Lisa Harvey with her daughter Catherine Mills wait for customers Tuesday in the Lucky Cat Coffee Truck parked in the lot at 426 Lisbon St. in Lewiston. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
LEWISTON — This unique concept comes from Hong Kong, where the owner of a new food truck in town got her first taste of bubble waffles, a popular street food there, on a trip to visit her best friend.
The Lucky Cat Coffee truck in the parking lot Tuesday at 426 Lisbon Street in Lewiston. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
They call it gai daan jai, which is Cantonese for bubble waffles. It’s the centerpiece of Lisa Harvey’s new business venture, Lucky Cat Coffee, a food truck that serves fresh coffees, teas and fruit-filled brioche buns in addition to those famous bubble waffles at her primary parking spot at 426 Lisbon St., in the lot next to Urban Farms. It is mobile, so it’s always best to check the Lucky Cat Coffee truck social media pages on Instagram and Facebook for the most up to date location information.
Harvey says it’s been in the works for a few years. “We always wanted a coffee shop,” she told The Buzz on Tuesday afternoon. The COVID-19 pandemic put a roadblock in her plans.
“Why not a food truck,” she said. “Because you can take it anywhere you want, low overhead costs and gives us a chance to get our feet on the ground.”
Open just three weeks, Lucky Cat Coffee already has some regulars and is getting good feedback from customers in person and online.
“They’re delicious because they’re so simple,” Harvey said about her bubble waffles. The recipe, however, took her two years to perfect, because the street vendors in Hong Kong don’t write down their recipes, and the rest of the world uses the metric system, which means all the ingredient measurements need to be converted.
Lisa Harvey with her daughter, Catherine Mills, wait for customers Tuesday in the Lucky Cat Coffee truck parked in the lot at 426 Lisbon St. in Lewiston. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
Harvey is calling it a dessert and coffee experience, although it could also be breakfast.
“It ends up being great, because the two compliment each other really well,” Harvey said.
Look for the Lucky Cat Coffee truck 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, noon to 6 p.m. Fridays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. Times and days may change as the seasons change, and you can always check on Instagram @luckycatcoffeetruck and Facebook @KitsuneKafe, or call 207-745-9111.
The Buzz offers quick hits about trending area business happenings. Have a Buzzable tip? Contact business writer Christopher Wheelock at 689-2817 or cwheelock@sunjournal.com
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