Dining
BY KAMERYN GRIESSER
Owners Chris (upper left) and Gina Auditore (bottom center) run the food truck with their three children.
The Carmine ($8.75) comes with roasted banana peppers, red peppers, red wine vinegar, Italian meats and cheeses.
PHOTOS BY KAMERYN GRIESSER COMMUNITY IMPACT
Happy Panini serves sandwiches and smiles in Hutto When Hutto resident Chris Auditore lost his job as a restaurant consultant during the pandemic, nding work elsewhere was not an option. “We’ve been here for 20 year—raised our kids here. Hutto is home to us,” said Gina Auditore, his wife. Instead, the pair called on their community to help them open a place of their own, Happy Panini. What’s on the menu Gina said the menu was designed to o er a ham, turkey, provolone, asiago cheese, garlic parme- san mayo and veggies; or the Carmine, which comes with roasted banana peppers, red peppers, red wine vinegar, Italian meats and cheeses. As a treat, every order comes with a free lollipop. “It’s just our little way of sending a smile with each lunch,” Gina said. The impact
Happy Panini began serving hot-pressed sandwiches out of a food truck in Hutto in 2020.
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Gina said they couldn’t have started the business without the support of the community, which raised funding through a GoFundMe campaign. “Everything we do has the support of our family and our community behind it, from the recipes, down to the names of the sandwiches; they helped choose all of it,” Gina said.
healthier alternative to regular food truck meals, taking no shortcuts when it comes to sourcing quality cheeses, breads and meats. Their hot-pressed sandwiches include customer favorites, such as the Hello Sunshine with smoked
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101 Main St., Hutto https://happypanini.com
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PFLUGERVILLE HUTTO EDITION
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