THE BROKEN SPROCKET

"I felt like there was a chain around my neck," said Tony Estrada, a Southmost native "I needed a change. I needed to be outside. I needed to see people moving."

Describing himself as an entrepreneur in the tradition of his father, Estrada owns The Broken Sprocket, a food truck park with a beer-and-wine bar located between Brownsville and Los Fresnos.

The Broken Sprocket is Brownsville's first food truck park and soon Estrada will have five trucks serving pizza, barbecue, wings, hamburgers, hot dogs, Mexican food and vegan specialties. A large deck and long bar with ample seating is the setting where Estrada hopes el pueblo will find comfort.

Opened Wednesday through Monday, Estrada envisions one day having volleyball courts and a swimming pool. Estrada notes that his establishment is located near the trail that begins at the federal building and ends at the Palo Alto Battlefield. He intends to provide bikers with a stop on their cycling journeys through Brownsville.

For Estrada, The Broken Sprocket is the product of a mid-life crisis. He had worked in the corporate world for decades. He had confined himself to an office with four walls closing around him. He was struggling with a failing marriage. It was time for a change. He discarded his tie and divorced his wife.

"On the outskirts of Austin toward Buda there is a food truck park called Moon Tower," continued Estrada. "I used to go there. There was nothing not to like about the place--the people, the food, the music. I'm an outdoors person. In the Southmost during the summer's hottest months we would sit in our backyards and eat and drink. You could count on the gulf breezes in the late afternoon. I decided that Brownsville needed a Moon Tower. Liberated from my burdens, I chose to return home and here I am with all my eggs in one basket. This is a do-or-die venture for me. I am here for the long haul."

It hasn't been an easy undertaking. Fred Martinez, his business partner and former college roommate, owned an engineering company with an expansive track of land behind the premises. Estrada liked the location because residents from the more affluent neighborhoods on the northside would have access to his enterprise.

"For guys and gals my age, there aren't many spots to gather," explained Estrada. "Don't get me wrong: I want to attract all age groups, but I want to create an ambience where good food, good drink and good company reign. I want to be one of the attractions that brings people back to Brownsville. We're a good town, but we need to find a way to make it better."

Estrada calls himself an anomaly. With hair hanging to his shoulders during his youth, he described himself in those halcyon days as a conservative hippie. The hair is gone, but the beliefs aren't. He laments that Brownsville, one of the poorest towns in the nation, isn't business friendly. It's too over-regulated.

"How is a bird going to fly if someone is clipping its wings?" posed Estrada. "But I persevered with the City because I had decided that I was making my stand in Brownsville. We had to negotiate through our differences, but we never lost our cool. As much as it was a learning curve for them because the food truck park was a new concept, I appreciated their challenges. I believe that I not only have a positive relationship with the City, but I believe we have a progressive relationship. I am optimistic about the direction we're moving."

Estrada hasn't decided on a theme for Wednesdays, but Thursdays are Ladies' Night with Karaoke. Fridays and Saturdays feature live music. Sundays and Mondays are football as well as the other sports that change with the seasons.

"As to music, I'm open to anything," said Estrada. "It has been mostly blues and country, but I'm into conjunto or any other genre that can make the folks feel at home. I like Joe Kenney's approach at Cobbleheads. He wants to be your home away from home. Since we're breathing the fresh air, we want to be your patio away from your patio. We are through our first phase and we are on our feet. I anticipate three more phases as we evolve into something big. I'm excited. I feel like I'm living now."

"It's my favorite watering hole on the northside," chuckled "Delta" Dave Handelman. "It's a quick and safe trip from my home in the Brownsville Country Club. When I'm not playing downtown at El Hueso or the Half Moon, you can find me at The Broken Sprocket listening to my old partner Doc Scully. I got me an option I didn't have before and I sure like having options."