Get a Gyro Fix at the Samos Grill Food Truck

Vladimir Demin was an IT recruiter when he decided to stop working for other people, a decision that led to the launch of the Samos Grill food truck.

Originally from Russia, Demin grew up in Brooklyn and lived in New York for 25 years. "I kind of got tired of the rat race of New York," he says. "My commute to work was two and a half hours one way. Five hours a day commuting. Imagine three-quarters of your day just going to and from work?"

So in 2018, Demin made the move to Colorado. Then, "right before COVID, I took out a personal loan to refinance my credit cards, and I had about $10,000 that I could put toward my student loans," he recalls. "I'm like, screw that. Let's open a business."

After speaking with his friend/former business partner, who had a great deal of experience in the hospitality industry and saw potential in Demin's cooking abilities, the two decided to get into the food truck game.  In 2019, Demin used that $10,000 to buy a 6 foot by 6 foot trailer and "spent a lot of that money getting it up to code for Denver," he says.

The Mediterranean food trailer, which was then called Assos Grill, launched in July 2020, and "after a while, we realized, hey, our food is really good," Demin recalls. But the space, which only fit two people, was cramped and "claustrophobic," he admits. So using money from his 401(k) and a $20,000 loan from his parents, he bought a thirteen-foot bus that had formerly been used as a shuttle at Denver International Airport.
A year ago, Demin and his original business partner split. "We couldn't come to terms," he says, "and I had to change the name, but the quality has stayed the same." Now on his own, Demin decided to continue serving Mediterranean-style cuisine as Samos Grill, named for a Greek Island.

Prior to becoming a food truck owner, Demin had very limited experience in the hospitality industry. He'd briefly worked in catering halls as a busboy and had a stint as a waiter in restaurants. But "I grew up watching my mother cook and just kind of started dabbling myself," he says. "I've always been passionate about food, and then when I was ten years old, we were in Staten Island at the park just doing a family barbecue, and I was just a goof barbecuing bananas. I remember thinking to myself, if I could do this for a living, if I could barbecue, I'd be so lucky. Now look at me: I'm barbecuing for a living."

Primarily self-taught, Demin is quick to admit that he faced challenges when initially going out on his own. "Oh, it was a really steep learning curve, because my former business partner had like 27 years of experience," he admits. "He had high standards, and I learned a lot. But making things from scratch, doing all the prep work, it's a lot of work. And that's why the menu is limited. ... I make the lamb and beef, I make the chicken, I mix it, I marinate it. I make the sauces, and everything is sliced fresh daily."
Demin says he is finding his groove and perfecting his recipes. His favorite menu item is "the lamb and beef gyro, by far. It's a deconstructed gyro, because it's not cooked on a vertical spit, but instead cooked horizontally on the grill," he explains.

He uses a blend of 20 percent lamb and 80 percent beef, which is mixed, marinated and formed into a patty before being grilled and baked in the oven. "Once it's finished, I use a slicer to get consistent thin slices," he explains. "The inside is juicy, but the outside has a little crunch to it from the grill. But the secret is using the juice from the cooked lamb and beef to coat the sliced meat before serving. That's where all the flavor is." The lamb and beef gyro is wrapped in freshly baked pita bread with onions, tomatoes, arugula and a garlic yogurt sauce.

Other options on the Samos Grill menu include a chicken gyro, grilled cheese panini and a Mediterranean salad. "Basically, every item has four or five ingredients. It's good and good for you," Demin adds.

As he looks toward the future, he hopes to keep building his food truck business and, potentially, open a stall at a food hall. For now, though, you can find the truck's schedule on Instagram @samosgrill_.