Continued from Page 10
“It goes great with the climate here,”
Christine Karna said. “It’s something
that’s awesome during the cold, chilly
winter months, yet it’s not too heavy for
the summer either. We’ve been able to
stay open year-round.”
Originally, the couple expected they
would regularly drive the cart around to
various locations. But they haven’t moved
since plugging in at the parking lot next
to Astoria Eco Wash and the longstanding
El Asadero Mexican food truck on Marine
Drive.
“It’s worked out in our favor to have
more of a pod situation here,” Christine
Karna said.
Bucket Bites receives enough foot traf-
fi c in its existing location to keep them
busy. They reciprocate by focusing on
community fi rst.
“We love tourist traffi c but the locals
are the ones who keep us open year-
round,” Christine Karna said.
When they fi rst opened, their daugh-
ter Kate helped out occasionally when she
was home from Portland State University
but she’s since graduated. On a fi ve-day-
per-week basis, keeping Bucket Bites up,
running and serving delicious pasties is
done entirely by the couple.
That setup has been advantageous over
the past year in light of the coronavirus
pandemic. The couple closed for about
a month and a half last spring as they
waited to get a better sense of the situa-
tion. But since they already live together,
there was less stress associated with oper-
ating the food cart and working in close
quarters once they reopened. They also
didn’t have to worry about laying off
employees.
option with roast beef, potato, rutabaga
and onion; and the Slater, a regionally
infl uenced pasty with ground beef and
pork, bacon, diced potatoes, crispy fried
onions and cheddar cheese.
There are always a couple of other
savory pasties, all of which feature a fl aky
butter short-crust. They also have sides
like soup, green salad, homemade gravy.
The couple serves a revolving slate of
desserts from Whoopie pies and apple
other relatives to make Finnish delica-
cies, like cardamom bread and joulu-
torttu. The menu is posted each day on
the Bucket Bites Facebook page.
The couple arrives at the food cart
a few hours before opening to prep for
the day and then they continually make
batches of pasties while open. At Bucket
Bites, they are committed to avoiding
food waste as much as possible, so “once
the (pasties) are gone, they’re gone,”
Christine Karna said.
Chris Karna added they track and
chart data to try and estimate the exact
amount of food to make each day “but
it’s chaotic.” There are still days they run
out before closing.
That’s just one of the challenges of
running a small business, which has
been especially complicated in the past
year. Having community support makes
the process that much more reward-
ing. Christine Karna said positive feed-
back is “always a little overwhelm-
ing” but winning Best Food Cart for the
2020 Readers’ Choice Awards, and being
nominated for Best Dessert and Best
Lunch Spot feels extra special under the
circumstances.
“Especially during this last year, with
everything being so up in the air — it’s a
little cooler this year,” she said.
‘IT GOES GREAT WITH THE CLIMATE HERE. IT’S
SOMETHING THAT’S AWESOME DURING THE
COLD, CHILLY WINTER MONTHS, YET IT’S NOT
TOO HEAVY FOR THE SUMMER EITHER. WE’VE
BEEN ABLE TO STAY OPEN YEAR-ROUND.’
Christine Karna
Bucket Bites
All the food is made fresh, onsite every
day at Bucket Bites. The menu changes
slightly from day to day, although there
are a couple of staples such as the Uncle
Oggie, the most traditionally Cornish
dumplings to cream puffs and sweet pas-
ties fi lled with fruit.
Chris Karna, whose family is from
Astoria, will use recipes passed down
from his great aunt, great grandma and
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