Among the delectable offerings that await attendees of Taste of Soul is an everyday treat that is by no means ordinary. Customers at Steven Conaway’s vending truck, which is parked just south of the L.A. Sentinel offices on Crenshaw, provides more than his signature roasted peanuts.
One might find him at his truck, which is equipped with a propane nut roaster and a warming oven, providing a jumpstart for a stalled car or a little gasoline when someone comes up empty. Most importantly, from Monday through Saturday, the truck provides a convivial gathering spot for the community, with a friendly word and healthy snacks.
“Walnuts and pecans, they’re good for your brain,” says Conaway, who started out selling nuts from his former boss’s truck in 1980, before opening his own business.
“You have pistachios, they’re good for your heart and your blood, and so are the pecans. The almonds are good for your eyes. If you want memory [help], go for walnuts and pecans. Pumpkin seeds are good for the prostate, for men. Nuts are one of the best things for the body.”
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Among Conaway’s 23 products are a variety of sweet or seasoned pistachios and cashews, including those without salt; butter toffee peanuts and almonds; trail mix, mixed nuts, peanut brittle, and raw pecans, almonds, and walnuts. But the peanuts, which he roasts on-site and keeps in a warming oven, are the stars of the show.
“Peanuts are one of the best things for the body, actually,” says Conaway. “There are two types of cholesterol, the good cholesterol and the bad cholesterol. Peanuts lower the bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol. They’re good for your blood, they’re good for digestion.”
Conaway’s location near the Sentinel offices is serendipitous. After achieving his degree in public relations from CSU Long Beach, the Oxnard native worked as a district circulation manager for the Long Beach Press Telegram. His supervisor, who had a side business selling nuts from a truck, offered Conaway a part-time job.
“He asked me to work for him part-time, selling peanuts,” says Conaway. “I told him, ‘No, I got my degree, I’m about to rule the world. I’m not going to sell peanuts.’ But he talked me into it, and I liked it. I worked for him for six years doing that… and I just loved it.
“I was subbing at the Long Beach school district, and then got a job teaching at a business college in Long Beach,” he says. “I left there and came to Los Angeles to help my grandmother, [as she] and needed somebody to help her. I moved in to take care of her and I decided to do this myself, get my own [truck].”
Conaway looks forward to returning to Taste of Soul, in which he has participated as a vendor for seven years.
“I love it,” he says, “I have a good time every year It’s one of the best events around. They did an excellent job of creating it, and I’m proud and happy they allow me to work it every year. As long as they have it, I’ll keep doing it.”
Despite the festive associations with nuts as a treat during the holidays or even at Taste of Soul, Conaway says there is joy with providing the community with a simple pick-me-up, six days a week.
“My mom always had nuts around the house during the holidays,” he says. “Christmas and Thanksgiving, we had the bowl of nuts and the nutcracker and we had a good time. But I never knew I was going to get into the business. I love doing what I do.”
