Freeport specialty baker launching Rollin' Along food truck

Jun. 24—Freeport resident Lori Zarichnak wasn't keen on any of the pumpkin rolls she ate while growing up in Western Pennsylvania, so she decided to do something about it.

"I like to bake, and I used my degree in chemistry to come up with a pumpkin roll recipe that I would like," Zarichnak said. "I kept playing around with the recipe."

Her co-workers served as culinary taste-testers, and many suggested she sell her cake rolls — so she did, doing all of her baking from home.

Now she's taking her business on the road, launching a mobile food truck dubbed Rollin' Along, a nod to all of the rolled food items baked and sold.

Rollin' Along is scheduled for its first official food event July 12 at the Rally at the Park event at Kunkle Park in Washington Township.

Before that, Zarichnak, 50, plans to host a soft opening for family and friends to work out the kinks on her bakery trailer.

For the past 15 years, she has contained business operations to her home in downtown Freeport, selling 14 flavors of rolled cakes — after tiring of focusing on pumpkin rolls, she began creating other specialty rolls.

"They're all from scratch and my own original recipes. Nothing is premade," Zarichnak said.

The top-selling cake roll flavor is chocolate peanut butter.

"I've been working on this for 16 months now and am finally ready to roll," Zarichnak said. "I like to bake. It's in my family, my German heritage, and I was always around bakers growing up."

After working as an executive in the health care industry for more than 20 years, Zarichnak said she is thrilled to take her baked goods on the road.

"I feel like baking is in my blood," she said. "I'm so proud and excited, yet nervous. I have to pay tribute to the special bakers in my life, my late Aunt Mary Grace and my Aunt Gudren in Germany who makes the most delicious cakes."

Zarichnak has visited Germany five times and said her aunts, grandmother and other German relatives serve as inspiration for her rolled recipes — all top-secret and created by Zarichnak.

"They're in my head and I bake from memory," she said.

The food truck will sell sandwiches rolls, breakfast rolls, cake and cookies.

The sandwich rolls feature Mancini dough and are stuffed with various fillings, such as ham and cheese. Breakfast rolls are filled with egg, breakfast meat and cheese.

Prices per item will range from $3.50 to $7.

"I like to buy the platter, and I like the chocolate and red velvet cake rolls," said Marcy Bachman, a longtime customer who has also been friends with Zarichnak since they were 8 years old.

"She's always wanted to do this. She had so much support because she is really good at what she does, and I'm going to support her in any way I can," Bachman said. "I'm proud of her to leap at this stage in her life. She's dedicated to her customers."

Zarichnak, who also works at Lowe's, said her goal is to have more than one food truck.

"I bake every ... night and I hope to do this full time one day and get my products into retail stores," she said.

Joyce Hanz is a native of Charleston, S.C. and is a features reporter covering the Pittsburgh region. She majored in media arts and graduated from the University of South Carolina. She can be reached at [email protected]