GleamBlog

>> I AM SUPER EXCITED ABOUT OUR SHOW TODAY, YOU KNOW WHY?

>> HMMM.

BESIDES THE FACT THAT WE'RE HOSTING TOGETHER?

IS THERE ANYTHING THAT CAN TOP THAT?

>> THAT'S DEFINITELY A BONUS, BUT I'M ESPECIALLY PUMPED BECAUSE WE'RE HEADING TO THE WEST SIDE OF COLUMBUS, MY PART OF TOWN, TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PEOPLE AND PLACES THAT HAVE SHAPED THAT COMMUNITY.

>> THAT IS EXCITING!

AND WHO BETTER TO TAKE US THERE THAN ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN, JEFF DARBEE.

>> WE JUST CROSSED THE RIVER AND WE ARE ENTERING WHAT IS THE MOST HISTORIC PART OF THE COLUMBUS AREA, THE WEST SIDE OF THE RIVER SETTLED IN 1897, SO PREDATES COLUMBUS BY ABOUT 15 YEARS.

WE ARE PASSING THE HARRISON HEADQUARTERS, AND SAID TO BE HEADQUARTERS OF THE SHORT-LIVED PRESIDENT, AND BEHIND THAT IS THE SULLIVAN OFFICE, AND HE SOLD OFF LAND PARCELS IN THIS AREA, AND AS WE HEAD WEST ON BROAD STREET AND BEGIN TO HEAD UP THE HILL OUT OF THIS SIDE OF THE RIVER VALLEY, THE HILLTOP ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE ROAD, WEST BROAD STREET, IS WHERE THE STATE HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE WAS BUILT IN 1877.

IT WAS AN ENORMOUS BUILDING AND IT WAS A REASON PART OF THIS AREA DEVELOPED FAIRLY QUICKLY.

AS WE VISIT WITH THIS AREA WE WILL MEET WITH AN EXPERT ON THE HISTORY OF THE OLD STATE HOSPITAL.

>> GARY.

>> HEY, JEFF, HOW ARE YOU DOING?

>> I AM DOING JUST FINE.

>> I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR THE STORY OF THE OLD STATE HOSPITAL.

>> IT'S AN AMAZING STORY.

A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY THE SECOND HOSPITAL.

THE FIRST ONE WAS DOWNTOWN BETWEEN WASHINGTON AVENUE AND PARSONS.

IT WAS BUILT IN 1838, AND LEGISLATION PASSED IN '35 TO BUILD A NEW ONE.

>> THERE WERE CLINICAL TRIALS -- >> THEY WERE TERMS OF TODAY, BACK THEN, AND I KNOW IT SOUNDS KIND OF CALLOUS TODAY BUT THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS.

>> IN 1868, THE BUILDING CAUGHT FIRE, AND THEY TRIED TO REBUILD IT AND DECIDED NOT TO, AND THEY PURCHASED HERE FROM WILLIAM SULLIVAN, THE SUN OF LUCAS SULLIVAN, AND THEY PURCHASED IT FOR $3,000.

>> HE WAS ONE OF THE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION.

IT WAS LIKE A CENTER, AND EVERYTHING BRANCHED OUT, SO YOU COULD ADD WINGS TO THE HOSPITAL, AND IN THE CENTER PART, IT WOULD GO STRAIGHT.

>> I THINK I READ UNTIL CONSTRUCTION OF THE PENTAGON IN WORLD WAR II, THIS WAS THE LARGEST BUILDING UNDER A SINGLE ROOF?

>> YEAH.

>> AND IT WAS A PROMINENT BUILDING.

HOW MANY STORIES?

>> FOUR STORIES, AND RESIDENTS WERE ON THREE FLOORS AND IT HAS LIVING QUARTERS LIKE THE DOCTORS AND SUPERINTENDENTS AND EVERYTHING, AND IN ITS HEY DAY, IT WAS A LITTLE CITY WITHIN A CITY, AND IT HAD ITS OWN POWERED SYSTEM, AND HAD CHICKEN HOUSES AND GREEN HOUSES AND EVERYTHING.

>> PEOPLE LIVING HERE, THEY WOULD WORK IN THOSE PLACES?

>> YEAH, A LOT OF PATIENTS DID WORK HERE, UNTIL ROUGHLY AROUND THE '70s AND '80s, THE PATIENT SYSTEM RIGHTS CAME IN.

>> ONCE IT WAS BUILT, I AM SURE THERE WERE MANY PEOPLE WORKING HERE?

>> YEAH, AND THEY PROBABLY LIVED OUT HERE ON THE WEST SIDE.

>> AND THAT HAD TO HELP DEVELOP THE WEST SIDE.

PEOPLE MOVING HERE AND BUILDING BUSINESSES.

>> WHEN I STARTED WORKING HERE, THERE WERE LOTS OF PEOPLE THAT STILL WALKED TO WORK.

IT LASTED UNTIL 1990, '91, AND ONE OF THE DOWNFALLS OF THE HOSPITAL'S DEMISE WAS IT WAS NOT TAKEN CARE OF.

>> SOMETIMES PUBLIC ENTITIES ARE NOT NECESSARILY THE BEST STEWARDS, AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO PRESERVE INFORMATION FOR A PLACE LIKE THIS?

>> YEAH, IT'S IMPORTANT TO KEEP ALL HISTORY ALIVE.

I MEAN, THEY HAD NOWHERE TO GO.

WE ASKED THE EMPLOYEES WHO TOOK CARE OF THE PATIENTS, YOU MAY NOT LIKE IT IN THE PAST OF WHAT THE DID, BUT IT WAS PART OF HISTORY.

>> IT'S HARD TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE COMING FROM.

>> YEAH, AND THE STATE HOSPITAL IS PART OF OUR STORY, HISTORY.

>> THANK YOU FOR TELLING ME SO MUCH, AND REALLY ENLIGHTENING ME ABOUT AN IMPORTANT INSTITUTION.

>> I HAVE TO HEAD OFF AND LOOK AT MORE OF THE HILL TOPS.

MANY THANKS.

>> GOOD.

ALL RIGHT.

>> HI, DAVE, HOW ARE YOU?

>> HI.

>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME OUT TO LEARN ABOUT WESTGATE.

>> THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT.

>> THIS MUST HAVE BEEN WILD LAND AT ONE POINT.

TELL ME ABOUT THE HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT HERE.

>> OKAY, THE WEST SIDE STARTED OUT AS LAND THAT LUCAS SULLIVAN HELD, NOT LONG AFTER THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, AND FRANKLIN OWNED A LOT OF THE LAND, AND IN FACT, WHERE WE ARE NOW WAS OWNED BY ONE OF HIS SONS.

THERE WAS NOT A WHOLE LOT OF DEVELOPMENT FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS UNTIL ACTUALLY ABOUT THE TIME OF THE CIVIL WAR.

WE HAD A COUPLE OF CAMPS DOWNTOWN OR NEAR DOWNTOWN, BUT THEY WERE NOT LARGE ENOUGH TO HOLD ALL THE TROOPS THAT WOULD BE MUSTERING IN, SO ACTUALLY WHAT STARTED DEVELOPMENT OUT HERE WAS HANDSHAKES.

>> OKAY.

>> THERE ARE OVER 100,000 UNION TROOPS THAT GOT THEIR START HERE AT CAMP CHASE, AND NOT ONLY WAS IT A UNION MUSTERING CENTER AND TRAINING GROUND, IT ALSO BECAME A CIVIL WAR PRISON OF WAR CAMP FOR CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS, AND WE STILL HAVE THE ONE, THE CONFEDERATE CEMETERY THAT EXISTS ON 2900 SULLIVAN AVENUE.

>> AND HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS WERE DEVELOPED AROUND THEM, IS THAT A CORRECT ASSUMPTION?

>> THE WEST COMMUNITY, THE FLOOD -- >> IT WASHED THEM UP TO THE HILLTOP.

>> EXACTLY.

AND IT WAS, OF COURSE, AFTER THAT THAT YOU REALLY SAW THE DEVELOPMENT OUT HERE.

>> GETTING DOWN TO THINGS THAT I LOOK AT, AND TELL ME ABOUT SOME OF YOUR HISTORIC ARCHITECTURE?

>> TWO MOST NOTABLE ITEMS OF ARCHITECTURE, IS FIRST OF ALL, THE GREAT WESTERN SHOPPING CENTER THAT WAS A DON CASTRO DEVELOPMENT, AND IT USED TO HAVE THE WALK O'WONDERS.

THE OTHER IS THE ACTUAL STRUCTURE OF WEST HIGH SCHOOL, WHICH WAS BUILT IN 1929, AND THE SCHOOL WAS DEVELOPED AS A PROTOTYPE FOR AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOLS, AND THE ARCHITECT OF THE HIGH SCHOOL WAS NONE OTHER THAN HOWARD DWIGHT SMITH, WHO, OF COURSE, IS THE SAME INDIVIDUAL THAT DESIGNED OHIO STADIUM.

>> WAS THERE A LOT HERE DEVELOPMENT IN WORLD WAR II?

>> THAT INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT OCCURRED JUST AFTER WORLD WAR II.

THREE MAJOR EMPLOYERS CAME TO THE WEST SIDE.

THERE WAS GENERAL MOTORS, WHICH WAS THE BIGGEST.

AT ONE TIME THERE WERE OVER 6,000 GOOD PAYING JOBS THAT THE PLAN THE OVER ON GEORGIA ROAD, AND THEN THE WESTINGHOUSE PLANT AND THEY EMPLOYED JUST OVER 3,000 PEOPLE AT ITS PEAK, AND THEN HARVESTER, SO BETWEEN THE THREE OF THEM, THEY PROVIDED 10,000 REALLY GOOD BLUE COLLAR-TYPE JOBS.

>> FOR THE WEST SIDE, THIS CHANGED BECAUSE NONE OF THE PLANTS ARE STILL HERE, AND MAYBE THE BUILDINGS, BUT I AM GUESSING THEY DON'T HAVE THE SAME LEVEL OF EMPLOYMENT?

>> THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT, AND THAT MADE IT DIFFICULT ECONOMICALLY FOR A GOOD PORTION OF THE WEST SIDE OF COLUMBUS.

THE GM PLANT WAS COMPLETELY LEVELED AND THEY COMPLETELY REDID THE GROUNDS THERE AND THAT'S A NEW BUILDING AND THAT PROVIDED ABOUT 1,000 NEW JOBS OUT HERE, BUT THAT'S NOT THE SAME AS 6,000.

>> THESE PEOPLE, ARE THEY MOVING IN BECAUSE THEY SEE IT AS A DESIRABLE NEIGHBORHOOD EVEN IF THEY WORK OUT OF IT?

>> WELL, IT'S AFFORDABLE BY MOST PEOPLE.

NUMBER TWO, IS IT'S ACCESSIBLE, IT'S CLOSE TO EVERYTHING.

WE ARE LITERALLY LESS THAN A TEN-MINUTE DRIVE FROM DOWNTOWN.

WHAT WE HAVE SEEN IS THIS BECOME VERY MUCH AN IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY AS WELL, SIMPLY BECAUSE THE HOUSING IS AFFORDABLE, SO IT IS A COMMUNITY OF FOLKS THAT HAVE BEEN HERE FOR GENERATIONS AND A IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY.

>> THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT AND TELLING ME ABOUT THIS.

APPRECIATE IT.

>> MY PLEASURE.

MY PLEASURE.

>> JAVIER, CAN YOU NAME ANY OF THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD?

>> SURE, THE PYRAMIDS.

THE EIFFEL TOWER.

NIAGARA FALLS.

OTHER STUFF.

>> HOW ABOUT THE GRAND CANYON?

>> YES.

>> YOU DIDN'T DO TOO BAD, ACTUALLY, BUT IN COLUMBUS' HISTORY, THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD WERE ALL IN ONE PLACE ON THE WEST SIDE.

>> I'M NOT SURPRISED.

IT'S A PRETTY HAPPENING PLACE.

>> IT MUST BE!

HERE'S THAT STORY.

>> CAN YOU IMAGINE HAVING THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD ALL IN ONE PLACE, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A SHOPPING CENTER IN COLUMBUS, OHIO?

BROTHER MY FATHER AND GRANDFATHER SOUGHT TO DEVELOP A LARGE SHOPPING CENTER ON THE WEST SIDE OF TOWN, AND THE SITE THEY ORIGINALLY CHOSE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT WAS THE SITE NOW OCCUPIED BY WEST LAND.

AT THE LAST MINUTE THAT JOINT VENTURE FELL APART.

>> THEY FOUND A SITE THAT MY UNCLE HAPPENED TO OWN AND THEY BOUGHT IT FROM HIM.

>> THE PROBLEM WAS THE ORIGINAL SITE WAS A BETTER SITE AND IT BECAME IMPORTANT TO CONVINCE THE ANCHOR TENANTS, JCPENNEY AND OTHERS THAT COMMITTED TO THE OLD SITE TO MOVE TO THE NEW SITE.

>> IT WAS AN ELABORATE PARTY AND INVITED ALL OF THE TENANTS, AND AS THE PARTY WENT ON AND ON, DON, I UNDERSTAND, GOT MORE AND MORE INTO THE PARTY AND THEY SAID, DON, WHY SHOULD WE COME TO THIS SITE INSTEAD OF THE OTHER SITE?

>> HE TOLD THE TENANTS IF THEY WOULD RELOCATE, HE WOULD BUILD A COMPLETE REPLICA OF THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD, AND HE GOT AHEAD OF HIMSELF A LITTLE BIT IN TERMS OF PROMOTING WHAT HE WOULD DO TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO GO TO THE NEW SITE.

>> PEOPLE HAD SIGNED UP.

THEY HAD AGREED TO COME, SO THEY HAD TO PRODUCE.

THEY HAD TO LIVE UP TO WHAT HE HAD SAID AND PRODUCE THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD.

>> AND BEING A MAN OF HIS WORLD, HE SET TO CREATE THE WALK O'WONDERS.

>> THIS IS REALLY A GUTSY, GUTSY MOVE.

WHEN YOU DOUBLE THE COST OF BUILDING A CENTER, THEN TO TRY AND MAKE THE ECONOMICS WORK OUT ON IT.

WALK O'WONDERS REALLY HAD TO GENERATE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC.

>> GREAT WESTERN SHOPPING CENTER OPENED UP IN THE SUMMER OF 1955.

THEY INVITED EVERYBODY TO THIS OPENING.

THERE WERE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND TENANTS, AND OFFICIALS FROM THE CITY, AND THEY ALSO INVITED A LADY FROM INDIA TO STAND NEXT TO THE TAJ MAHAL.

THEY HAD THE MAYOR DRAWING A BARREL OVER THE NIAGARA FALLS.

IT WAS QUITE A STAGE PRODUCTION.

>> THESE WERE NOT SHABBY, CHEESY REPLICATIONS.

THEY WERE VERY CAREFULLY CRAFTED FROM COPIES OF THE ORIGINALS.

>> THE WONDERS THAT WERE THERE, WAS THE LEANING TOWER OF PIZZA, AND -- >> IF YOU LOOK AT THIS PHOTOGRAPH, YOU DON'T KNOW YOU ARE NOT REALLY LOOKING AT THE REAL TAJ MAHAL.

>> THEY CONSTRUCTED A WALKWAY DOWN IN THE GRAND CANYON AND YOU COULD LOOK DOWN INTO IT AND SEE THE CITY AND HOTELS AROUND GRAND CANYON, AND COULD SEE THE WATER FLOWING.

>> THE EIFFEL TOWER, WHICH I STILL HAVE IT AT MY HOUSE.

THEY HAD THE PYRAMIDS AND THE -- >> THAT'S A PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN FROM GROUND LEVEL OF THE WALK O'WONDERS.

THIS ONE LOOKS BETTER THAN THE ONE IN GREECE, WHICH IT HAS SEEN BETTER TIMES.

THIS IS NOT JUST THE BUILDING, THIS IS ALL THE ANCILLARY BUILDINGS AND THE TEMPLES ON THE METROPOLIS.

>> THEY LOOKED AT A WINDOW AND HAD CARLSBAD CAVRENS, AND A LOT OF COINS WENT IN THERE, AND THEY GAVE ALL THAT MONEY TO CHARITY.

YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER, THIS WAS 1954, '55, AND THIS WAS BEFORE DISNEYLAND OPENED UP AND SO THERE WAS NO PLACE THAT HAD REPLICAS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, AND THIS WAS AROUND THE TIME OF THE 707, AND IF YOU WANTED TO SEE IT YOU HAD TO GO BY STEAMSHIPS.

>> AND KIDS WOULD TAKE DAY TRIPS TO SEE THIS, AND IT WAS A WONDERFUL PART OF THE COMMUNITY.

>> IT BECAME AT NIGHT A REAL SECURITY PROBLEM AND A HAZARD BECAUSE OF PEOPLE CLIMBING ALL OVER IT.

>> AND AS THE YEARS WENT BY, IT DETERIORATED, AND THE COLLEGE KIDS WOULD COME AND POUR DETERGENT IN THE NIAGARA FALLS.

>> THIS WAS A ONE-OF-A-KIND, AND NEVER HEARD OF IT LIKE IT BEFORE OR AFTER.

THIS WAS REALLY UNIQUE.

>> WHAT A GREAT LEGACY TO LEAVE BEHIND.

I WISH THE WALK O'WONDERS WERE STILL AROUND.

>> ME, TOO.

AND I CAN'T HELP BUT THINK ABOUT ALL THE TIME THAT WENT INTO THE CRAFTSMANSHIP OF MAKING EACH ONE OF THEM.

>> WELL, CHARLENE, INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, AFTER THAT STORY INITIALLY AIRED, THE FAMILY OF ARTIST THAT DESIGNED THE WALK O'WONDERS CAME FORWARD AND WE WERE ABLE TO GET HIS STORY.

>> MY DAD AND MY BROTHER, BOB AND MYSELF, WE WORKED ON THE WALK O'WONDERS.

MY DAD WAS THE DESIGNER IN CHARGE OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE WALK O'WONDERS.

HE WAS A GREAT SCULPTOR AND PAINTER AND ARTIST, AND HE DID THE FOUNTAIN, AND THE LEANING TOWER, AND THEY WOULD HAVE USED CLAY MAKING A VACUUM MOLD ALMOST LIKE A RUBBER MOLD, AND THEN THEY WOULD CAST THAT, AND MOSTLY HE WORKED IN A CONCRETE, BUT IT WASN'T, IT WAS A REFINED CONCRETE AND THAT'S WHAT THEY USED ON THE MATERIALS FOR THEIR WALK O'WONDERS.

THEN I GOT HIRED BY DAD.

MY JOB WAS WORKING ON THE NIAGARA FALLS, AND I HAD TO BUILD THE LITTLE BUILDINGS UP ABOVE.

IT WAS A BIG PROJECT.

I WOULD LOOK AT THOSE THINGS AND WAS AMAZED AT HOW THEY COULD DO THIS.

AND THE THING IS, WITH DAD, HE WOULD JUST DO IT, AND HE DIDN'T MAKE A PRODUCTION OUT OF NOTHING, HE JUST DID IT.

>> CHARLENE, ONE THING I ALWAYS APPRECIATED ABOUT THE WEST SIDE IS THE DIVERSITY OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO THE FOOD.

>> OH, YEAH?

WHAT TYPES OF FOOD ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

>> CHINESE, SOMALIAN, PERU, YOU NAME IT.

>> HOW ABOUT A PLACE TO GET AN EMPANADA?

>> OF COURSE!

AND ACTUALLY, OUR VERY OWN LETICIA WIGGINS WENT TO VISIT A TACO TRUCK ON THE WEST SIDE THAT HAS A UNIQUE TAKE ON THE EMPANADA.

HERE'S MORE.

>>> HOPEFULLY YOU GUYS WILL LOVE ALL THE SMELLS THAT WILL COME OUT OF THIS GRILL.

>> OH, I LOVE THAT.

>> AMAZING.

>> THANK YOU.

>> HEY, THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT TODAY.

>> THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

>> THAT'S AWESOME.

OKAY, SO WE ARE HERE ON THE WEST SIDE OF COLUMBUS OFF BROAD STREET IN FRONT OF THE WEST LAND MALL AT THE TACO SHOP.

I WANT YOU TO TELL ME ABOUT THIS BUSINESS?

>> THIS WAS STARTED BACK IN 2009 BY MY MOM, AND WE WERE STARTING OFF SELLING SMALL TACOS, AND WE DIDN'T INTRODUCE THE BIG TACOS WE SELL NOW THAT ARE REALLY POPULAR, UNTIL MAYBE TWO YEARS AGO.

>> SO YOUR MOM IS FROM THERE.

>> BASICALLY, IT'S A BIG CITY, AND THERE ARE LITTLE TOWNS, BASICALLY, AROUND, AND WE COME FROM BASICALLY THE CENTRAL AREA OF WOW HOCKA.

WHEN I WENT THERE, AND I STARTED TO BECOME MORE OF AGE, REALLY, AGE 15, WE WENT BACK AND HAD MORE OF AN INSPIRING MOMENT THERE.

WHEN I REALIZED, YOU KNOW, WHAT PEOPLE HAVE THERE COMPARED TO WHAT WE HAVE HERE -- >> ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT INGREDIENTS?

>> THE FRESH, THE LOCAL, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN'T EASILY GET HERE, AND IF WE DO GET IT IT'S VERY EXPENSIVE, YOU KNOW.

WHAT WE HAVE DONE, WHEN WE WENT BACK THERE, MY GRANDMA SHOWED ME, WE HAVE THIS AND THIS, AND WE BEGAN TO MAKE A LITTLE GARDEN AT HOME AND THAT'S HOW WE PRODUCE FRESH STUFF THAT WE USE HERE.

THESE ARE GOING TO BE EMPANADAS.

ONE IS GOING TO BE MUSHROOM AND ONE IS GOING TO BE PUMPKIN SQUASH.

>> IT'S FUNNY, BECAUSE EMPANADAS ARE DIFFERENT, AND PEOPLE THINK OF THE INCLOSED ONES?

>> YEAH, WE HAVE PEOPLE FROM VENEZUELA AND COLUMBIA WHERE THE EMPANADAS ARE SEALED, AND THEY ARE DEEP FRIED, BUT NOT OURS.

A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT COME, WE HAVE TO EXPLAIN, IT'S A EMPANADA OR A QUESADILLA, AND QUESADILLA IS MADE FROM FLOUR.

>> YEAH, I RECOMMEND ONE, AND IF YOU ARE REALLY HUNGRY, TWO, FOR ANYBODY THAT WANTS TO TRY.

THE PUMPKIN SQUASH IS THE MOST POPULAR WHEN IT'S AVAILABLE AND IN SEASON.

>> A LOT OF LATIN AMERICAN RESTAURANTS IN THIS PART OF COLUMBUS, WHICH PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT.

>> ON THE WEST SIDE, IT'S VERY STRONG OUT HERE, AND BEING ON THE WEST SIDE IT'S IMPACTED A LOT OF HOW WE MANAGE OUR FOOD TRUCK AND THE DIVERSITY WE TRY TO OFFER, AND WE HAVE HAD A LOT MORE AMERICANS COME OUT TO US, AND HISPANICS ARE COMING OUT AS MORE NOW KNOWING THAT WE HAVE SOMETHING TO OFFER THEM FROM HOME.

IT'S SOMETHING THAT WILL BRING YOU CLOSER TO HOME, AND THAT'S WHAT I GO FOR.

THE FOOD TRUCK, WE TRY AND KEEP IT AS AUTHENTIC AS POSSIBLE AND >> WHEN PEOPLE COME TO YOUR TRUCK, IS THERE A MOST POPULAR DISH?

>> YEAH, WHAT WE STARTED OFF WITH IN 2018 WAS THE BIG TACO, AND IT WAS SIX INCHES LONG AND ROLLED UP AND COMES WITH REFRIED BEANS, CHEESE AND MEAT, AND IT'S LIKE 2 MILLIMETERS THICK, THE TORTILLA.

>> CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT WORKING WITH FAMILY, THE HIGHS AND LOWS, YOU KNOW?

>> ABSOLUTELY.

WHEN I WAS ABOUT 12 YEARS OLD I WAS INTRODUCED TO THE FOOD TRUCK, AND I HATED BEING HERE, I WON'T LIE, AND I HAD A LOT OF FRIENDS THAT WOULD PLAY AROUND AND WHEN MY MOM WAS BUSY AT THE FOOD TRUCK AND THE OLD TRAILER, I WOULD COME AND SNATCH ONE OR TWO DOLLARS FROM THE TIP JAR AND GO AND PLAY GAMES, AND THEN MY MOTHER GOT A SHOULDER INJURY, AND I HAD TO HELP WITH THE FOOD TRUCK AND PROVIDE AND HELP HER OUT, AND THAT PUSHED ME IN TO THE FOOD TRUCK, AND I WENT TO MAKE THEM ON MY OWN, AND THE FIRST TIME WAS NOT THE BEST AND NEITHER WAS THE SECOND, AND WITH MY MOM SHE WOULD GUIDE ME THROUGH, AND I SLOWLY STARTED TO TAKE OVER THE BUSINESS BASICALLY.

SHE'S STILL HERE ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAYS, AND NOT AS MUCH AS SHE USED TO, AND I PUT MY OWN SPIN ON THE FOOD AND IT'S BEEN AMAZING, AND THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS I IMPROVED, BASICALLY, JUST FOR THE BEANS, BASICALLY THAT WE USE HERE, A LOT OF PEOPLE PUT THEM ON THE FIRE AND CALL IT A DAY, BUT WE HAVE TO ADD A LOT MORE OTHER THINGS AND INGREDIENTS THAT GIVES IT THAT POP, AND I CAN TASTE THE DIFFERENCE, YOU KNOW?

IT'S JUST THE LITTLE ASPECTS OF WORKING WITH MY MOM AND MARIA THAT HELPS ME OUT A LOT.

>> SO WHAT DOES YOUR MOM THINK OF HOW FAR THE TRUCK HAS COME?

>> YOU KNOW, WE HAVE BEEN TALKING, ACTUALLY.

LAST MONTH WE SAT DOWN AND HAD A CONVERSATION AND SHE'S PROUD OF HOW FAR THE TRUCK HAS COME OUT WITH THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY AND THE OTHER PEOPLE NOT FAMILIAR, AND THE STREET-STYLE TACOS WITH CILANTRO AND ONION, AND IT'S TRUTH TO THE ROOTS OF WOW HOCKA.

>> I LOVE IT.

IT JUST REPRESENTS -- EVERY TIME I AM OUT HERE, YOU KNOW, IT'S SOMETHING I LOVE TO DO.

I DON'T LOOK AT IT AS A JOB, BUT SERVING MY COMMUNITY.

>> YOU ARE NOT TAKING TWO DOLLARS FROM THE TIP JAR ANYMORE?

>> NOT ANYMORE.

>> GOOD.

>> IT'S AMAZING.

I LOVE IT WHEN PEOPLE SMILE WHEN THEY EAT THEIR FOOD.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING OUT HERE WITH ME TODAY ON THE WEST SIDE.

THANK YOU.

>>> THANKS FOR BEING WITH US.

AND REMEMBER, YOU CAN CATCH ALL OUR EPISODES ON COLUMBUSNEIGHBORHOODS.ORG >> PLUS, SEE OUR STORIES ON THE WOSU MOBILE APP, AND YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM.

>> WE'LL SEE YOU BACK HERE NEXT WEEK ON "COLUMBUS NEIGHBORHOODS."

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