18/06/2026
Supporting Local/small/American because that’s who we are and that’s who we want to support.
Long Post Warning!! TLDR; We support local/small/American Businesses as much as we can because we believe you supporting us means you also support local. Keeping business in the area is a high priority for us rather than give that overseas or to big business. We use the best quality ingredients we can find and are transparent about it all on our truck(window) in our posts and this post will explain our food supply as well.
Who is behind Norseman Lobster? This post is to give you all a glimpse of the owners behind the screen, and in the truck(Chef and window).
We both grew up in southern Mn, one to a farmer life and another to a small business family. After Daniel went to Culinary school, we met at Brown Printing in Waseca, had our first child(Evan) and then things turned unexpectedly. With Daniel working and April being a stay at home mom with a 1 year old, Brown Printing is now shuttering its doors on New Years Eve.
With the prospect of being unemployed we did something no one thought was a good idea at the time. We started Evan’s Eatery food truck in 2018. While very hard right away we knew we found what we loved doing right away. Having people excited and smiling to see and eat our food was infectious. After having our second child(Anora) we opened up Anora Roara ice cream Co. With the increased driving we were doing, we decided to build a brand new truck with another option on it.. Lobster!! Adding more towns, states, and stops was incredibly hard but we were no stranger to hard times.
With how we were raised in coming from farmers and small businesses we knew we had to support local/small/American when we had our own business. Small town values while bringing you big town eats.
Supporting local/small/American #1
Hope Creamery Hope, Minnesota. This gem of a business has been around since 1920! Hope Creamery has been supporting local Minnesota farmers from the turn of the century!!! While sourcing their milk from dairies not but 15 miles away from us, no other butter comes close to the hearts of Midwest folks like their local creamery.
Supporting local/small/American #2
Fellers Ranch Midwest Natural Wagyu- Conger, Minnesota. Fellers Ranch Minnesota’s Finest Wagyu with a partnership with Conger Meat Market makes farm to table a reality for us here. With no hormones or antibiotics along with the butchers strict adherence to quality this is an easy choice for us. Located in southern Minnesota just miles from the Iowa border as well we are very lucky to have businesses like these in our back yard.
Supporting small/local/American #3
Conger Meat Market - Conger- Conger, Minnesota.
This unassuming store front in the quaint town of Conger (151 people) is housing some of the best wagyu you will ever have. Conger Meat Market has been around since 1935 and is family owned and operated. One thing that is also important is that it is usda certified. Which means they can take in local farmers cattle and sell to us commercially.
When the pandemic hit and local farmers were getting shafted by huge corporations, cattle feed lots, and multimillion dollar meat packers, we knew that local Minnesota/Iowa farmers are vastly more important than giant corporations. Local butchers are crucial to making sure we support our local community. Big thanks to Neighbor's Meats LLC and Morgan's Meat Market for supporting us throughout the past 8 years as well.
We are able to get dry aged fresh ground wagyu from our butcher every week we serve you guys. It has absolutely no fillers or additives to it. 100% beef. Another key point is that when we order our beef for the week and they grind it to order, is that only 1 maybe 2 cows are part of that process in each patty you eat. Certain large restaurants and packers grind over 100 different cows together from more than 3 different countries in each patty you eat. We don’t believe that is how quality is made.
While being a few dollars more we believe supporting American businesses who support Local American Farmers is worth the extra money on our end.
Supporting local/small/American part #4
Labadie's Bakery- Lewiston, Maine.
They have been baking since 1925 and have been credited with making the very first whoopie pies!! We knew this was a match from the start with their focus on quality and their history of being a staple in their community as well.
Supporting local/small/American Part #5
-Maine Lobsterman/Maine Processing plant
You may have seen or will see a couple of new decorations on our truck. They are buoys from our trip to Maine(TSA were quite intrigued by our luggage when we went home,lol). Captain Dan (black and yellow) and Captain Makayla (pink and purple) took us on a tour of the Maine coast to get a feel of what lobstermen have to go through to get our lobster rolls into your mouth!
Captain Dan runs “Catch your Dinner” lobster boat tour while Captain Makayla runs her own boat in the next harbor over, she was just helping her uncle out for the day when we went. Moments like this when the kids were so well looked after and to really connect with the people who bring the food to the table is why we run this truck. Real connections from one small business to another is why supporting small/local/American is soo important to us. He even started his own food truck just 2 weeks before we got there, it was great to have that connection of food trucking and to see his journey as well.
Lobsters that are above a certain size, below a certain size, have eggs, or have a v notch on their tail(marked so the lobsterman know they had eggs at one point) need to be released to help the fishery sustain population of lobsters. We just so happened to catch a MONSTER and he was released, other countries would keep him but in Maine they do not overfish so they can make an extra buck, its about having their kids and grandkids catch that same lobster as the larger lobsters breed and lay more eggs for future generations.(lobsters can live to be over 100 years old!)
We stayed at another lobstermans cabins for the week as well, the youtuber Jacob Knowles. He has built quite the following for his honest and straightforward look at the daily challenges of lobster fishing. Check out his channel if you want to see him in action! The cabins were right on the harbor and the time he put into making that a magical place to create lasting memories is not lost on us.
Another spur of the moment trip out in Maine was to tour the processing plant where we get our lobster from, their health and safety standards are second to none and their transparency in their facility and their commitment to supporting the local lobsterman and sustainable practices to make lobster fishing available to future generations is quite refreshing in a world of corporate greed and profit over people standard we have all been too accustomed to see.
We absolutely love what we do, and we love to hear any and every story you guys share with us. From your time in Maine to your friends who said you had to try us, and anything inbetween. You guys doing the most simple things like commenting, liking, sharing, giving reviews, telling your friends about us is so helpful to any small business. We are grateful and humble to be able to share our journey with you all and will continue in the years to come.
Daniel & April
