Michael McNamara, left, Cristal Vazquez and Sean McNamara stand in front of their food truck at Farmington Ford on Jan. 10. Named after Michael’s late brother, they use that to motivate them to give it everything they got. Brian Ponce/Franklin Journal

FARMINGTON — A new food truck making its way through the Farmington area is already making waves.

Sean McNamara, his father Michael S. McNamara, and his girlfriend Cristal Vazquez all work together in Ace’s HotSpot. Named after Michael’s late brother, the trio aim to bring high quality food to Franklin County and beyond.

Their menu features breakfast sandwiches, burgers, fried food, and dessert items. Some of their signature items include their chicken teriyaki with fried rice, 8-ounce wagyu beef burger, a chicken and waffle breakfast sandwich, and deep fried double stuffed Oreos.

A trained cook, Sean worked in plumbing and heating for four years before leaving that industry to return to his love of cooking.

“I realized I liked cooking more and then I finally talked my dad into coming up here and we named this business Ace’s HotSpot,” Sean elaborated. “[Michael’s] brother passed away a long time ago and I was just like, ‘Hey Dad, let’s name it after him. It’s [going to] give us that motive to get out there every single day.’ You know, we do it for him.”

Originally from Connecticut, Sean moved to Maine two years ago to pursue his passion for cooking, and he managed to get his father involved in the food truck as well.

“I basically talked my father into taking his whole life savings and making a life change,” Sean McNamara said. “I talked my dad into quitting his job after working there for 25 years in Connecticut, and I told him, ‘Hey, Dad, you know, I love cooking. I wanted you to come to Maine. Cash in, take your 401k, whatever it is, take all you can, and let’s go to Maine and build something for the family so that we can all be happy instead of working so hard 24/7.’”

Michael McNamara had worked in the lumber industry for over two decades, and when his son approached him with the idea of opening a food truck in Maine, he was initially hesitant.

“It was very scary for me,” Michael said. “I worked there for 22 years, and I was a salesman there. I drove, I did a little bit of everything. They didn’t want to see me leave because I kind of like put it to them, where I said I’m [going to] leave and try to start my own business. I’m going to enjoy my life, my son, my grandchildren, and just start my own business.

“They said, ‘no, no, you can’t leave’, so it took two or three months but after a while, I put it down and I said, ‘you know, I really got to go, I got the food trailer addition’, and they knew what was happening. But you know, they left the door open and said, ‘you’re a great worker. Hopefully everything works out.’”

To get the trailer was also a challenge, as the trailer they are currently operating was purchased in Texas. Michael was the one who found it and approached Sean with the idea.

“There’s a food truck in Dallas, Texas. He said, ‘You want to go get it?’ I said, ‘Dad, I want to cook. Let’s go get that thing. He was like ‘It’s Texas though.’”

With their truck, the duo made their way down to Texas and got the food truck, which Sean said he drove 36 straight hours back to get the trailer home.

“It took two days to go down, took two days to come back. I drove 36 hours straight on the way back to get this food truck, and now here we are.”

Also helping influence the menu is Sean’s girlfriend, Cristal Vazquez. Being of Puerto Rican descent, she wants to add Hispanic flavors to the menu.

“I know there’s not really a lot of Hispanic food out here,” she said. “So, I just want to bring that out here and just kind of just show what I could do.”

“I just want to bring that out to everybody. The rice, the meats, empanadas. Anything that will open everybody’s eyes to those different flavors,” she added.

Right now, Ace’s HotSpot is working with a large menu, but hope to tighten it up as they find out what the Farmington community really likes, as well as expand into different menu specials for their customers.

Ace’s HotSpot posts their location daily, trying to reach out to as many people as possible in Franklin County. The primary location they keep coming back to is Farmington Ford, Inc. at 531 Wilton Rd in Farmington.

“They came and they cleared this all out for us, moved all these cars. They moved everything for us. They are amazing, above, and beyond,” Sean stated.

Ace’s HotSpot posts regularly on Facebook, as well as having a website which provides contact information for ordering a head of time or providing catering services. You can also call them at 207-320-5521.