Biscuits @Mike’s Spikes Breakfast Sandwiches in Morning Endzone
Longmont Food Truck Hits the Spot All Over Town
On a chilly Colorado morning, under a flapping American flag, a plain white food truck idled on the edge of a gravel parking lot off South Sunset Street and Ken Pratt Boulevard, near Front Range Mercantile.
This unassuming food truck is Biscuits @Mike’s, the home of soft, flaky biscuits and hefty breakfast sandwiches that locals grab for a hearty start to the day.
At 9:45 a.m. on Tuesday, December 31, 2024, the temperature hovered around 34 degrees under a vast gray sky. Inside the food truck, Mike Simuns, the breakfast sandwich slinger, braved the elements hunched in a hoodie over a flattop grill.
Simuns moved purposefully in the cramped space, counting the seconds and waiting for the next Longmonster to hunt down a breakfast of eggs, chicken, or pig, all served on a freshly baked biscuit.
“In the summer, it’s like 30 degrees warmer in the truck than it is outside,” Simuns said. “So, the summer is worse than the winter. In the winter, you can always put on more layers.”
Launching a business during a global pandemic would deter most, but his food truck found a way to thrive in adversity.
“We started right after the virus kicked off… We were open for two days, and then they shut the whole country down,” Simuns recalled. “Because we’re in this nebulous area—operating outdoors—it allowed us to stay relevant. We set up in parks like Garden Acres and Centennial Park. I still do Centennial Park on the weekends.”
The process behind these heavenly biscuits is a blend of old-fashioned dedication and modern efficiency.
“I actually have a baker now,” Simuns explained. “When I first started, I made the biscuits beforehand. But now I’ve got a baker who comes in about 4:30 in the morning. By the time I get there, the baker’s already getting started and usually has everything up and ready for me. All I have to do is come in, load up the truck, and I’m ready to go.”
Everything is made from scratch at Mike’s commissary kitchen, which he describes as a compact but highly functional space located behind the Deli Zone.
“It’s not connected to the deli itself,” Simuns clarified. “It’s just a room in the back where we bake and prep. I can load everything onto a speed rack, push it to the truck, and be ready to roll in about 10 to 15 minutes.”
Simuns’s focus on simplicity and quality has earned him a loyal following. His biscuits, crafted with care, are complemented by a well-oiled machine fueled by passion, a knack for efficiency, and, of course, the love of a great biscuit.
This breakfast truck isn’t just about classic breakfast sandwiches. Customers seek out its secret menu, which features creative and customer-inspired dishes.
“The Heather is one of our secret menu items,” Simuns explained. “It’s a ham melt with fried chicken, honey, and strawberry jam. A customer named Heather ordered it every day for several months, so I named it after her.”
Other secret menu hits include “pulled pork with apple butter, an over-medium egg, and cheese,” and “fried chicken with over-medium egg and cheese.”
“We make our own apple butter, strawberry jam, and biscuits from scratch. Everything we can make, we make from scratch,” Simuns said.
During the early days, they even found a way to include furry friends.
“I started making dog biscuits and giving them away. Tons of dogs come up to the truck; the side of the truck is covered in scratches from where dogs jump up,” Simuns said.
Leftovers don’t go to waste, thanks to the app Too Good To Go, which connects people to food that would otherwise be discarded.
A Longmont/Lyons local, Simuns transitioned into entrepreneurship after spending years honing his skills in the food industry in the area.
“You get tired of making money for other people. The thing about working for yourself isn’t that you work less or make more. You work the same amount for the same pennies, but your ideas are your ideas. They don’t belong to someone else,” Simuns said. “If I have a good idea, it’s my idea to make money from. There’s a misconception that being your own boss means tons of freedom or money—it doesn’t. But all my decisions are mine, and that’s the most important thing to me.”
Starting and sustaining a food truck business is no easy feat—it’s a journey marked by challenges, consistency, and a deep commitment to the community.
“There’s no good roadmap for it,” Simuns shared. “For instance, one of the permits you have to get, you have to provide proof that you’re insured, but in order to be insured, you have to have that particular permit. It’s like, ‘What comes first?’ It’s tough to figure out the order, and there’s no guide to avoid making dumb mistakes.”
In an industry where many food trucks don’t make it, support from fellow food friends is invaluable.
“Almost every truck that I started alongside has closed shop. But Summit Tacos was one of the first places I turned to for help. They guided me through permits, where to spend money, where to save—it helps to have people in the industry to lead you through the tough stuff,” Simuns said.
Even with the trials and tribulations, the ultimate goal remains clear: transitioning to a storefront like Summit Tacos did circa 2019.
“The food truck should always be a steppingstone. There’s not enough money to be made on a food truck to really sustain yourself. A storefront is much more stable—you can have longer hours, more prep time, and more consistent income,” Simuns said. “It’s a high leap. You need to save money and leverage your resources. They’re going to want you to put up your house or personal assets. It’s tough, but worth it for stability.”
Simuns’s story of hard work, sacrifice, and an unwavering commitment to consistency paints a picture of what it takes to build a successful food truck business.
“I’m in a great position. I look good on the books. We’ve got money in the bank. It’s just a matter of finding the right place because a lot of these places are very expensive,” Simuns said.
Running a food truck comes with unique constraints.
“I can only be out for about six or seven hours of service because I can only hold 30 to 40 gallons of water in my tank,” Simuns explained.
Prepping and cleaning are limited compared to brick-and-mortar operations, and the high demands of delivery services like DoorDash add to the workload.
“DoorDash is crazy—it never stops. But I charge more for DoorDash. Customers are paying for convenience, and I pass that extra 30 percent they charge me back to them. Otherwise, that’s my profit margin.”
Simuns’s dedication has helped build a loyal customer base, with regulars coming on specific days.
“I have Tuesday regulars, Wednesday regulars, Friday regulars—it’s funny when I see a Friday regular on another day. It confuses me, like, ‘What day is it today?’” Simuns said with a smile.
For Simuns, repeat customers are the foundation of the business.
“I don’t make money off of one biscuit; I make money off every returning customer. It’s a high-volume gig,” Simuns explained.
Being a food truck owner means more than just good food—it requires relentless consistency.
“There’s got to be a dividing line when you’re working and when you’re not. When you have your own business, you can end up working forever. For me, the truck is great because I set my hours. I work six days a week, mornings only, and I’m done by 1:30 p.m. It’s a good setup,” Simuns said. “You need to be out there all the time. I’m out six days a week, all year round. I don’t take Christmas off.”
Every Christmas, Simuns gives out free breakfast sandwiches at Roosevelt Park— an event so popular that during the most recent giveaway, they ran out of biscuits in just a few hours. His dedication to giving back to the community remains a driving force behind this effort.
“It’s nice to be in a position to support the community that helped us survive and thrive,” Simuns said.
Behind the scenes, Mike’s mother helps him with tasks like taxes and other administrative duties. “She helps me out occasionally [on the truck],” Simuns said. “She worked with me on Christmas Day.”
Simuns works six days a week, six hours a day, taking only Mondays off. The last time he took a full week off was over a year and a half ago.
“It’s a grind day in and day out. But that’s my style. I need to be out every day. I can’t really take days off,” Simuns said.
For Simuns, consistency has been the key to his success.
“I’m here every single Tuesday from 6:30 to 11. I’ve been doing this spot for maybe four years. For me, breakfast is a consistent thing. People want consistency for breakfast. They don’t want to mess around. They want to know that wherever they wake up on a Tuesday, you’re going to be there,” Simuns said.
This philosophy extends to his schedule and work ethic.
“I’m trying to do the same spots all the time. I don’t do special events, weddings, or anything. This is where my money is made, and I need to be consistent. The second I stop being consistent, the second they stop coming.”
Simuns initially tried running two food trucks but found it wasn’t profitable.
“There’s just not enough money in [multiple] food trucks,” Simuns said. “Most of my money goes to labor. Running two trucks meant full-time employees, full-time insurance, and everything that goes with it. It just wasn’t profitable for me.”
Mike’s current truck generates an average of $1,000 per day, with weekends bringing in closer to $1,500 daily.
“We’re doing well over $20,000 a month. But it takes time to get there… In the beginning, there was never really a big leap. It was always a gradual build,” Simuns said.
Over the years, Mike’s dedication has slowly but surely built a loyal following through word of mouth.
“I had days where I was only doing $70,” Simuns recalled. “I had days where I watched the entirety of Space Jam on my phone without a single customer showing up. You have to be willing to put in that time to get to the other end. Now, after nearly five years, people know I’m here every Tuesday.”
Mike attributes his success to his willingness to sacrifice. This mindset has paid off.
“It’s working out now. As long as I’m willing to keep waking up and doing this, I feel like I’ll have a job forever,” Simuns said.
Schedule:
Tuesdays: Front Range Mercantile, 1201 South Sunset Street
Wednesdays: Hover Crossing, 1844 Hover Street
Thursdays: Native Roots, 19 South Sunset Street
Fridays: Lyons Quilting, Lyons
Saturdays: Centennial Park, 1135 Alpine Street
Sundays: Niwot Liquor, Niwot
Hours:
Weekdays: 6:30 AM to 11:00 AM
Weekends: 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Well written. You gave an insight to man himself and I love that.