Business owner Paddy Sell vividly remembers as a child how she always wanted to have her own café or food truck. Growing up in Canada, Sell says she watched a lot of European movies with her mom, and that inevitably led to her naming her food truck “Paddy Wagon.”

“My family is originally from Guernsey,” Sell says. “When my mom and I would watch the old black-and-white TV shows, there would be a paddy wagon picking up people. My mom would say, ‘Look Paddy, there’s your truck.’

“My mom had a café while I was growing up, and she was my mentor for everything in the food industry,” Sell adds.

Sell, who bought the food truck from former vendor Camille’s on Wheels, launched her business last year during the pandemic, which involved multiple challenges.

“When you finally get into something, you go through a transition period so that it becomes better,” Sell says.

So, what can you find at the Paddy Wagon? Fish and chips ($14.50) is the bestseller.

“I grew up with fish and chips, and we always ate it with cod,” Sell says.

Philly cheesesteak ($12.50) with cheese, green peppers and onions, is another popular menu item.

“The best Philly cheesesteak I had was with quality meat,” Sell remembers. “If you use flank steak, it becomes tough; thinly cut New York steak works best.”

You can also find comfort food-inspired creations like spaghetti bombs and pizza bombs ($6.50 each); the latter is one of Sell’s newest menu items.

“For the spaghetti bombs, I make my own sauce and use three different kinds of meat and cheese. Then, I roll it into a ball, deep fry it and add mozzarella sticks,” Sell explains. “The pizza bombs have pepperoni, sausage, bacon, cheese, and sauce that’s rolled together and deep fried.”

You can find Paddy Wagon at Pearl Country Club’s Night Market on the last Wednesday of every month, Aloha Home Market in Kailua and Hawaii Str’Eats food truck festival by Premier Party Rentals at the West Oahu Veterans Center (5001 Iroquois Ave.). Stay updated with its location via Instagram (@_paddy.wagon_).