A taste of Hawaii … in Lee Vining
You might not expect to find a food truck selling Kalua pig and Huli Huli chicken tacos at “The Gateway to Yosemite,” but Ohanas395 food truck has succeeded in bringing just such surprising flavors to Lee Vining as of mid-June.
And speaking of June, Ohanas395 will be parked at the June Lake Autumn Beer Festival this Saturday (Oct. 11).
Owner Rena McCullough began operating the food truck last winter in Bridgeport on Mondays and Tuesdays, and in Lee Vining on Wednesdays and Thursdays, but has now established herself in a more permanent location on the corner of the Shell gas station across from Nicely’s in Lee Vining.
“You can’t miss me, with my big, bright orange trailer,” McCullough said with a laugh. It’s true: the trailer is eye-catching, framed by a border of herbs and flowers potted in painted tires and cinderblocks.
The menu at Ohanas395 reflects the tastes of friends McCullough made while living in Hawaii. “They always had something smoked, something sweet, and something a little bit spicy,” she said. “I love that combination of flavors.”
With her Hawaiian Tacos, McCullough adds her own sweet Asian coleslaw, plus sweet pineapple, tomatillo, or hot red salsa to succulent, tender shredded pork and chicken. “Hawaiians use a lot of hot sauce,” she said; “they love it hot.”
McCullough also offers gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian options.
The menu is “Hawaiian food at its base, but a lot of it is just the crazy inner-workings of my mind,” she said. The products of such crazy inner-workings are specials like Bird of Paradise tacos, with mango and chili pepper chicken, and Loco Moco, a bed of rice topped with a tender, juicy smoked burger, egg, and brown gravy.
“What we serve is soul food, because we cook with love,” McCullough said. “We share our love through food.”
When asked why she chose to put a Hawaiian spin on taco truck classics, McCullough explained that she lived for many years in Hawaii. “My husband is from Hawaii,” she said; “born and raised. We met when I was 17 and he was 19.”
Robert McCullough had left his home with a bad case of ‘island fever,’ and ended up in Cambria, California for his senior year of high school. It just so happened that Rena McCullough had gotten a case of city fever in Vista, California, and had also moved to Cambria, where she enrolled in the same school.
“The first day I met him, I thought, ‘Wow, that’s an amazing guy,” McCullough said. The couple has been married for 25 years.
When Robert got a job in Hawaii in 1989, the couple married and moved there. The two worked in restaurants, beginning a family with their eldest child, Mariah, born on Oahu.
Then, island fever struck again. After seven years in Hawaii, Robert confessed he needed a change of pace, and showed Rena a job advertisement he’d circled in the Mammoth Times.
“My boss [at the time] told me, ‘If you love that man, you’ve got to follow him,’” McCullough said. So, in spite of her love for Hawaii, she followed her husband to the small town of June Lake in 1996, where she took a job with Andy Oldfield, owner of the historic Boulder Lodge and Sierra Inn.
“A week later, it snowed six feet,” McCullough recalled. “A week after that, Walker River washed out.”
In spite of this rude introduction to alpine country, McCullough said she and her family quickly fell in love with the area. In 1999, McCullough began coaching a women’s softball program at Lee Vining High School. The team went on to win eight consecutive league championships. She also coached girls basketball, with a team that won championships several times, and went to playoffs every season after the first.
“I still feel like a mother hen with every kid I’ve coached,” she said.
But when her own children left the nest, Mariah to law school, and younger daughter Natasha to college, McCullough realized it was time to live her dream. “I always wanted to have my own restaurant,” she said. Because starting up a restaurant is far from cheap, she decided to pursue a food truck instead.
In November of last year, she bought a nearly-new truck from a pair of brothers in Santa Barbara. At the time, she wondered why the brothers, like so many others, were selling their used food truck online. Now, she understands: “I drove home with it … and it’s been so much damn work since,” she said with a laugh. Preparing for the day requires patience and diligence. “For every hour you’re open, there’s at least another hour of prep work,” she said. But, she added, “I love every bit of it …
“It’s a family business. My daughters are helping me, and all the girls I’ve coached in the past help me.”
In fact, ‘Ohana’ means family in Hawaiian.
Former Lee Vining girls basketball team member Carson Roberts attested to this. Roberts was on the first girls basketball team in 1997. She now works at Ohanas395 full time.
“I’ve known and been close to [Rena] for a long time, so it’s been an honor that she came to me to help,” she said. “It really is all about family. Everybody’s willing to pitch in and make it work. It’s refreshing.”
Even Roberts’ one-year-old-daughter, Indie, pitches in. “We call her the Ohana’s Baby, because she’s there all the time,” Roberts said. “She likes to sit on the cash register so she can greet every customer.”
McCullough said she’ll be keeping Lee Vining as the truck’s home base, but hopes to spend more time in Mammoth this winter—and will continue traveling around to gatherings like the June Lake Autumn Beer Festival this weekend.
With almost a year under her belt, McCullough said the experience “has been really, really amazing. I can’t even imagine my life being in a better place. I feel blessed every day that I get to live my dream.”
Ohanas395 will be open from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, offering $5 fall specials on burgers, salads, and tacos. For more information on the truck’s whereabouts and food offerings, find Ohanas395 on Facebook.
