From grilled cheese to sweet treats: Special Eats food truck is expanding

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) - Special Eats food truck isn't only specializing in hot menu items for much longer — it's adding another food truck and brick-and-mortar retail eatery, but this time, for desserts.

These two new ventures are expected to launch sometime in January.

The business, located at 5546 E. Fourth St., employs people with special needs. They help cook the food, ring it up and hand it out to customers.

“The special needs community keeps growing and we need to just keep expanding with them,” co-owner Tamara Varga said.

The new dessert truck and brick-and-mortar location will offer cotton candy, cookies, and ice cream among other sweet treats.

Varga has two special needs children of her own: a 17-year-old son with autism and an 11-year-old with Down syndrome. She said she wanted to create a place where she felt comfortable sending her kids.

“I have a real heart when mothers call me and they’ve been looking for a job for years for their children, and it’s just so hard to say no,” Varga said.

The staff has grown from five employees to 35 since the business opened a year-and-a-half ago.

Christina Ekloff, 25, has been working for Special Eats for over a year. When KGUN asked if she thinks customers will enjoy the grilled cheese or the desserts more, she said, “I think it’s going to be equal...because the food here is really good.”

The retail shop, coming soon to 5009 E. Fifth St., will feature handmade goods crafted by employees, including jewelry, clothes and gift baskets.

Varga said the fast-paced expansion can be overwhelming, but the dessert track just made sense.

“They love tasting them, they love making them," she said. "And so we figured that was just the next step, to continue to incorporate things that they love to do.”