For Bryce Harrison from Cheese Louise, a sharp idea with hometown friends turned into a food truck

Boston Globe

2 days ago

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We were lucky to stumble onto Hub Hall. We were seeing the Bruins. My buddy and I walked through, and the energy is unreal there during games. We really like to be associated with fun, super lively events through our food trucks. We saw an opportunity to do something similar in the Boston area where we could get our start in an environment that already has built-in fun and excitement.
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Bryce Harrison (in green) poses with the Cheese Louise team.
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Why grilled cheese? I mean, everybody loves grilled cheese, but share the backstory.
We were not chefs. My partners and I were all in college at the time. … I was studying international relations and economics. And, you know, we grew up in North Conway, right in the heart of the White Mountains. It's such a destination for tourists year-round. Everyone grows up working in restaurants. My dad was very involved in the restaurant industry in the area. He ran the Flatbread Company restaurant in town.
Story Land territory.
Story Land is a classic. The summer before we started Cheese Louise, I worked at a restaurant called the Moat Mountain barbecue, and we would get the 4:30 [Story Land] rush every day.
Anyway, none of us were actually chefs. We were kids, really. But we'd all worked various restaurant-adjacent jobs and grown up in households that really prioritized good meals. All three of us reminisce about getting together with our family and having dinner on the table nightly. So I think we all learned to cook. We learned the basics. We learned what good food tastes like.
We all were chatting about this one night, catching up on FaceTime. We had the thought: Could we bring something to North Conway during the summer? You go to any restaurant, and the wait is an hour. It seems like there are unlimited amounts of people who want to eat good food in the area, especially during the summer. That was really the origin. It wasn't necessarily: 'Let's start a grilled cheese food truck.' But it was: 'Let's start a food truck.'
As we started inventorying our skills and getting advice from people who were in the industry, we realized that for us to succeed with fairly limited skills, we would need to do something that's really simple.
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It's been a blessing, choosing such a simple thing like grilled cheese. You can iterate and improve and work on the details. We do a lot of double-blind samples with guests, and it feels sometimes like we're approaching it from a laboratory perspective. But it's been really effective to really perfect a simple food that everyone loves.
We've probably made 100 to 150 different variations of grilled cheese over the years. Our menu only has five options on it, so we've really picked the best five out of hundreds that we've tried.
Tell me about your menu.
We have a really simple menu. Boston actually has a slightly smaller menu, just because of the constraints of the small space we're operating in. We picked the best. We've got our classic grilled cheese; we call it the Vermonter. It's awesome Vermont cheddar cheese, muenster, and we use Fantini Bakery, a family-owned bakery in Haverhill. We contracted with them to make a specific grilled cheese sourdough that's unbelievable. It toasts up really well. It's great for anyone who just wants the classic experience.
We have the Baconator, which is that plus bacon. My personal favorite on the menu is the Blue Buffalo. It's actually really interesting; the way we make it, it's almost like a chicken salad. We make shredded Buffalo chicken, we add a little bit of bleu cheese and then chopped up celery. It's almost like a Buffalo chicken wing in a sandwich, and that chicken salad gets put right into the grilled cheese. Oh, man. It's the best.
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A cheesy spread at Cheese Louise, new at Hub Hall.
What's the origin of the name? 'Geez Louise'?
I mean, that's the phrase, right? But it's funny. As we were getting started, we were obviously telling everyone we could about it, just getting ideas. We were trying to come up with a name. In retrospect, we had all sorts of terrible names. You know, Cheese on Wheels, Wheels of Cheese. My partner's college buddy said, 'What if you call it Cheese Louise?' It's got that ring to it. It's catchy. It's kind of a fun play on words. It's playful.
Over the years, I think we realized how lucky we got with a simple name that people remember.
Let's talk about the different locations. You're in all these quaint New England areas, which I'm guessing have their own vibe. If you had to describe each area in a few words, what would you say?
This could get me into trouble. But let's see: Portland. I've spent time living in Portland and Portsmouth, and now in North Conway. It's interesting. I think Portland is a really awesome food city. The culinary scene there is unreal. ... I feel it has a younger energy. And it's also this beautiful, coastal, touristy Maine town, so it's busy. I think it's one of the best cities in New England, if not the best.
Portsmouth was our second full year-round location. And Portsmouth is gorgeous. It's a well-kept, put-together city. People are proud to be a part of it. If Portland is defined by youth, Portsmouth is a bit older. It's definitely got that historic feeling. … I feel like it takes time to kind of build your reputation in that community. People aren't just jumping at the next new thing. You've got to prove yourself a little bit in Portsmouth.
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North Conway is probably one of the most beautiful places in the world. You're surrounded by mountains. It's beautiful three seasons out of the year. You don't want to be there in the spring mud season. But other than that, it's one of the best places to be. I plan to make my life here. … The community has just been so welcoming. We really lucked out with the space we have here.
I've always thought of Boston as the big city. When you look at Boston compared with other cities, it's not that huge. But when you grow up in the woods in North Conway, it's the big city. For us, it's been really exciting to start to lay the foundations for Cheese Louise in Boston. … I could see Cheese Louise opening 5 or 10 locations in the Boston area over the next few years. It's just an awesome town. There are so many little subsections of it, and I'm just learning about it as I spend more time here.
Where do you eat when you're not working?
Well, my favorite place, if I'm on the road, honestly? I love Chipotle. It's consistent. It feels good. I could eat it every day.
If I'm trying to treat myself, I go crazy for good barbecue. If I'm in New Hampshire, in North Conway, I like Moat Mountain. In Portland,
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The guys out on the street giving away free hummus samples? I just love that. It's the best marketing you can do. They're just so friendly.
What's your go-to Chipotle order?
I've been into the barbacoa. I feel like I slept on the barbacoa for years. I get the barbacoa, I get half brown rice, veggies, green salsa, half sour cream, guac, and lettuce, in a burrito.
If you could only eat one type of cheese for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Cabot extra-sharp cheddar cheese.
What food do you refuse to eat?
Cottage cheese. I don't mind the flavor. I just can't get that texture down.
Interview was edited.
Kara Baskin can be reached at