TEXARKANA, Ark. - Interesting eateries continue to open their doors here, including in the burgeoning downtown scene. Just next to Crossties, a food truck business is now serving freshly made pizza, crafted by a man who has found his purpose.
Tyler Trout is the owner of Underground Pizza Company and he's a man who came with a dream and some deer meat.
"I hunted it myself," he said, commenting on one of the more exotic configurations he has tried with his pizzas in the process of developing his own recipes. "All my stuff is freshly made by myself. I use fresh cheeses, San Marzano tomatoes, make and bake my own dough, everything is fresh. The freshest pizza you will find in this area, in my opinion."
Trout earned a living in various ways before this, most notably as a martial arts instructor and providing security services. But he realized that the income was unreliable and he was getting burned out.
"I always wanted to own my own business, but I wasn't sure what," he said. When the COVID shutdown came early last year, he decided take a chance while he was at home.
"I began learning how to make pizzas in my kitchen," he said. "It was trial and error at first. I would make them, post the pictures. I wasn't happy with how they turned out, but I started getting offers from people to make pizza for them."
Over time, he found himself with a business. After about a year and a half of building a client base and gathering capital, he bought his food truck and set