About Us
Welcome to the chaos. We brought the fire.
Twn Flames is a veteran-owned, husband-and-wife food brand built on chaos, creativity, and connection.
It’s more than a food truck — it’s a story on wheels. Every dish we serve is inspired by the road we’ve traveled: military life, cross-country moves, late-night experiments, and the beautiful mess of growing up and raising a family.
Our Story
Before the food truck, before the flames, there was the fire that built us.
We met in the Army. Our time in service is not something we glorify. In fact, it was something we preferred not to talk about for a long time. But it played a massive role in who we are today. It taught us how to lead, adapt, and survive chaos apart and carved a place for us to stand side by side.
Between deployments, missed holidays, long nights, and the kind of pressure that either breaks you or forges you, we found our rhythm. The military taught us discipline and grit — but it also left its marks.
We were blessed to welcome our two boys into the world while on active duty, and it became clear to us that it was time to come home.
Coming home meant figuring out how to live in a world that didn’t move like we did.
We tried the “normal” path for a while — careers, commutes, cubicles. The corporate grind looked good on paper, but it drained the life right out of us. We were tired of trading time for paychecks that cost our peace. Add in a couple of cross-country moves, two wild, brilliant kiddos, and the never-ending work of untangling the aftermath of service… we realized we needed something different.
Something that could handle our kind of chaos.
So we built it.
Twn Flames was born out of late-night cooking sessions, big dreams, and the kind of honesty that only comes from starting over — again and again.
Cooking gave us a way to channel the fire instead of fighting it.
It became therapy, purpose, and a place where our whole family could belong.
Now, every plate that leaves the window carries a little of that story — the discipline we learned in uniform, the humor that kept us going, and the grit it takes to rebuild a life that actually fits. We found a way to take the things that usually hide in the dark parts of ourselves and turned it into a story that feeds the community.
As one of our first customers said to us, "You know that "energy cannot be created or destroyed". But it can be changed, you guys are changing the energy into something that nourishes instead of drains."
We’re not trying to be perfect.
We’re just trying to build something real — together, with our kids by our side, one chaotic, flame-fed plate at a time.
Meet The Team
James Hoben
US Army, Master Sergeant, Ret.
Flavor junkie.
The Husband, Dad, Head Chef, DIY Daddy, and a survivor of lots of sh*t.
James is the fire beneath it all—literally. He’s the grillmaster and king of controlled burn. He doesn’t say much, but his food says everything: bold, sharp, and way better than it has any right to be.
He’s proof that where you start doesn’t define what you give.
His fire feeds more than hunger.
James runs the flat top like he's on a mission— precise, intense, and always with a smirk.
Years in the Army taught him structure; more years in the kitchens of diners in Indiana and Honolulu gave him skill, and life after taught him balance.
He brings the discipline of service, the fire of a top-destination chef, the heart of a dad, and the chaos of a creative mind to every plate that leaves the window.
Do not ask him for ranch.
He’s still recovering from some trauma.
_edited.jpg)
Sydney Hoben
US Army, Sergeant First Class, Ret.
Creative pyro.
The wife, mom, writer, sous chef, and director of the chaos.
Sydney is the catalyst behind the flavor—equal parts creative and unhinged (in the best way). Raised in the kitchens of the Matriarchs, she’s next in line for the title, carrying forward generations of grit, grace, and good eats.
She’s proof that chaos can be art — and that fire, when tended right, makes damn good food and a hell of a life.
She brings the soul to the food, the story to the menu, and the strategy to the madness.
Syd believes comfort food can be rebellious—and that fine dining can totally come on a paper plate.
She's got a vast education that bounces across industries and lands perfectly in teaching people about food, resilience, and how to branch out and try something new.
She decides what you eat for dessert.
Don’t argue. You will lose.