New food truck at former Benny's lot in Bristol is earning acclaim

By Christy Nadalin
Posted 3/28/24

Mizrahi said he was busy from day one. “Even on cold and windy days like today, I’m still paying my bills.”

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New food truck at former Benny's lot in Bristol is earning acclaim

Posted

Making and sharing delicious food has always been something that makes Daniel Mizrahi happy. The Warren resident, who grew up in Barrington, learned from the best, too — his family ran the former Bar 31 on State Street for years, before selling the business to their head chef.

“I got my start there, working under some very talented chefs,” said Mizrahi, who is otherwise self-taught. He drifted away from the industry for a spell in his mid 20s, but it was not long before his passion drew him back to food.

Knowing he wanted to start a restaurant, he started scouting for locations, but nothing was really panning out. At the time, be was commuting between Warren and Portsmouth, and one day, driving down Metacom past the site of the former Benny’s, he noticed how massive the empty lot really was. Mizrahi reached out to the owner, who agreed that the underutilized lot would be a great space for a food truck.

The truck itself hails from Milwaukee. Mizrahi found it on eBay and brought back to Rhode Island with the help of his father. Misadventure marred the trip when the pickup truck the men used to travel to Wisconsin broke down on the side of the road — on a holiday weekend — stranding the pair. Eventually they caravanned home with one of them driving the food truck and the other behind the wheel of a rented Penske, their pickup riding on the flatbed.

The truck itself was about 60% what Mizrahi needed it to to be, but knowing how he prefers to cook he swapped out some of the fixtures (fryalator out, panini press in) and put a little construction work into the interior setup. He said that he devised the menu, which offers both breakfast and lunch sandwiches as well as a Ceasar salad and an assortment of beverages, based mainly on what he enjoys eating, but admits that he owes his fiancee credit for the hot chicken and steak bomb sandwiches — his two best sellers.

“I really like top-tier ingredients, and so for example I use sirloin steak in my sandwiches, trim it up, and sear it fresh,” he said. Based on all the 5-star online reviews and the positive buzz around town, his customers appreciate his approach.

Mizrahi said he was busy from day one. “Even on cold and windy days like today, I’m still paying my bills.”

He is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the 655 Metacom Ave. location.

“There’s just so much potential here,” said Mizrahi, who is looking forward to seeing what business looks like in Bristol’s high season. “I just hired an employee — I can’t do this by myself,” he said.

“It’s a great problem to have.”

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