Independent Operators

North Carolina food truck pivots strategy in wake of pandemic

June 10, 2020

As food trucks can no longer serve up fare in business districts, due to stores and businesses being shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic, a North Carolina operator has figured out a way to reach customers and keep the business up and running.

The What the Fries truck is now going where the customers are — to customers' homes as customers are social distancing and avoiding crowded areas.

In fact, with the WTF truck, it was customers who began searching out the truck out in light of closed restaurants and inside dining options, according to a Queen City Nerve report.

Greg Williams, the truck's co-founder, initially believed the pandemic would put his truck out of business, or at least sidelined for months. Then he and co-founder Jamie Barnes started hearing from regular customers asking them to drive into neighborhoods at lunchtime.

"It was like a domino effect with neighborhoods contacting us," Barnes told the news outlet. "The word just started spreading."