Food trucks have become one of the most popular forms of restaurants lately. Not only does it offer a quick drive-thru option but it serves restaurant-quality meals on wheels. The Southern Spread dishes salads, sides, burgers and some typical grilled cheese sandwiches. Born from a family’s love for cooking and a desire to bring people together, the owners hope to spread a little love in every meal.
Jill Benard is a native of Erat. She has enjoyed cooking as a hobby for as long as she can remember. Benard tried other careers, but his heart was always in the kitchen. His journey with The Southern Spread began in 2018 as a home bakery.
“I started by accident,” Benard said with a laugh. “Honestly I just posted some kind of dessert on Facebook. And then people started asking me to make desserts. I mean, it just snowballed from there, and then the more I did it, the better my skills got. Eventually, I started doing good . Amazing cakes. So for the first three and a half years, I made special desserts, birthday cakes and wedding cakes. Then whenever COVID hit, my calendar suddenly went blank.”
In the spring of 2019 Bernard started thinking about introducing non-dessert items to the menu so he could show off some other skills. He originally wanted to open an independent restaurant near his hometown. As he set the plan in motion, a few curve balls began to appear and it sent him back to the drawing board.
When events were canceled during the pandemic and more people had smaller celebrations, he knew it was time to change the business model.
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Benard then started thinking about having a food truck as a kick-off point for a new restaurant. He considers himself a person of faith and trusts God to help this dream come true,
“I looked at trucks for almost a year before buying one,” he says. “I actually had a couple of them that I thought I was going to buy. But for some reason or another, it never happened.”
“I’m a pretty spiritual person. So I was like, God might be telling me this isn’t he, you know? I kept looking and I found this one and it was absolutely perfect.”
The Southern Spread opened in the summer of 2021. It was met with great reviews, according to Benard. He designed a menu of classic lunch items like burgers and salads with creative fries and grilled cheese sandwiches.
Some of their most popular items include The Roma: a seafood-stuffed grilled cheese; Cajun Cochon: grilled cheese stuffed with fresh boudin; classic hamburger; and PooYie’s signature fries topped with cheese, slow-roasted beef, runny egg, shallots, pickled jalapenos and green onions.
Being able to give back to others has always been important to Benard, and he has incorporated that into The Southern Spread. He always considered Erat and Acadiana home and did what he could to help his community.
Her project “Blessed Bowls” offers free meals to those who do not have access to hot food. He encourages those who can pay for food up front to help those in need.
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Southern Spread can often be found at the Grub Lot in Erath and at Food Truck Fridays in Moncus Park. For hours, location and catering availability visit facebook.com/thesouthernspread. To view the full menu and order online visit thesouthernspread.com.
Connect with WaTeasa Freeman by email wfreeman@theadvertiser.com, Twitter @wteasaf TikTok @theadvertisereats
