SHEBOYGAN — After a long and tough battle with addiction, a Sheboygan man has been able to turn his life around and start a successful and growing business.
Marc Luecke was addicted to drugs and alcohol from the time he was about 16 to 31. It started with weed and cocaine. Eventually, he turned to opioids after a car crash left him in severe pain. During that entire time, he drank.
“It was years of living in hell not knowing from one day to the next if he would be dead or alive," Marc's mom Kristi said.
Then everything changed in 2015.
"I wasn’t afraid to die, but I was scared to live. But I thought I haven't lived in 15 years, so maybe we'll give that a try," Luecke said.
That's when he began his recovery journey. He has been sober since Oct. 21, 2015.
Then in 2023, he took a gamble. He opened his own food truck called Harvest Street in June. It's a New American menu that changes seasonally. It mimics a farm-to-table approach with Luecke searching for ingredients primarily from Wisconsin and the surrounding Midwest.
"It was me just kind of going out on my own and being able to express myself through food. I mean the work is gratifying," he said
Watch the video to learn about Marc's inspiring story...
Harvest Street was an immediate success. He can often be found at 3 Sheeps Brewing. You can go to his website or social media pages to see where he will be next.
“So we’ve kind of taken off. All food truck nights last year and now we are getting into corporate events and catering," Luecke said.
One of the most popular menu items is his riff on birria tacos he calls beer-ia tacos. They are made with 3 Sheeps Brewing beer.
However, Luecke doesn’t measure success in tacos sold or even dollars earned.
“I never really had tears of joy before, but I've had so many of those moments since I've - and just the connections with people. Real connections, you know not the other lifestyle of using people and lying to people and things like that like relationships are pretty amazing today," Luecke said.
He has been able to raise a family with his wife and two children.
“My heart just explodes with joy for him," his mom said.
He has a successful food truck and has even hired his friend who is also in recovery.
“We both have a connection that you know - nobody knows an alcoholic better than an alcoholic," Linda Kath, the employee of the month at Harvest Street. said.
Now, each meal Luecke makes tells a story.
“I was always in the food scene and I really feel like that’s something that kept me alive through those times so food really holds a special place with me," he said.
A story of his recovery and his future success as he expands beyond Sheboygan.
