Independent Operators

Food truck proves to be a saving grace for Illinois doughnut maker

Photo by istock.com

September 17, 2021

James Kyung, who owns Pandamonium Doughnuts in Champaign, Illinois is crediting his food truck operations for keeping his business up and running, and growing, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The food truck operator was able to tap his food truck as a support mechanism to keeping his brick-and-mortar doughnut business afloat once shelter-in-place rules hit in the spring of 2020, according to a report at The News-Gazette.

"We were sitting in the kitchen on a Sunday afternoon," he told the news outlet. "And we just wondered when the next time we would be in this kitchen, making doughnuts."

The eight-year-old Pandamonium Doughnuts is an artisan doughnut shop selling handmade, specialty doughnuts from scratch. After closing during pandemic shutdowns, Kyung reopened using the truck as his kitchen base as well as sales point.

"The food truck is what helped keep us afloat," he told the news outlet. "A lot of restaurants and people we know in the industry weren't able to open for a month because they didn't have the right pieces in place."