Listen to this story as it was recorded for WKNC’s Eye on the Triangle:
Mike Stenke knew more about technical writing than pizza when he was laid off a few years ago. He came home with a change in employment status, but nothing had changed about the family and newborn child he had to raise.
Nowadays, Mike Stenke can be found driving around the Triangle area in a pizza truck, largely sought after by reporters, photographers and food magazines including Food & Wine. Not only are journalists tracking down Stenke’s truck, but so are N.C. State students. On Tuesdays, Centennial campus embraces Klausie’s, the food truck Stenke drives around, named after and inspired by his son.
After eighteen years of working for an information technology department, Stenke was put out of work. Driven in part by his family and part by ambition, Stenke knew he had to take a different career path.
”The kind of job that I had, it was always somebody else in charge,” Stenke said. “When the project would end, my contract would end. And I was sick of that. I wanted to take control of my own destiny.”
At that time, Stenke and his wife had an 18-month-old son to take care of. Thus, his family was motivation enough for him to take his profession into his own hands. So he turned to his background – a childhood surrounded by food and twenty years laden with restaurant knowledge from working multiple part-time jobs. Having tried his hand in everything from making biscuits at Hardee’s to owning concession stands at the RBC center during sporting events, Stenke had seen his share of the food business. All of them would eventually lead him to his current position.
“All these kinds of things helped build me to own a food truck,” said Stenke.
However, his isn’t just any type of food truck. Upon reminiscing, Stenke found square-pan pizza original to his hometown of Detroit to be an unforgettable memory. What was once a dare from his friend to remake the same type of pizza is now a 3-by-5-inch reality currently being sold daily from his truck.
Nevertheless, before attaining a successful food truck, obstacles typical to any entrepreneurship seemed to stymie Stenke’s aspirations relentlessly. With no money to start a restaurant and only a modest amount left on his home equity credit card, Stenke’s wife encouraged him to start the business despite their limited resources.
“I didn’t come from a wealthy family or anything,” Stenke said. “There wasn’t a golden parachute waiting for me.”
But it wasn’t long before Stenke stumbled upon opportunity. A used food truck available for purchase was found in Tampa, Florida, complete with an oven, cooler and fridge.
“It even had pizza boxes, so I didn’t have to buy boxes,” Stenke said with a smile.
Free pizza boxes, however, were not enough to make up for the problems Stenke would eventually run into. From failed truck inspections to vehicle breakdowns, discouragement became an increasing reality more tangible than any hint of success for Stenke. Furthermore, Raleigh’s city ordinances dismissed his idea of a food truck almost immediately.
“No is about the easiest thing anyone can say,” Stenke said. “I’ve been told no from the very beginning. My friend Dan – first thing he said was ‘no, you’re not gonna be able to make that type of pizza.’ Even my own city said no to me.”
While the city prohibited Klausie’s from selling on city streets and private property, Stenke refused to abandon his pursuits.
“[There are] very little places the city will allow food trucks on,” Stenke said. “So I had to try and get as creative as I could in finding new ways to work and operate.”
Among the “creative” locations Klausie’s visits is N.C. State’s Centennial Campus, thanks to on-campus hospitality services.
“Klausie’s is allowed to serve on Centennial to help provide food to that campus, as there have been few food options in the past,” said Randy Lait, Senior Director of Campus Enterprises Hospitality Services.
On any given Tuesday from 11:00am to 1:30pm, a line can be found on Centennial Campus outside Klausie’s pizza truck. At three dollars a piece, slices of meat, Greek, veggie, pepperoni and cheese pizzas are baked fresh to order.
Students both familiar and unfamiliar to Centennial Campus enjoy Klausie’s on a weekly basis.
“What I really like is the crust,” John Gunawan, a junior in electrical engineering, said. “Compared to other pizzas, the crust is spongy but still crispy on the outside.”
Inspired by Detroit-style pizza from home, Stenke’s pizza is made differently than most. Before the sauce is spread, a thick layer of buttery, creamy cheese is laid on top of the crust. Then the sauce, made with coarse-ground tomatoes packed with flavor and a hint of white pepper comes on top.
Stenke attributes his pizzas to a pet peeve of his.
“I hate it when you get one, single piece of green pepper,” Stenke said. “When you bite off our pizza, you get a piece of everything. I decided with my pizza, all the veggies will be sliced up so you get a taste of everything in every bite.”
While Stenke serves his pizza, customers often see a tattoo of a Chinese character on his arm. Symbolizing the Taoist emblem translated into path or way, the tattoo coincides with Stenke’s life as his pizza truck serves to be a living testimony of paving one’s own path. Along with that, a lesson is taught on defeating the odds and all the adversity that inevitably come with creativity and entrepreneurship. According to Stenke, his narrative parallels the classic Detroit tale of overcoming and dealing with hardship.
In Stenke’s case, the product of paving his own career path came in the form of a pizza truck.
This Detroit-style pizza puts the sauce on top of the cheese at Klausie's Pizza truck at Centennial Campus. Photo by Brent Kitchen.
