 lumpia and thought, “We got to get to a farmers market to reach more people."
RM: Why Filipino food?
Enriquez: Justin and Zach were roommates, and Zach and I have been friends for 18 years. We grew up together in high school and are from Norfolk and Virginia Beach, which I would say [has] one of the biggest [populations] of Filipinos on the East Coast. My aunt started a restaurant in 1991, and [it] was one of the few in Hampton Roads that was Filipino — now there are 20 to 30. I grew up in her restaurant.
RM: How was the initial debut, and how have customers responded to the food?
Enriquez: We only had three dishes, lumpia, adobo and pancit, and we just had a tent and a table.
Brenner: I would say 90% of the people have never had Filipino food. When we started, our goal was to see, is there a calling for Filipino food? — and there was. We added more stuff to the menu, and then we had repeat customers. There were new customers every week who had never had it or who were looking for it, and it’s kind of built as we have gone on.
RM: What menu item do most people seek out?
Enriquez: Lumpia, for sure. There are certain things we do differently that have helped us pick up more business … for instance, we use more tender cuts [of meat], [we] like to marinate the meat longer, and we make our own broth.
RM: How has business changed since COVID-19?
Justin Shaw: The pandemic has opened up new opportunities for us. Preorders have definitely changed, and we’ve cut down on food waste. The benefit of a food truck is you can go to demand, and I think the demand in general has increased.
RM: What are Auntie Ning’s plans for the future?
Enriquez: We’re still pushing toward that end goal of a brick-and-mortar, and we’re looking for our own space in the near future — maybe in one or two years. With the economy and everything going on, we don’t know what will happen. We’re just trying to live in the moment and enjoy our food truck right now. We want to be the name you think of when you think of Filipino food in Richmond.
