Food Truck Spotlight

It's all about wings, wings and wings

Jesse McDonald, Cole Forrest and Jonah McDonald were cooking up wings long before the trio launched New Wing Order in 2018 and they are all about celebrating the versatile deliciousness of wings.

November 30, 2020

Food truck: New Wing Order

Operator(s): Jesse McDonald, Cole Forrest, Jonah McDonald

Founded: Sept. 2018

Location: Memphis, TN

Is this truck your first or one in a fleet: First

Do you operate a brick-and-mortar location/food site as well: No

Cuisine: Wings

How did you come up with the name: We started New Wing Order as a competition cooking team in 2012, with an emphasis on hot wings. The name is a play on New World Order — while we have old school flavors like Buffalo, Honey Gold, and Lemon Pepper; we also offer out-of-the-box flavors like Midtown Masala, Korean Kick, Pineapple Habanero, and more. We want people to know the versatile deliciousness of wings!

What prompted you to start a food truck: One of the owners, Jesse McDonald, had been working in the culinary industry for years in Nashville. One of his ventures was managing a startup food truck from its inception to being a top 10 food truck in the city. He enjoyed that experience so much that when he decided to move his family back to his hometown of Memphis, he wanted to start his own truck. Using the concept developed by the cooking team as a starting point and building on it for the past two years, New Wing Order was voted Best Food Truck in Memphis. It has been a legitimate dream come true.

What's on your food truck menu: Why did you choose this cuisine? Hot wings have been a huge part of our lives for more than 15 years now. In our area of the country, hot wing competitions and festivals are common and we would spend much of the spring and fall attending these events, trying out different recipes and learning techniques. Finally, in 2012, we decided to put our hat in the ring and started the New Wing Order cooking team. We would meet weekly in the "test kitchen" to develop new recipes and fine tune ones which had potential. In 2014, we won the World Championship Hot Wing Contest out of a field on 70-plus teams and have since won three more grand championships in hot wings. In addition to our award-winning wings, we also offer one-of-a-kind Hot Wing Nachos, a vegan-friendly Avocado Taco, and more. Whatever someone's dietary preferences are, we want to make sure there's something there they can fall in love with.

Do you make all the food on the truck or do you use home-based kitchen or commissary space: We make everything from scratch on the truck.

What's the best part of being a food truck operator: The ability to immediately see what you have created be enjoyed by your customers. In addition to our 20-plus wing flavors and full menu of tacos, nachos, etc.; we also do monthly specials which have become highly popular. Depending on the time of year, we may offer Mardis Gras Wings or a Nacho November. The anticipation we receive for these specials to be announced and the disappointment when they're gone let's us know we're doing something right!

What's the worst part of operating a food truck: Definitely the hours of prep.

What lessons have you learned since launching the truck: Never make assumptions of anyone you're working with — whether it be customers, venues, or even employees. Everyone's experience with food trucks is different, so you need to treat each interaction as if it's their first. With new venues or events, ask too many questions. It's better to be over prepared than under. With new customers, encourage them to ask too many questions. That first purchase may be their last if it doesn't knock their socks off. With your employees, make sure your expectations of them are clear from the start while also encouraging their input. Acknowledge you don't know everything, but you do have standards which are unwavering.

Is there anything you would have done differently at the start: This was our first experience setting our prices and, while we did a lot of research into competition and industry averages, we didn't initially set them based on what our food costs were. By neglecting that, we didn't see the profits we would have liked. As we've revised the menu over the years, we've made a concerted effort to price based on what will yield an acceptable profit — not necessarily what customers would see elsewhere.

Any tips/advice to others thinking of launching a food truck: We've seen a lot of great cooks with great menus come and go because they only see that side of it. You have to remember, as a food truck owner, you are running a full business. Always be cognizant of your costs. Sometimes you can be raking in revenue, but your profits are slim or nonexistent because of inefficiencies in how you are operating. As good as your food may be, word of mouth will only get you so far. Put efforts into marketing and making sure people know where you'll be. With no permanent address to direct customers to, it's better to over communicate than to assume they'll seek you out. Making a connection with customers can be the difference between them being one-offs to regulars. Knowing what their typical order is or if they have any preferences (extra ranch e.g.) lets them know you remember and value them and can keep them coming back.

Do you have any anecdotes about running a food truck: We had only been open for a couple weeks when (somehow) we were able to secure a spot at a major two-day music festival. We were thrilled at the opportunity to be in front of thousands of attendees and potential customers, but up until then, we had only done dinner services and smaller one-day events. When we arrive on site, we find out we are the ONLY food vendor within view of the main stage. Things are going steady to busy throughout the daylight hours, but as soon evening hits and the bigger bands start to play, we get hit hard. Even with four staff on the truck, our inexperience was showing through and we got in the weeds. Add in the fact no one could hear their name called over the music and it was quite the challenging evening. We ended up selling out, but knew something had to be done the next day to save our sanity and, more importantly, create a better customer experience. The next day, we narrowed down the menu and eliminated some of the items which took longer to get out the window. We brought in a fifth staff member once evening hit, whose sole job was to replenish stations and run food when needed. Even with larger crowds than the first night, we were able to better manage the line and keep orders moving. We were able to sell out during the last set and even let the staff go check out the show. It was a vastly better experience and we learned some lessons we still utilize today.

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