One of the more charming vehicles on the streets of St. Louis is “Vanchovy,” a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it mobile cookbook store fashioned from a micro-mini van. In summer of 2023, Stephanie McKinney and her husband, Graham, were on a road trip considering untapped business opportunities when they hatched the idea of a truck that sells mostly vintage cookbooks, one of Stephanie’s longtime passions. They bought a 1992 Honda Acty Kei van with a five-speed manual transmission and right-wheel drive, “which is a breeze to drive until I reach for the turn signal and the wipers go on,” says Stephanie. The process of naming the van was a whole other matter, she concedes. “I was seriously considering ‘anchovy,’ when my husband added the obvious letter that brought it all home.” After digitally sketching graphics onto a photo of the van, Stephanie added bands of color inspired by the vibrant hues of zinnias.
The couple initially wanted shelves to pop out when the van door opened, but the more practical solution was to keep a set of antique tables on hand that could be used when needed—as well as a disco ball from their home, for added flair. Stephanie’s cookbook collection includes 500 vintage and used cookbooks, along with a few newer titles. Eventually, she hopes to sell prints or kitchen towels that depict the artwork inside the books, which she says are constant sources of inspiration. “Being able to offer a matching set would be something fun and unique,” she says. Also in the works: cookbook-themed dinner parties with guests—or even a chef—providing the dishes with the goal of building community among like-minded St. Louisans. In the meantime, as she tools around town in what she believes is the first cookbook-specific mobile van, she keeps the windows down, eager to reply to the many That is so cute! comments she receives along the way. Says McKinney: “The young girls think it looks like a Barbie van.”
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