Aidan Gallagher (left) and Firat Kozan pose in front of their new food truck, Yeti Boys, in Bristol on Wednesday, June 4. Gallagher and Kozan are familiar faces to Lincoln County who left to work in restaurants in Portland. After deciding now was the time to start their own business, they moved to New Harbor in February. (Johnathan Riley photo)
The Bristol peninsula has welcomed a new eatery.
When they aren’t catering events, Yeti Boys food truck owners Aidan Gallagher and Firat Koza serve up a seafood-forward menu at 3 Huddle Road in Bristol.
“One day we were just like, ‘We got to open a food truck,’” Gallagher said. “It just came to our brain, like, ‘We got to do it,’ and somehow we made it to this position today.”
The idea for the food truck was natural for the business partners who both have roots in Lincoln County. Gallagher, who graduated from Lincoln Academy in Newcastle in 2022, worked at Oysterhead Pizza Co. in Damariscotta. Kozan came from Ankara, Turkey and started working at Shuck Station in Newcastle two and a half years ago.
“I didn’t know what oysters were two years ago,” Kozan said, laughing.
Earlier this year, Gallagher and Kozan moved back to Lincoln County from Portland, where they worked together at Street & Co., a Mediterranean seafood restaurant in the Old Port, and Eventide Oyster Co., an oyster bar nearby.
The two said they were looking for a change from Portland, in part, because of the cost of living in the city. They also said they wanted to be their own boss.
“We were kind of thinking, we were just like, we have to do it now or never,” Gallagher said.
The two business partners quit their Portland jobs in January and moved to New Harbor in February. In the spring, they bought a food truck that formerly belonged to Brother Shucker, a raw bar, oyster, and full menu eatery.
“We saw (the truck) and fell in love with it,” Gallagher said.
The name of the business, Yeti Boys, is a nickname the two earned while working together in Portland, and it seemed appropriate fit for the food truck with a busy schedule that will keep it mobile all summer long.
“We wanted a bold name,” Kozan said.
The logo, drawn by a Turkish artist, according to Kozan, is of a yeti in an outline of the state of Maine that resembles an oyster shell. One version of the logo available as a sticker was drawn by Newcastle artist Glenn Chadbourne, who has famously illustrated for Stephen King novels.
Featuring local seafood like oysters and lobsters, the menu reflects Kozan and Gallagher’s connections with the area. For instance, much of their lobster, they said, comes from New Harbor lobsterman Jason Lord.
“I’ve known all these lobstermen all my life,” Gallagher said. “These are some of the best lobsters in Maine, and it helps to be working with a guy (Lord) who wants to see you succeed.”
In addition to others, Gallagher and Kozan said they also received direction from Nick Krunkkala, the owner of Oysterhead Pizza Co., in helping set up the menu and navigate the paperwork of starting a new business.
The menu is locally sourced whenever possible and consists of staples like a lobster roll, crab roll, lobster quesadilla, hot dogs, and the Yeti burger, which is two 4-oz smashed patties on a brioche bun with lettuce, tomato, and onion.
When their catering schedule allows, the Yeti Boys food truck will be parked at 3 Huddle Road in New Harbor, where food will be served from noon to 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday.
For more information and schedule updates, follow Yeti Boys Food Truck on Facebook, at @yetiboysfoodtruck on Instagram, or call 380-3232. For catering inquiries, email bookings@yetiboysfoodtruck.com.
