The Night Owl food truck promises 'CoMo's best street meats and late night eats'

Rikki Stone absorbed all the tried-and-true advice about pursuing a proper career so you don't have to flip burgers all your life.

And she tried to follow that advice. Really she did.

But the call of kitchens — and a self-described "love for feeding people" — won out. Stone flips burgers, grills hot dogs and innovates all manner of specials as the proprietor of The Night Owl Eatery, a food truck that claims to serve "CoMo's best street meats and late night eats."

The Night Owl perches at Ninth and Locust from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, serving a loyal and diverse clientele.

Feeding fellow night owls

Stone drew on elements forged in her childhood when launching The Night Owl about four years ago.

Stone's mother was a successful entrepreneur and business owner, an identity that worked into her own DNA two ways. She tucked away a desire for her own future enterprise, and assumed many of the kitchen duties at home, quite literally feeding her family.

The Illinois native worked in a series of restaurants and bars starting as a teen, and considering pulling away, toward something more stable. But knowing what she loved and loving what she knew kept Stone moving through the food industry.

Upon moving to Columbia, she would leave her bartending gig some nights after last call and head into the heart of downtown for a meal from a vibrant food cart scene, she said. She watched and appreciated the relationship between chef and customer, food passing from one dedicated hand to another with really nothing or no one else between.

Stone purchased her own hot dog cart, but the COVID-19 pandemic halted her momentum and her nighttime "day job" dried up too. She considered selling the cart stationed in her garage, but supportive family encouraged her to hang tight and wait a little longer.

Stone's interest in working late into the night also hearkens back to childhood. She was a night owl well before The Night Owl, staying up through the wee hours reading by flashlight. The idea of rejecting a more conventional schedule and making her own time proved appealing.

Stone cherishes feeding people just like her, moving through the world when and how they please.

A menu stocked with 'street meats and late-night eats'

The Night Owl menu started small and easy, with hot dogs; the fast favorite comes with a low barrier to entry, Stone said, and is a dish customers instinctively know and understand.

Graduating to a truck and adding burgers to the menu, she offered weekly hot dog and burger specials to experiment with flavors and varieties. The Night Owl now offers a special of the week that often goes beyond those staples: green chili chicken quesadillas, pulled pork, "dawg pound totchos" featuring tater tots topped with spicy beef queso and jalapenos, and more.

Beyond the basics, the mainstay menu incorporates Chicago-style hot dogs, chicken Philly sandwiches, patty melts and more. And Stone continues to dress up burgers and dogs in fresh ways; one customer favorite is the Krabby Patty burger, which features crab rangoon dip, fried wontons and sriracha.

Neighbors of the night

The Night Owl serves what's perhaps an obvious clientele — college students and industry workers just through with their shifts — but the customer base has surprised Stone. She and her staff feed first responders, hospital workers and a variety of regulars who just enjoy being out at night.

One dad stops by with his child to buy 10 p.m. hot dogs, she said. Another gentleman buys six burgers at once, parceling them out through the week before returning to the truck.

"That’s been really, really cool for me — to feed my fellow night owls," Stone said.

Invariably, The Night Owl will name a special after a treasured customer: some ask for a certain return dish to celebrate a given moment, some Stone and Co. reach out to and want to honor. And at least five or six people named Jack claim the truck's Jack Mac is named for them, Stone said with a laugh, and not the recipe's pepper jack cheese.

Experiencing Columbia through the night's watches, Stone and staff see some expected sights — college kids doing college-kid things. They also encounter less visible Columbians, like our unhoused neighbors, and do what they can to look after them and meet little needs that loom large.

Stone continues to look for new ways to serve night owls. Food trucks often visit corporate sites to serve lunches; she wants to pop up at businesses to serve the night shift, she said. Whatever she can do to feed her kind of people.

Learn more about The Night Owl on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NightOwlEatery.

Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. He's on Twitter/X @aarikdanielsen.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: The Night Owl Eatery stays up to serve Columbia's late-night diners