There’s a new fast food joint on Route 1 in Wiscasset, beside Twisted Iron Customs, a custom shop for anything having to do with motorcycles.

The food stand, Twisted Iron Grille, is being run by Travis Benner. His brother, Michael, owns the shop and the property that both sit on.

Travis Benner is a chef, and the food stand is causing a bit of a sensation in Wiscassset, and with everyone who has the good sense to pull over and get a respite from the traffic on Route 1.

The combination of Benner's food and his outgoing personality is making the stand, open for two months, a popular place.

Benner said he spent a lot of time at his grandmother's on Cape Cod. She'd cook breakfast, then clean up, read the paper, and start lunch, then dinner. “One day I said, 'I want to be like you.' Everyone thought I was joking, but when I was a kid, I really wanted to be like her.”

He started helping friends cook at fairs, including the Rockland Lobster Festival, got a job at Little Caesar's, then the Capt. Daniel Stone Inn in Brunswick.

From there he went to the Robinhood Free Meetinghouse, where he made salads and desserts.

“Being behind a stove felt natural to me,” he said. “It's like an artist who just picks up a pencil and can draw. Everyone has their thing, they just have to find it. Mine was food.”

Robinhood Free Meetinghouse owner/Chef Michael Gagne was an inspiration to Benner. “He said to me, 'Train your palate.'”

Benner started learning how to train his palate. “It's like training for a marathon,” he said. “You just do it. It's all about what works with what.”

The menu at Twisted Iron Grille is different from most area menus. Benner said his brother originally tried to talk him into doing a hot dog stand.

“I said, 'Nah, you can get a hot dog anywhere. Let's do barbecue.'”

Benner smokes all his meats in a smoker behind the stand, using just wood and charcoal. Beef brisket, pulled pork and chicken, St. Louis style ribs, and pork belly are all smoked in-house.

One of the specialties keeping people coming back is the pork belly tacos.

And there’s the Cubano sandwich. Benner admits that recipe was stolen. “I stole it from the movie 'Chef,' he said. “But I put a spin on it. I use smoked meats in it. His Cubano contains both smoked beef brisket and pork belly, served on a ciabatta bun, with Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard.

Benner will cater to special needs, too. If you're a vegetarian, he'll happily make you a vegetarian sandwich or taco, or a gluten-free meal.

“You're the king,” he said. “You're the guest here. It doesn't matter whether I like it or not. If you want something different, that's fine. Just don't go too crazy on me.”

He makes a lobster sausage too. “Everybody said I was crazy — why would I put a delicate thing like lobster mixed with pork in a natural casing,” he said. “Well, it works, and it’s awesome. I grill it and serve it on a nice crispy bun with a little mayo, and it's harmonious.”

Benner's wife, Christie, helps out at the stand when she's not working at her other job as a registered home care nurse. “I want to support him as much as I can,” she said. The couple lives in Alna with their two children.

Driving by the food stand on Route 1, you'd probably think it doesn't look like the kind of place where you might get one of the best meals you've had in a while, but as Benner likes to say, “Don't judge a book by its cover.”

“It looks basic,” Benner said. “But it's really complex. It may not be gourmet to the eye, but it's gourmet in your mouth.”

“It's barbecue by the side of the road, but it's good, and it tastes good,” Christie said. “But being foodies, we look for the hole in the wall kinds of places.”

Christie said her husband is passionate about his food, and about customer service.

A woman sat in traffic for over an hour one day recently, after an accident in Wiscasset,  because she was determined to get the barbecue she'd heard about. “What do I say to a lady like that,” he said. “I was shocked and honored. Without the customers I'm not going to be here.”

Benner is passionate about family, too. Last Valentine's Day, he prepared a gourmet meal for his wife, two friends and his in-laws. He made a 14-course tapas meal with wine paired with each course. There was also some Beluga caviar that he paid $100 an ounce for. The meal was topped off with an Aztec chocolate crème brulee.

Benner said some of his best customers come from across Route 1, at Ames True Value. “We're going to put a zip line over Route 1,” he said. “So they can just zip over here any time they want.

“I love what I do,” he said. “It is a passion. You put the hard work in, and the results are going to come.”

Benner hopes to be open through New Year’s Eve, as long as the pipes don't freeze. 

The food stand is located at 424 Bath Road. Visit the Twisted Iron Grille on Facebook, or call (207) 380-3651.