SHEBOYGAN — A Wisconsin food truck owner is showing remarkable resilience after his cheese curd trailer was destroyed by fire.
Doug Mathison, co-owner of Say Cheese Curd Company, suffered second-degree burns to his hands but was back in business just one day after the devastating incident.
"You've gotta make sure that every cheese curd is completely coated on every side or you'll have an infamous cheese blowout, which nobody wants," Mathison said.
For 15 years, the Mathison name has been tied to cheese curds. Doug and his wife own the Say Cheese Curd Company, sharing their hand-battered cheese curds with people across the country.
"We operate in multiple states, and until last night, had four different operations in Wisconsin," Mathison said.
Watch: Wisconsin cheese curd food truck owner determined to rebuild after devastating fire in Sheboygan
On Monday, Mathison brought the cheese curds to Sheboygan's Food Truck Night at Vollrath Park. As he started to heat up the fryer, disaster struck.
"Within two minutes, the thick black smoke was billowing as big as some of these trees," Mathison said.
The Sheboygan Fire Department responded and extinguished the flames, but by that time, the trailer was completely destroyed.
"They're made out of fiberglass, so it melted like a candle, very quickly. It was very, very scary — it was really hard to watch," Mathison said tearfully.
The cause of the fire remains unknown.
Mathison recovered a charred bag of change from the wreckage, noting "it still has the smell that was in the air last night."
Despite this setback, Mathison and his wife were determined to still participate in Grafton's "Food Trucks in the Park" event on Tuesday.
"We hope to rebuild and deliver the same product that people have known and have come to love."
