Cliff and Monique Gatterson are the owners of Swagg-n-Wagon Wings & Things, a food truck and storefront serving up fried chicken, their signature “Swagg Sauce,” and delicious sides like collard greens and buttery cornbread. The couple recently opened their storefront in Federal Way, and infuse love and community into everything they make.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Please introduce yourselves.
Cliff: Hello, I’m Cliff Gatterson.
Monique: And I’m Monique Gatterson and we are owners of Swagg-n-Wagon Wings and Things. We are located in Federal Way across the street from El Centro skating rink off of 341st.
Tell me a little bit about what you’re serving here at Swagg-n-Wagon.
Cliff: We serve the best fried chicken in the Northwest right here at Swagg-n-Wagon Wings & Things.
Talk a little bit about your menu.
Cliff: Well, our menu is really simple, you know, short and sweet, but it makes a great impact. We’ve got boneless strips, we got the party wings, which is a favorite here, and the spicy chicken sandwich and the two-piece leg and thigh – you can’t go wrong with your two-piece.
We offer the best collard greens cooked on this side of the Mississippi, sweet golden cornbread, and your famous waffle fries.
How did the food truck get started?
Cliff: We had an establishment in Tacoma years ago before my son was born. It was called Fam Southern Fried Chicken. So we started out as a little storefront in a food court at the Freight House Square. But I wanted to see my son grow up, and I was working 14-hour days. Monique was working in Seattle at Virginia Mason. And so we were just, you know, putting it together.
And so I told her, “I wanna be in my son’s life and not work these long days.” So we sold all our equipment that we had at the previous restaurant. And a few years later, I said that I wanted to buy a food truck – and here we are. Bought the food truck in 2016 and been up and running ever since then.
Monique, tell us about how you got involved when the food truck started.
Monique: Once COVID hit, there was a lot of uncertainty, and I made the really hard decision to resign my position. Cliff and I talked about just running the food truck together. I resigned from my position and Cliff and I have been running the food truck together ever since.
Talk to me about Swagg Sauce. I heard the customers were asking about it?
Cliff: Yeah, we’re known for our Swagg Sauce. I mean, you know, a lot of people come in and say “Hey man, we heard about the Swagg Sauce!” The Swagg Sauce started when we were in the truck and I was like, man, there needs to be a sauce for this chicken. So I went in the kitchen and I started concocting this, putting this with that, putting that with this, and every time I did something, I wrote down the measurement that I used, and when I made that first batch of Swagg Sauce, I tasted it, I literally almost cried because it was so good. I was like, “Oh, this is bomb. They’re going to be all over it.”
I think I might have had a tear come up in my eye because it was so good, and this is a true story, okay? When my wife first tasted Swagg Sauce, she was like, “I don’t like it.” I’m like, “Okay, that’s you.” We’re going to still put it out there. But I was at home one day, and I brought some Swagg Sauce home, and we had some carrots, you know, and I like to dip carrots in ranch, so I was like, well, let me try the carrots in the Swagg Sauce. It was a number one hit. That’s when she fell in love with it. She took a carrot, she bit, she’s like, “Mmm, babe, this is good. Ooh, I like the Swagg Sauce on the carrots!” So that’s how she fell in love with the sauce. I put it together, you know, after one take at it, and we started bottling it up, and the rest is history.
Where did the name Swagg Sauce come from?
Cliff: The name comes from my son. We were on the truck one day, me, my son, and he was like, “Dad, you should call it Swagg Sauce,” and I was like, “That’s a great idea,” so we started putting the label on there, calling it Swagg Sauce, and here we are.
As a couple, what are the best parts about working together?
Cliff: Wow you know what can I say? We have kind of grown to where we need this now. Before I’m sure we were both kind of like “Oh how’s this going to work?” you know, but it’s been a blessing on our relationship; it’s proven our love. We go through things, but we snap back like a rubber band and we know what the bottom line is. I think it’s great that I get to work with my beautiful wife every day. There’s times where we’ll come into a certain area or a certain job and we’ll fist bump, we’ll say a prayer, and we know we’ll get through it because we have each other.
Monique: To add on to that, it is a blessing. When we first started I was like “Who did I marry?” because you’re working together and you’re in just a totally different environment even though Cliff and I, when we first met, did meet at a job we were working. But it has helped us so much with communication. I don’t get tired of him, I love being with him all day.
Cliff: Yes it’s been a long road and we got here safely.
Cliff, could you talk a little bit about where your recipes come from?
Cliff: My mom’s a great cook. One of the best. You know, I learned a lot from my grandma. Actually, I learned how to cook eggs from my aunt. My aunt Jackie taught me how to cook eggs and to actually crack them and, you know, scramble them and do that stuff. So I have a strong memory of that.
But just always watching my mom cook in the kitchen. She’d have this cigarette in her mouth with the long ash that would never break. And she’d be just in there just making magic. And those are the memories I have of growing up in my family and learning how to cook. We just couldn’t wait to eat as soon as she got done. And my mom just cooked for us all the time. You know, like every day, damn near, she cooked a meal for us. I believe that’s where my strong skills of cooking comes from.
Intentionalist is all about supporting diverse local-owned and “Spending like it matters.” How does this resonate with you?
Monique: I will be very honest and say until I became a business owner that question wasn’t a question. It was just like I spent where I spent. But now being a business owner and in the grind of things and hearing what our customers say to us, it’s important because we’re helping each other, right? We’re all in this grind together.
It’s so important to me that we get to a point that we are helping each other because we are not only doing it for ourselves, but we’re doing it for our younger generation to show them that it doesn’t matter the color of your skin, you can do this. You can own a business no matter what that business is and whatever you love, it can come to fruition.
Cliff: You have to support your local community or we will be no more. It’ll be everything Amazon. Amazon’s going to start doing oil changes if we let them. So we really have to stick to our local roots, spend money with them, go say hi. Even if you don’t want their food, maybe even go drop a tip or just step in and say hello. But it’s really important that we stick to the community.
What are some local businesses that you like to support?
- Mama’s Caramel: Great product. Every time I go, I go home and I have like this sweet tooth era and that caramel hits right on. I’ll make a graham cracker and peanut butter with the caramel on top.
- Fat’s: I haven’t been up there yet, but Fats, Erica’s a good friend of mine, grew up with her. I haven’t been to her business yet. I apologize, Erica, but I do give her the support from my heart. And I think that does mean a lot.
- Buddy’s Chicken and Waffles: There’s such a strong supporter on our page, and they’re always sending people our way.
What should a first-time customer expect when they get here?
Cliff: They should expect great customer service, smiles, because we love people, and just leaving here with good quality food that’s cooked to order, so it’s the freshest you can get. I mean, I don’t know anybody that don’t love cooking fresh out of the fryer.It’s just like waiting for mom to pull that last piece out of the hot iron pan. That’s what we want people to feel like when they come into Swagg.
Monique: When you come in, you’ll feel like you’re at home. It’s just an inviting, fun place where conversation flows and you’re ultimately just happy. You’re feeling like, man, they’re family. I’ve just gained a new family member.
Cliff: People will come up to our window in the truck, and we’ll just have a great conversation with them. And, you know, just their oohs and ahhs to us. It’s like, man, when they leave, I’m like, babe, that was cool. She’s like, yeah, they’re hella cool. So it’s like, you know, we love this job for that part. We’re here to make money, but, you know, you don’t pencil this in, we’re here to make friends too.
Any final thoughts?
Monique: If you want just the tasty, mouth-watering, got you craving every day, good fried chicken, come on down to Swagg-n-Wagon Wings & Things so that your tummies can be happy.
Cliff: Yeah, come on down, you know if you really want one of those, I call them a “sleeper meal”. Come get you a two-piece with the collard greens and some cornbread and I guarantee you’re going to have a good nap after that, I promise you. And if you don’t, you come back and see us and I’ll give you a free piece of cornbread and some chicken. We got some good food here and if you want some good food at a great price, you come down and see us and we’ll take care of you.