Lifelong Dreams Do Come True: The Story of Smash Wrap 'N Roll

Every Friday, Westword contributor Chris Byard spotlights one of the many food trucks that operate in the metro area's vibrant scene. His recent stops: El Tres Loras, Revolver, Alpine Eatery and Gilly's. Now he's on his way to Smash Wrap 'n Roll.

It took a few detours and more than a decade of dreaming, but in March, Emily Hernandez finally launched her food truck, Smash Wrap 'n Roll, joining the ever-growing list of woman-operated food trucks previously highlighted here, including Revolver, Delylah's, Maiz and Saucy Chops, each carving out space in Denver's dynamic street-food scene. For the past five months, Hernandez has been serving smash burgers, bacon-wrapped hot dogs, tacos and loaded fries with the kind of heart and hustle that keeps people coming back for more.

Hernandez was born and raised in Grand Junction, where she started working in kitchens at fifteen. "I had to get a special permit to work in the kitchen because of, like, state health codes or whatever. I scooped up desserts and washed dishes," she recalls of her first job at a nursing home. Once she turned eighteen, she began cooking. "I just started doing it. And from there I went to institutional kitchens, I went to restaurants. I've done it all. Baking and everything," she adds.

As she embraced the world of hospitality, Hernandez quickly developed dreams of her own. "My lifelong dream has been a food truck," she says. "Fifteen years ago, I got real close to it, and then, you know, life happened and it all fell through the cracks."
Although her dream had been simmering on the back burner for more than a decade, she never let it slip away. Things slowly began to change when her husband landed a painting job during the pandemic, prompting them to relocate to Denver. "We came for him to work, and then we just stayed. He painted for a little while, and then I decided to open my own paint company. So, I own a paint company," Hernandez explains. Once Hernandez Paint Bros. was established and steady, her food-truck dream started bubbling back to the surface. With life in a good place, she felt ready to finally revisit the idea she had held onto for so long.

Her first step wasn't a truck, but actually a small hot dog cart.

"It was like two years ago. I was on Facebook and saw this little hot dog cart that someone was building," Hernandez recalls. "It wasn't ready, but I went and bought it from them. I had to do some work on it. I needed to install gas lines and plumbing for hot water, the one thing I didn't know how to do. So, I took it to a food truck shop to see if they would do it and what they would charge me. And then, I was looking at food trucks."

While she intended to start small, fix the cart and eventually move up to a food truck, that plan changed after a conversation with her husband. "My husband said, 'Well, if that's what you're going to do anyway, let's just do it.' And so I started shopping around. I sold the hot dog cart the way it was. I got rid of that damn thing," she says.

Unable to find a truck that met her needs locally, Hernandez decided to sketch out her ideal setup and worked with a fabricator in Texas to bring it to life. She customized everything from the equipment to the kitchen layout. "I want the stove here, the fryer there. They built it from the wheels up," she says. After roughly a year, the call came that the truck was ready. She cried like a baby. "It was the week of Thanksgiving. We drove to Texas on Sunday, picked it up Monday, and brought it home."

While the truck was being built, Hernandez stayed busy finalizing her concept and menu. At first, she planned to run a taco truck. "I was looking around to see what was popular here, and there's a taco truck on every corner. I want to stand out, but I do not want to be basic," she says.

So she adjusted her plans and leaned on her background in kitchens and her love of street food, especially the kind her husband introduced her to from Mexico, specifically bacon-wrapped hot dogs. "I thought, okay, I'll do bacon-wrapped hot dogs and burgers. I'm going to have fries for burgers, so I can load some fries. Then I was like, everybody loves tacos, so I'll do those as well," says Hernandez.
She built a menu around what she calls "something for everybody," and Smash Wrap 'n Roll got rolling on March 1.

Today, Hernandez makes nearly everything from scratch, from the marinades and salsa to the aiolis and queso blanco. Her burgers are five ounces, smashed to order, and served on sturdy Kaiser rolls. While all seven offerings can satisfy any burger lover, the Buen Amigo has become a fan favorite. "It's a play off burgers you find in Mexico. It has pickled onions, mayo, lettuce, tomato, and American cheese. Then I top with grilled ham, a grilled hot dog, and grilled pineapple, drizzled with queso blanco," Hernandez explains.

But her number-one seller is the Superfly Fries. "Basically carne asada fries," she notes. "It's fries topped with carne asada, nacho cheese and queso blanco. It has pico de gallo, avocado mash, which is kind of like pico de gallo but just chile, garlic, lime, and avocado. That goes on top with crema Mexicana and cilantro."

Whether you're craving burgers, fries, tacos or hot dogs, Smash Wrap 'n Roll has something for everyone. "You get your bang for your buck. I know I'm new and people really don't know me, but I don't think they'll be disappointed," Hernandez promises. "I'm really proud of what I've accomplished in such a short amount of time."

Follow Smash Wrap 'n Roll on Instagram @smashwrapnroll; find out more on facebook.com/smashwraproll.