Happy Pig

Eric Sjaaheim’s mission statement for his food cart, Happy Pig, boils down to one rule: “The happier the pig, the better the bacon.”

Which means what, exactly?

“I guess I just believe that if you find the right product that’s sustainably raised and responsibly grown, the end product’s going to be good and you don’t need to dress it up,” he said.

Sjaaheim opened Happy Pig in November 2010 with the goal of offering a diverse menu of high-quality fast food made from local ingredients. In just a year and a half, it has built a strong reputation among IU students, especially for its macaroni and cheese and “Notorious P.I.G.” sandwich — a pork belly sandwich with maple syrup and a sunny-side-up egg.

But much of Happy Pig’s support comes from customers who appreciate the variety it offers. Every week, Sjaaheim cycles between three different menus for lunch, late nights and Sunday brunch.

He also offers vegetarian alternatives, as well as a rare beverage option: Mexican Coke, which is the only nonlocal item he sells.

Still, Happy Pig might just owe most of its success to its strong social media presence.

“We haven’t really done any marketing besides using Facebook and Twitter,” he said. “Early on, we tried to be out as much as possible and flier-ed a little bit, but Facebook and Twitter are so efficient, really, that we just post where we’re going to be about an hour before we go out.”

Though a single tweet is sure to bring business to wherever Sjaaheim chooses to set up at any given time, he has started to operate loosely around a regular schedule.

Weather permitting, hungry Hoosiers can usually find Happy Pig outside Atlas Bar on South College Avenue on Friday and Saturday nights and on Sunday for brunch, as well as outside the Sample Gates for lunch Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

It’s a routine Sjaaheim is just fine with for now. He said he has considered relocating to Chicago’s larger market but would rather not deal with its far stricter regulations for street vendors. And he sees no need to jump on board the recent food-truck craze.

“Since we have the cart, we get to work one-on-one with everybody, and it’s really a personal experience,” he said.

“People get to see the food they’re about to eat right in front of them and they get to talk to us, and if they’re curious, we tell them about where the product comes from.”