Artemis Yogurt opens food truck

Artemis Yogurt opens food truck featuring yogurt, coffee, dog cups

Artemis Yogurt began offering a unique food truck experience to customers in the Capital City this week.

Zach Rouse opened his food truck for business Tuesday along East Capitol Avenue. Artemis offers Mediterraneanstyle yogurt made by Rouse and topped with organic products, including berries and seeds.

Rouse began experimenting with yogurt after training for a marathon two years ago and shared with family and friends, who responded to his new interest with enthusiasm.

“What’s unique about my yogurt is that it’s a one-ingredient product — It’s just milk and the cultures I have developed through each batch of yogurt,” Rouse said. “Friends and family encouraged me to expand this into a business because it’s so healthy. It’s rich in probiotics and protein, and straining the whey takes a lot of the sugars out of it.”

Rouse, who lives in Columbia, worked for two years to get his business started and settled on Jefferson City as his preferred community to get the truck rolling.

While food trucks are becoming more prominent, Rouse said there were only a handful of vendors specifically sell- ing yogurt across the U.S.

He said he hoped to introduce more locally-produced toppings as the business takes off. The packaging used for its products are also fully compostable, Rouse said.

While Rouse plans to expand his menu down the line, the current lineup includes four flavors named after pop-culture staples, coffee, sugar-free hydration drinks, and small cups of yogurt and honey for dogs. Rouse offers dog cups for free on Fridays for customers who purchase a coffee and yogurt and bring their fourlegged friends by his truck.

Artemis also allows customers to pay via cryptocurrency, another of Rouse’s interests.

“It’s something kind of fun and a way to start a conversation,” Rouse said. “Part of the allure of having a food truck is getting to know your customers, and it’s another interesting way to start a discussion.”

While Rouse is a one-man show for the time being, he said he enjoyed the work and finally being able to share his product with customers.

“I love doing it, and I love seeing how much my customers enjoy it,” Rouse said. “The only way to be successful is to do something that you really enjoy and that you’re passionate about.”

Athena Yogurt is open 6:29 a.m.-1:29 p.m. Monday-Friday. It is located in the lot behind 615 E. Capitol Ave.

Baristocats Cat Cafe coming in spring

After a year-long delay, People Helping Paws Cat Rescue expects to open Baristocats Cat Cafe in the spring.

Rescue Director Sheila Martens said she hopes to open the cat cafe in late April or early May. She had originally hoped for it to open in May 2021, but several factors caused a delay.

Once the People Helping Paws Cat Rescue volunteers started the remodeling, they realized more work was needed to align with current codes than originally expected. At the same time, the cost of lumber and building supplies had increased significantly. The pandemic also made it hard to have many people working inside the building at once, and finding contractors was difficult.

“Everyone was short-staffed, therefore timelines were months behind,” Martens said.

They hired a general contractor, plumber, electrician and HVAC technician, and are completing everything else with volunteer labor as they collect donations to purchase building materials.

“Since we are all volunteers, we have to work our regular jobs, which limits our time to work at the cafe,” Martens said.

Baristocats, located at 702 E. McCarty St. next to Premium Pets, will serve coffee and pastries and include a cat lounge with a separate entrance where customers can hang out with the cats while they enjoy their coffee and pastries. Cats will alternate between living at their foster home and staying at the cafe for several days, and all cats at the cafe will be available for adoption.

If you’re interested in volunteering or donating to Baristocats, message the Baristocats Cat Cafe Facebook page.

Know of any business happenings around Jefferson City? Let us know at [email protected] or 573-7610243.