ABOVE: Owner Anthony Smith and one of his workers pose in front of The Spot on 3rd food trailer on Downtown Plaza in Fairmont. The business offers an assortment of food as well as ice cream.

FAIRMONT — Anthony Smith is crossing off another item on his bucket list, and introducing a new business that has arrived in the heart of Fairmont. Smith is the founder and cook for The Spot on 3rd, a growing trailer restaurant stop located at the intersection between East 3rd Street and Downtown Plaza.

It offers an assortment of meals and ice cream desserts, with a patio area for customers to socialize with their own company. Smith hopes his business, now up and running, proves to be a welcome addition for Fairmont residents.

“It’s a lot of work,” he said, commenting on the effort it takes to begin a business.

Smith is a 1998 Fairmont High School graduate. Following graduation, Smith left Fairmont immediately and moved to Minneapolis, where he settled down and started a family. After he and his household grew tired of living in the bustling Twin Cities, Smith returned to Fairmont in 2015. Then he began the Hogtown power wash company, which ended in 2018. Smith initially worked at Merchant Services before his pursued his culinary passions. He shared starting this was part of his bucket list. Much of the business’ features were a work in progress, but he’s hoping to surprise the community with future plans and expansions.

Following a series of events for him and his family after moving to Fairmont, Smith stated that his personality changed into that of a bitter one in 2018 until he suddenly had a change of heart shortly afterward.

“A switch flipped, and I felt like I wanted to help people and the community,” Smith stated.

Smith said that he was decently close with many notable people in Martin County, and grew an interest in city endeavors.

“I spoke with people downtown, I spoke with councilmen. I had an interest in a trail system. Eventually, I decided I wanted to be an entrepreneur,” Smith said. He briefly humored the idea of becoming a council member but had a vocation for a culinary career instead.

“I thought it’d be cool to be a cook,” he said.

In April, Smith began work on his business. Because of his family’s experience with building (on a tree farm in Wisconsin), Smith built his food trailer himself. After installing the patio space, concrete, benches, flower beds and more-The Spot on 3rd opened for business officially in July.

“I was working from 6 am to midnight. I was like, ‘When will we open? When will we open?'” Smith recalled. When he finally opened his business, he described it to be a surreal experience.

Presently, his business partner resides in China. Smith and his team will move the outdoor seating and attraction indoors (in the building beside the trailer) when the season changes. Smith said his business partner wants to introduce coffee features, and Smith would like to keep the cooking outdoors with customers seated inside. He noted he wants to expand some offerings including the area and the menu, as well as an attraction/game area for families and children.

Smith shared that he hopes to add color to the downtown area of Fairmont, and transform the town into the ‘it’ town of Martin County.

“I want people to wish they lived here and want to come to Fairmont,” Smith stated.

Joshua Schuetz, of the Martin County Economic Development Authority, affiliates with Smith and his business.

“Small businesses are the backbone of the economy,” Schuetz stated. “I’m proud of how far Anthony has come. [His business] is a great amenity [to Fairmont].”

Smith remarked that he has received a generous amount of positive feedback and support from his customers who had stopped by his patio and food trailer, and also on his Facebook page. He said the biggest turnouts are between 6:30 pm and 8 pm, with several visiting the trailer for lunch.

Including the incredible feedback from patrons, Smith and his workers received a client with a daughter who couldn’t ingest dairy. Because of her condition, Smith introduced a new flavor of ice cream ‘Ultimate Oreo Oat’. The client reported that their daughter loved the flavor, which provoked more sales in the treat.

So far he believes that working at The Spot on 3rd and feeding his customers has been a rewarding experience for himself and his team.

“You’re nurturing people’s needs,” Smith said, “It’s an art, it feels like I’m not working sometimes.”

Smith looks forward to watching his business progress in the future. Right now it’s open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.

“Everyone needs to eat. The goal is to bring a smile to someone’s face. I like eating good food, and it makes my day,” Smith added.