Encompassed in the smoke of sizzling meat and eggs on a grill, the staff of Jersey Cowboy prepares East Coast-inspired meals while collecting no tips and giving back to the community.

Jersey Cowboy’s menu features a wide variety of East Coast-inspired breakfast sandwiches, sporting unique names like the The Jersey and The Plain Jane, with modification options like Ma’s Style or Pop’s Style.

Since the food truck’s opening, the menu has also expanded to include smash burgers, deep-fried hot dogs and french fries. Yet the truck’s main attraction is The Pork Roll, a delicacy the FDA classifies as not meeting the definition of ham.

“Pork roll is a processed meat product made from ground pork, spices and sugar, cured and formed into a cylindrical shape and typically cooked by frying,” co-owner Liam Hye said. “Ham, on the other hand, is the hind leg of a pig that’s been cured and sometimes cooked. It can be sold bone-in or boneless and may be smoked or unsmoked.”

“When we eliminated tipping, we discovered a lot of people still did not want their change and insisted on handing us cash, so we started collecting cash donations. We decided to use these donations to purchase resources for homeless shelters as a way to give back to our community.” -Taylor Wagner, Jersey Cowboy co-owner

The truck can often be found at the Larimer County Farmers’ Market, breweries and other events across Northern Colorado.

“We want everyone to feel loved in the relationship they share with the food they eat,” Hye said. “Eating is a basic human need, and we believe everyone deserves the chance to enjoy some delicious food.”

Co-owners Hye and Colorado State University alumna Taylor Wagner have entrenched communal values deep into the business, as their employees’ pay is not dependent on tips, and the option has been reshaped into a donation system for customers.

“From a customer perspective, it’s always frustrating trying to figure out when and how much to tip,” Wagner said. “From a worker perspective, it’s frustrating to rely on a customer’s mood for a paycheck. We believe tipping is unfair and unnecessary, so we have built our business model in such a way that we do not rely on tips to pay our team members.”

For Hye, the decision to eliminate tipping from the cart’s business model came from his own personal experience with its unpredictability.

“I served a large party at a restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee,” Hye said. “They took up three and half to four hours of my shift, racked up a bill of over $2,000 and, despite all the work, they tipped a total of $25 while I was making just $3.13 per hour. It was frustrating and unfair to have my income rely on how generous those customers felt that day.”

Jersey Cowboy’s employees have seen the positive effects of eliminating tips, as their wages are substantially higher than others in the industry.

“Our team members earn hourly wages 15% higher than the average restaurant worker in Colorado to account for the lack of tips,” Wagner said. “They also have the opportunity to earn commission on all of our merch items.”

These ventures, both within their own business and beyond, align closely with the values of Hye and Wagner and their belief in how a business should interact with the locals who support it.

“I believe small businesses like us have a unique opportunity to break the mold and find creative ways to support their local communities that the larger corporations are possibly unaware of or uninterested in trying,” Wagner said. “Businesses should be in tune with the needs of their community and do what they can to help.”

The communal impact of Jersey Cowboy is felt beyond their employees, as the business also contributes any loose change left by customers toward essential resources for those in need. 

“When we eliminated tipping, we discovered a lot of people still did not want their change and insisted on handing us cash, so we started collecting cash donations,” Wagner said. “We decided to use these donations to purchase resources for homeless shelters as a way to give back to our community.”

This change goes toward items like clean clothes, sleeping bags, nonperishable food items and first-aid kits that Wagner and Nye donate to local nonprofits.

“I go to the Jersey Cowboy every week,” said Maya Sanchez, a CSU food science and human nutrition student. “They pretty much know my order now by heart.”

From supporting customers to the local community, these core values radiate throughout the owners, employees and customers of the food truck. Jersey Cowboy is a welcoming environment, and change is constant.

“I have never once become bored of our menu — Liam is always experimenting with specials and new menu items,” Wagner said. “So even if you have tried Jersey Cowboy before, there is always a reason to return and try something new.”

Reach Kate Fisher at life@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.