Mitchell Owen has a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in art history and owns a food truck.

Even he admits it doesn’t really make sense.

But he and college buddy Eric Gallemore knew before they graduated from the University of Central Arkansas that neither one wanted to pursue what they’d been studying.

“We both loved the restaurant scene; it’s the hub of life,” Owen says. So they began to wonder if they could open one.

“The money up front is astronomical,” he says, “so we started toying around with other routes we could take.”

A retired bread truck parked in his uncle’s field in Texas helped chart their course, and Nomad’s Natural Plate was born last fall.

A food truck required a much less expensive startup, Owen says, “we both wanted to move to Fayetteville, and we knew it would be perfect if we could get right on Dickson Street where we’d have walking traffic.”

The idea for Greek-inspiredfood came from Owen’s sojourn in Florence, Italy, where “we’d always get latenight kabobs. There was really nothing like that open late night in Fayetteville, where people could leave whatever they’re doing, walk up the street and get a filling sandwich.”

Gallemore had some restaurant experience and, knowing their goal, Owen went out and got some of his own. Then they rebuilt the bread truck and opened their doors in the parking lot of Nightbird Books a couple of days before Bikes, Blues & BBQ last fall.

Nomad’s Natural Plate offers just a few menu items - a gyroat $7; falafel at $6; risotto bites, $5; pita fries, $3; and french fries, $3 - all with homemade sauces and falafel made fresh daily. There are no dessertsand no drinks. The cafe at Nightbird Books is happy to provide accoutrements, Owen says.

Owen and Gallemore are“tossing around a couple of ideas” for growth, but they’re not ready to say more than “we’re just kind of adventure seekers.”

Whats Up, Pages 18 on 05/17/2013