Food truck with smoked meats new addition to farmers’ market in Medina

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Scott Gypson recently acquired this high-tech smoker, in which he smokes brisket, pork and chicken. He learned the technique while living in Tennessee. In the background is his new food truck.

MEDINA – When Medina’s Canal Village Farmer’s Market moves from North Main Street to its summer location on West Center Street and West Avenue and the end of the month, it will have a new business to serve customers.

Scott Gypson of Gasport will be there selling breakfast sandwiches and smoked meats.

Gypson is a native of Middleport and son of Lowell and Wendy Gypson, having grown up there and graduating from Royalton-Hartland Central School. He entered Roberts Wesleyan College to study music, and for several years, playing bass in a band was his livelihood.

He had started taking violin lessons in third grade, but switched to bass to play in Roberts Wesleyan’s band. He played music all over the country during the summer of 2008. He returned to college and was sitting in algebra class, when the thought came to him, “What am I doing here?”

Scott Gypson of Gasport stands in his food truck, which he recently started to sell his smoked meats. He will be set up at Medina’s Canal Village Farmers’ Market for most Saturdays during the summer.

He had visited Nashville and fell in love with city,  and in 2009 he moved there, where he played music for 14 years. He also was on Broadway and made some recordings.

Gypson comes by his musical talent naturally. His mother was music teacher at Roy-Hart and was accompanist for all their musicals. His dad was pastor of Hartland Bible Church.

Gypson’s wife Brooke was his high school sweetheart. They were married in March 2018 after breaking up for 10 years and then reconnecting. They moved back to New York in December 2022 and now live on Earnest Road with their two children.

“When you grow up in the country, like Middleport, and then live in an urban city like Nashville, you can’t get out of there fast enough,” Gypson said.

They moved back to the Middleport area in October 2023.

Gypson became familiar with smoked meats while living in Nashville.

“I started it as a hobby after a weekend barbecue in 2014, and fell in love with it,” he said.

His first efforts were using a pellet smoker, but in 2016 he acquired an offset smoker, which burns real wood, rather than pellets.

“How peaceful it is, to get up early in the morning, tend the fire and smell the aroma of the big hunks of meat,” he said.

When he took some smoked pork shoulder into work one day, it was such a hit he knew he had something big in the works.

“That was my ‘ah ha’ moment,” Gypson said. “Here I was in Tennessee serving pulled pork sandwiches off the tailgate of a pickup truck and everyone raved about it.”

In 2018, he started taking orders. His favorite meat is brisket, but he also smokes beef short ribs, pulled pork, pork ribs and chicken wings.

He started pursuing smoking seriously as a job in 2019, doing catering and serving meat from his driveway. Then Covid hit and he had to wear a mask.

“Tending a fire wearing a mask in the intense heat was terrible, but it was fun,” Gypson said.

In 2020, he began visiting farmers’ markets.

“It was always my dream to grow a barbecue business,” he said.

His smoker is built from a propane tank and it took him a year to get it working, he said.

Gypson said Brooke, who is a wealth planner, is incredibly supportive of him.

He is also grateful for connecting with Chris Busch, president of Orleans Renaissance Group, who offered him the opportunity to set up at the Canal Village Farmers’ Market, which ORG sponsors. It turns out Chris’ wife was Gypson’s kindergarten teacher and now she is their son Hans’ pre-K teacher.

In addition to being at the farmers’ market on most Saturdays, Gypson will be at various summer festivals and once a month plans to do a collaboration pop-up at Terroira General Store on Market Street in Lockport. Last month there, he said the line was out the door for his menu of barbecued beef shortribs, French onion soup and pulled pork. On Memorial Day, he will be set up at Middleport’s parade.

With his menu of smoked meat, he offers two sides, such as macaroni salad and broccoli salad.

Anyone who wants to order smoked meats can contact Gypson at www.tnsmokehouse.com.