It was Food Truck Friday in Dubuque’s Washington Square, and the three-person crew inside the Magoo Mobile food truck was hard at work making pizzas.

General Manager Molly Richardson removed a circle of dough from the pizza dough press, plopped a heaping scoop of marinara sauce onto it and spread out the sauce with the back of the ladle.

She added the rest of the toppings for a margarita pizza — including parmesan cheese, chunks of fresh mozzarella, basil and tomatoes — then placed the prepared pie on a rack hanging on the wall.

Co-owner Bernie Saks slid the pizza into the oven — whose temperature tops 600 degrees — and used a pizza peel to move it around.

“Pizza,” he called several minutes later, removing the cooked pie from the oven.

That was the cue for his wife and fellow co-owner, Susan Farber, to jump into action.

As soon as the pizza was transferred to the nearby counter, she cut it into eight slices and added spices and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Then, she placed it into a box that had already been marked with the customer’s name and handed it out the food truck’s window to a hungry diner.

“Bon appetit,” Farber said, with a smile.

The Magoo Mobile truck has been on the road for eight years, and the corresponding Magoo’s Pizza restaurant at 1875 University Ave. in Dubuque will celebrate its 10th anniversary in January.

Farber said the food truck allows the Magoo’s team to engage with the community.

“We become part of the party,” she said. “It’s just really fun when you see (the truck) rolling down the street.”

Richardson first applied to work at Magoo’s about a decade ago when she was at student at University of Dubuque seeking a part-time job. She was among the restaurant’s very first crew of employees.

Now, she serves as the general manager and works regularly in the food truck.

“It’s just a different option than the restaurant,” she said. “The change of scenery’s always nice, and the flexibility of it is really fun … It’s a very laid-back environment, and we get to meet new people.”

The Magoo Mobile truck, which began its life as a UPS delivery vehicle, is equipped with an oven that can reach the very hot temperatures necessary for the thin, crispy pizzas on which Magoo’s has built its brand.

While the brick-and-mortar restaurant offers both specialty pizzas and build-your-own pies in addition to salads, the truck focuses on a smaller menu of specialty pizzas, including margarita, BBQ or buffalo chicken, Hawaiian, meat lovers, cheese and pepperoni.

However, Farber noted that the truck also can accommodate some customized orders.

“If a parent says, ‘Can we get just a sausage (pizza)?’ we will do that,” she said. “With whatever ingredients we have here, we have some flexibility in helping the family out depending on what kids are interested in.”

Besides the specialty oven, the truck features a full-sized fridge, a pizza dough press, a warming area for cooked pizzas and plenty of storage space for ingredients, pizza boxes and more.

The vehicle’s assembly-line layout means staff can produce pizzas within minutes of customers placing their orders.

“We can do almost 55 to 60 pizzas in an hour if we need to,” Farber said. “There are nights where we’re just churning them out without a break.”

The Magoo Mobile is a staple at events like Food Truck Fridays, Millwork Night Market and the Taste of Summer event at National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. The truck also can be booked for corporate events, neighborhood parties, weddings, graduations and more.

Although the brick-and-mortar restaurant is open year-round, Richardson said the truck does not operate during the winter months.

“We try and fill up our schedule in the fall and summer as much as we can,” she said. “We book about a year out in advance for bigger events.”

As Farber, Richardson and Saks continued to take orders from Food Truck Friday patrons, Jen Fox, of Dubuque, spread out a blanket on the grass of Washington Square for her children — Arya, 4, and Emmett, 18 months — to enjoy their pizza.

She said the family regularly attends Food Truck Friday events and also stops by the Magoo’s restaurant every once in a while.

“The kids love pizza, and their thin pizza that cooks super quick is really convenient when the kids just want to eat,” Fox said. “And, of course, it tastes good, too.”