On their first date 10 years ago, Thomas Dimit baked Theresa Carroll a decadent chocolate fudge pie.
“I guess it won her heart,” Dimit said.
“Lots of things won my heart but the chocolate fudge pie certainly helped,” Carroll added.
Come March, the couple will be the minds and stomachs behind The Tasteful Trolley, a 33-foot trolley that will roam the streets of Toledo filled with the aroma of freshly baked pies and Americana dishes.
Dimit discovered his love for baking when he was young; he was the only kid on his block who liked to play with his Betty Crocker bake set as much as his army men. He learned to bake from his great-aunt Dorothy, who The Tasteful Trolley was later named after.
“She taught him to bake when he was about 6 or 7 and it was an activity that they did together when he would visit her in southern Ohio,” Carroll said.
His first culinary adventure was baking Christmas cookies for his mother’s friends. After he mastered that skill, he began taking home economics classes in high school.
The hobby was a good way to meet girls, Dimit said.
For years he baked only for his family and friends, but began to enter and win competitive baking contests in his 20s. The love for baking grew as he got older, even as he pursued a career in education and a law degree from the University of Toledo.
A stroke at the age of 51 left Dimit unable to practice law.
“The law was pretty much not going to be part of my life anymore because of the damage to my brain,” he said. “I started to look around for something to do that I was good at and people would pay me for.”
His passion for baking was rekindled. Using baking as therapy, Dimit came up with the idea for a trolley to sell what he cooked.
The two wrestled with the idea of opening a bake shop but struggled with determining a perfect location. A mobile operation seemed more plausible for them. The trolley was meant to be something unique for Toledo, Carroll said.
The Tasteful Trolley combines Dimit’s baking expertise and Carroll’s passion for event planning. Carroll’s resume includes hospitality, health care and transportation, the latter of which will serve her well with The Tasteful Trolley.
Getting the trolley to Toledo was not a picturesque journey. The two braved thunderstorms and power outages while traveling by train to pick up their trolley, which they purchased in South Carolina. On the drive back, the trolley broke down and then later had a small fire under the dashboard.
Before becoming The Tasteful Trolley, the vehicle was used as both a city shuttle and a limousine. Making it a mobile kitchen took hard work, the couple said. It took additional time to get the vehicle up to code, Carroll said.
“She’ll be ready to hit the streets here very shortly,” Carroll added.
The Tasteful Trolley’s first public stop is scheduled for the Toledo Farmers’ Market on March 1, with a few private events already on the books.
The trolley’s menu will showcase the couple’s love of Americana cuisine. They have traveled extensively and wanted the trolley to feature fun foods like New Orleans-style jambalaya, Philadelphia-style cheesesteak and lobster rolls from Maine.
“Things like that really speak about true American food and so between the two of us we convert those into pie form,” Carroll said.
Pies featured on the menu include: The Loosey Goosey (a “loose meat” pie with seasoned ground beef and diced onions, celery and carrots), The Pizza Pie (with mozzarella, pepperoni and black olives), The Jersey Jim (with a deep-fried, all-beef hot dog with fried potatoes, sautéed green peppers and onions) and The Reuben (which has corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing.)
Other pies on the menu will serve as a cure for a sweet tooth, including: Monkeys Uncle (with lots of banana flavor), Cocoa Nut (with a hazelnut spread and marshmallow crème) and The Keys, Please (an authentic Key lime pie). The chocolate fudge pie from the couple’s first date is also on the menu.
The Tasteful Trolley has a goal of supporting local nonprofit organizations and causes. The couple is encouraging nonprofit organizations to submit a request to be featured among the “Charities of the Week” or “Charities of the Month.” Certain organizations will receive a donated 15 percent of the trolley’s net profit during those times. It is a way to thank Northwest Ohio for being supportive of the concept and business, Carroll said.
The Tasteful Trolley will also offer catering for corporate events, business meeting and sales blitzes, private parties, social events, wedding receptions and more. There are also “Twelve Months of Pie” and “Four Seasons of Pie” memberships for anyone interested.
For more information, visit thetastefultrolley.com.
