1. Food truck
serves barbecue
By BRANDON ROMAGNOLI
Contributing Writer
news@cortlandstandard.net
CORTLANDVILLE —
Joey Maynard, owner of Pig
Vycious food truck at 4312
Route 11, hopes to bring bar-
becue classics with a north-
eastern twist to the Cortland
community.
Maynard, 41, a Cortland
native, had his first job at the
age of 13 at a local restaurant,
working as an assistant in the
kitchen.
“I helped out in any way, I
would be making sandwiches
and preparing for dinner,” May-
nard explained. “After working
there, I knew I wanted to be in
the restaurant business.”
After living in Cortland,
Maynard moved down south
for a while, where he sampled
a variety of barbecue food
from South Carolina and Flor-
ida. He then moved out west
before deciding to move back
to the Cortland area.
“I had some of the best
barbecue of my life when I
lived in the South, I think
I’m bringing something to the
area that people will love just
like I do,” Maynard said.
Maynard purchased the
food truck in August of last
year from Dickey’s Barbe-
cue Pit restaurant, and since
then he says he has put more
than $35,000 into renova-
tions for the truck. The truck
is equipped with various
kitchen appliances, including
a smoker for slowly cooking
the meat, and is certified by
the state Health Department,
he said.
Maynard started the busi-
ness last year by setting his
truck up on the east side of
Route 11 south of Fisher Av-
enue, hoping for customers
to approach his truck. When
customers said they loved his
food, Maynard knew he had
something special to offer his
hometown.
“When I first started out,
people loved it,” Maynard
said. “I’m trying to stay lo-
cally for now, I want to be a
staple of the community.”
Maynard says he plans on
being a part of the commu-
nity by working with various
organizations, and wants to
help raise funds for commu-
nity events.
“I hope to do events with
the high school, YMCA, the
town, and donate some money
to some charities,” Maynard
said, “It’s important to take
care of the community and
where I came from.”
The menu for the food truck
consists of southern and north-
ern barbecue such as pulled
pork, New York style brisket,
ribs, and various sandwiches
and hot dogs. All the food is
fresh, Maynard said, and fea-
tures various homemade sauc-
es and salsas.
Pig Vycious had their grand
opening Wednesday.
SUNY Cortland
students offer
tax prep services
SUNY Cortland econom-
ics majors are preparing tax
returns for community mem-
bers at no cost to the taxpay-
ers, who are saving a total of
tens of thousands of dollars in
fees.
The 24 students, who all are
IRS-certified volunteer tax
preparers with Volunteer In-
come Tax Assistance (VITA)
Cortland County, are offering
their services to the communi-
ty on several occasions before
the IRS tax filing deadline on
April 15.
Additionally, the student
tax preparers held a separate
session for their classmates
Monday and are holding a
second and final one today.
Qualifying clients must have
taken in less than $53,000 in
taxable income for the 2014
tax year.
“Our program has a good
reputation of being approach-
able and hands-on with com-
munity members,” said Liz
Ingalls, a junior economics
major from Centerport. “Peo-
ple appreciate and get used to
that experience.”
The normal cost of the
students’ tax preparation
likely would approach $150,
Ingalls said. So far, the stu-
dents have prepared more
than 400 tax returns this sea-
son, which would add up to
at least $60,000 saved by lo-
cal residents.
SUNY Cortland students re-
ceived official IRS training in
the fall that required 10 class-
es and passing a preparer’s
exam. Most opted to take an
advanced exam as well. All of
their work is double-checked
by a supervisor.
“We work one-on-one with
a person’s W-2 forms and we
don’t take any money,” In-
galls said.
Many economics majors opt
to participate in the VITA pro-
gram to fulfill an elective that
requires at least 120 hours of
community service, but they
quickly discover crucial fi-
nance skills.
“There are so many little
things you need to know and
it’s taught me those,” said In-
galls, who will pursue an in-
ternship with Merrill Lynch
this summer. “They’re things
most people my age wouldn’t
know because they haven’t
had this experience.”
———
This periodic column fea-
tures developments at local
businesses. It runs Thursdays.
Send submissions to news@
cortlandstandard.net.
Bob Ellis/staff photographer
Joey Maynard and Natalie Potter prepare for a lunch crowd
in their food trailer called Pig Vycious. The Cortlandville
business sells a variety of barbecued pork and beef and
many sides.