The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

Customer response turned what began as a lark into a more serious venture for the Ostling family, mom Sherry and her three children, Terry, Tracy and Jeff.

"It all started as a joke," Tracy Ostling Tomlinson said. "My brother Jeff and I were always posting pictures of his food on Facebook.

"We thought it was a joke but our friends kept telling us we should do something."

Jeff has been cooking with batter since he was 14 or 15 years old, starting first with a water base then eventually moving on to beer. It's his recipe that they use.

Terry suggested they sell the batter fried fish at a booth at the Wahkiakum County Fair.

They made over $2,500 that weekend and people were waiting for more than an hour for their food.

"We felt horrible," Tracy said, "but some of our customers said they had longer waits at the Ship Inn. I couldn't believe they were comparing us to the Ship Inn."

Not long after, they were invited to set up a booth at the Wooden Boat Show and Buzzard Breath Chili Cookoff event at the Elochoman Marina.

"We were supposed to be there two days, Tracy said. "We ended up being there four or five days until the tent blew away."

Sherry laughed at the memory.

"We started looking at food carts and Terry thought we were nuts," Tracy said.

"I still feel the same way," Terry said, teasing.

Food carts, which have become very popular in bigger cities, were a lot more expensive than any of them had imagined. They looked at a couple that were $59,000 and over. When they found the one they eventually purchased, they brought Terry along to look at it.

Unfortunately, what passes for acceptable in Oregon does not even begin to meet Washington requirements. Finding this out was just the beginning of their learning curve.

"We thought we could just hook it up and go," Sherry said.

It took them six months and a lot of money to convert it to Washington standards. It had to be rewired and tested and plumbing had to be just right. The cart they had purchased was set up with propane, but when they learned that they would have to purchase a $7,000 hood to use it, they took it out.

"It took a lot of work," Tracy said.

And a lot of commitment. For the first time in 19 years, Jeff isn't planning to go to Alaska to fish and Tracy quit her job as a bank manager.

"Our goal is to have another one," Jeff said. They all start talking at once, throwing out ideas of what Jeff really means, and it is obvious that there is a rhythm to their conversation, a cadence they understand from spending so much time together. It's just a sign of how close they really are.

Their presence in front of the food truck elicits several honks and friendly waves from vehicles passing on SR 4. It's a sign that their warmth extends family limits.

"Every four to six weeks we want to find a non-profit that we can do a weekend sales profit percentage for," Tracy said. "We've been doing a lot of fundraisers."

They get their fish from Mike Clark at another local business, C&H Smoked Fish and the fish and chips come in tuna and salmon. And halibut when they can get it.

The owner of Pronto Pup has given them permission to sell his product as well.

"Our goal is to serve people," Tracy said. "Nobody goes away hungry."

Starting Monday, their hours will be:

Sunday/Monday - 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Tuesday through Thursday - 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Friday/Saturday - 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

To call in an order, the number is 360-562-6301. Check their Facebook page for daily specials. They will deliver locally.

Sherry shared a favorite recent memory of a new fan.

"A family stopped by and their little boy said, 'Usually we go to the Bowpicker and that is my favorite.'"

His father said, "Well maybe you will have a different favorite."

"I doubt it," the little boy answered.

Sherry came over to them a little later and asked if his food was okay.

"I loved it," he said.

"They came back the next day, and he came running up to me and said, 'It's my favorite!'''