New tastes await you on these local food trucks

When it comes to food trucks, Americans have a healthy appetite.

The U.S Chamber of Commerce estimates the food truck industry generates more than $2.7 billion in revenue every year. On a global scale, 2.6 billion people eat from street food vendors every day, according to a report from the United Nations.

And it’s more than just hot dogs, burgers and drinks. Almost any type of food imaginable can be bought from the window of a food truck – Americana, Italian, Asian, Mexican and everything else in between.

In the United States, food trucks have been around for a long time, with the precursor being the chuckwagons of the western ranges of the 19^th century. Lunch wagons and food carts kept construction workers fed during the industrial revolution while mobile canteens stationed outside military bases kept soldiers fed after World War II.

But what’s changed about food trucks in recent years has been the menu. The offerings have become more specialized with many trucks focusing on one particular type of food or a limited, gourmet-style menu.

It’s the perfect chance to try something you might not otherwise consider.

Nearly 40 food trucks have been approved to operate within the City of Kingsport. Here are the stories of five such operators and the foods they specialize in on a daily basis.

Baked and Loaded

Sharon Mullins of Blountville started the Baked & Loaded food truck in February 2019 as a part-time gig while she went back to school in pursuit of a psychology degree. She was tired of office manager work and wanted to try something different.

As the name implies, the food truck specializes in a variety of baked potatoes and nacho plates.

You can get them covered in pork barbeque, mac & cheese, ground beef, black beans, jalapeño peppers, shredded cheese, or buffalo-style chicken. Drinks include homemade sweet tea and triple berry lemonade.

Since opening, Mullins said the response from the community has been tremendous.

“(The business) blew up more than we thought it would, especially last year,” Mullins said.

Baked & Loaded is based out of Blountville and sets up all throughout the Tri-Cities region, everything from normal, lunchtime gatherings to special events like Fun Fest. The most challenging part of the job is probably time management, Mullins said. For Fun Fest, she and her crew pulled 14 hour days in preparation for the four-day Taste event.

“Most people don’t realize how much time is invested in a food truck,” Mullins said. “But it’s rewarding for us. We love what we do and when we see people eat and enjoy our food that makes all the difference.”

Beach Hut

For the past 35 years the Beach Hut has been offering some of the best shaved ice in the Tri-Cities. Its Stone Drive location is iconic; most people know where it is. But did you know that owners Chad Morgan and Lori White also have a shaved ice truck?

The couple purchased a trailer for a mobile shaved ice location back in 2007 and then went with a truck in 2010.

“It was an old Snap On tool truck and we built it into a shaved ice truck from the inside out. We really didn’t have any blueprints to follow,” explains Lori White on the origins of creating a shaved ice truck.

The Beach Hut has 48 different flavors to choose from on the shaved ice truck, including the traditional apple, blueberry, grape, orange and strawberry to the exotic tastes of cheesecake, French vanilla, passion fruit, root beer and wedding cake.

And if you want to live on the edge, you can even get toppings for your shaved ice – chocolate, caramel, marshmallows or whipped cream.

The shaved ice truck can be found throughout Kingsport and from Bulls Gap to Johnson City. It’s been set up during the Fourth of July, Duffield Days, Fun Fest and private events across the Tri-Cities region.

Lori said one of the points of pride for him is the truck’s ability to move through a lot of ice in a short amount of time.

“We served 700 students in under three hours in Rogersville,” Lori said. “It’s your hustle and you’ll get as much out of a food truck as you’re willing to put into it. We’ve built a relationship with the community, so word of mouth is our best customer.”

Big A$$ Biscuits and Burgers

The name says it all. These are some of the biggest biscuits and burgers you’ll ever see on a plate and chances are you won’t be able to finish one by yourself. I know I didn’t when I first tried a Big A$$ biscuit recently.

This locally owned biscuit and burger joint can be found in the Shell service station at the corner of E. Center Street and Memorial Boulevard. Roger Russell and his girlfriend Penni Rose have operated the business since 2016 – first locating inside a downtown service station and then in the current location since January.

About a year ago, Russell decided to get a food truck and take his biscuit and burger business on the road. The response from the community has been great, he said, especially when setting up at special events and gatherings from Bristol to Surgoinsville and all points in between.

The biggest challenge? Getting everything ready before you leave in the truck.

“Because if you forget something, you really can’t go back and get it,” he said.

The menu includes burgers and biscuits (of course), pancakes, waffles, tenderloin, bacon, sausage and omelets (both Western and Philly style). The biscuits can easily feed two people and a short stack of pancakes can probably satisfy a family of four.

So unless you have a hearty appetite, you’ll probably have leftovers for the next day. As if that’s a bad thing.

Project Waffle

Kort Boring of Greeneville took a rather untraditional route in becoming a food truck owner. At the time, circa 2015, he was a bank manager, but had started to get disenchanted with the banking industry, so he decided to take a big gamble.

“I took out a loan and started a food truck inspired by a waffle food truck I saw while living in Louisiana,” Boring said. “I ended up back at the bank for a while, but had to quit three months after opening Project Waffle because it was getting so busy. That’s when I made the decision to go all in.”

Eighteen months later, Boring and his then-wife got divorced and the food truck business stalled. It took about two years of rebuilding before he jumped back into the food truck business by purchasing Feeding Frenzy out of Bristol.

During the pandemic, Boring remodeled the truck and Project Waffle made a successful return in January 2021.

“I’m not a classically trained chef. I just had a wild idea and was willing to take some risks,” Boring said. “If I could learn to do one thing really well, then I could just build in variations and there would be an identity and a brand I could build around.”

Project Waffle’s menu should be patently obvious – it’s waffles with all manner of toppings and sides. Chicken and waffles, waffle tacos, S’mores waffles and waffles with chili or mac & cheese. Depending on the gig, you’ll find Project Waffle set up anywhere in the Tri-Cities and as far away as North Carolina and Southwest Virginia.

Mama’s Food Factory

Ty Bowman named his food truck in tribute to his mother, who was a nurse at the Holston Valley Medical Center and was someone who loved to cook. The name is also generic and doesn’t imply what type of food is on the menu.

Bowman said that’s by design.

“When we got the food truck, we were trying to be smart and creative, but then decided to make it generic in case we changed the menu,” Bowman said. “If we keep it generic and traditional, then we could do anything we wanted to do.”

Mama’s Food Factory is based out of Mt Carmel and is operated by Bowman, his girlfriend Krista and some friends and family who help out at different events. Bowman is a DB and ETSU graduate who worked in IT for nearly 20 years in Charlotte before moving back to the Tri-Cities more than a decade ago.

The food truck is now in its 11^th year and its menu includes all manner of deep fried dishes – brownies, strawberries, apple chips, cookie dough and cheesecake. Mama’s Food Factory also has oversized funnel cakes, blooming onion petals, homemade banana pudding cups and chili cheese fries.

“We have a really loyal fan base and we got a lot of repeat business, especially in the smaller towns,” Bowman said. “People come looking for certain things and folks will wait well over an hour to get their food.”