About 25% of Fayetteville-area food trucks closed last year. What's next?

Though the total number remains about the same, about a quarter of the licensed food trucks that operated around Fayetteville last year are no longer serving the area. 

Some packed up and moved to other North Carolina cities. A fair few closed their serving windows with no explanation. Others said they couldn’t staff their operations.

At least one cited rising food and supply costs.

An April post on The Grazing Buffalo Facebook page announced the Fayetteville food truck’s closure.

“It was a big decision for us but when it came down to it, we did not want to push the increase in food, supplies etc. to our customers,” the post read in part.

Increasing costs for food and supplies are “crushing” for a lot of food truck owners, said Mike Adams, who owns hot dog stand Dogslingers with his wife, Jen.

Every sausage, hot dog and Italian beef sandwich the cart serves is wrapped in foil, which has doubled in cost since 2020, Adams said.

Rising costs put operators in a tough spot, his wife said: changing menu prices to absorb increasing costs often means reinvesting in flyers and menu boards, and backlash from customers. But absorbing the costs can sometimes mean going out of business, she said.

Balancing costs and menu prices is a delicate dance that Sterling McGhee, chef-owner at Mac’s Grill Aroma, knows well.

McGhee, 56, serves burgers and fries to the Fort Liberty lunch crowd. Prices of those goods have nearly doubled since he bought the food truck in August 2020, he said.

“I did some shopping last week and couldn’t believe the prices of the food,” he said. “It’s increased tremendously.”

A case of 40 beef patties, once $25, is now $39. A 30-pound case of fries was $16. Now, it’s $29.

McGhee doesn’t want to pass those prices on to his customers, who pay around $10 for a meal.

As a result, his profits are much slimmer than when he started, he said. Given the choice to get into the food truck business with today’s costs, he would have made a different decision.

“There’s no way I would have bought the truck now,” he said.

Despite the price squeeze, new Fayetteville-area food trucks pop up

While 17 trucks shut down at least 20 new food trucks hit Cumberland County streets since last year — putting the total number of restaurants on wheels at about 75.

Among those new mobile food purveyors are Zully Sherpinskas, 23, and her mom, Yeni Lopez, 40, who own and operate Rolling Tacos and Pupusas. They got started serving the dishes of their home country of El Salvador in June, Sherpinskas said.

Business has been good — between events, catering and serving at their usual spots, the mother-and-daughter duo only had two days off last month — but keeping food and fuel costs down has been challenging, she said.

Fayetteville-area food trucks list: From barbecue and burgers to beignets and bulgogi

Trips to Restaurant Depot in Raleigh for cheaper goods aren’t always worth the cash spent on gas, Sherpinskas said, not to mention the lost sleep. Getting to the Triangle for supplies before prepping, cooking and serving food means waking up at 4 a.m., she said.

She hopes that the soon-to-open U.S. Foods CHEF’STORE at Cross Creek Mall in Fayetteville, a 20,000-foot wholesale grocery and kitchen supply store open to business owners and the public, will be a game-changer.

“I’m excited about the store,” she said.

The wholesaler isn’t the only forthcoming outfit that caters to food entrepreneurs.

What does the future bring for Fayetteville-area food trucks?

There are a few projects in the works that are designed to serve the growing food truck industry in Cumberland County.

A commissary dedicated to food trucks, carts and caterers is slated to open in January at 813 Griffin St. in the Vander community of Cumberland County, just east of Fayetteville.

The 1.75-acre property is the site of a 4,000-square-foot building formerly used as an HVAC storage warehouse, and at one time housed expired Frito-Lay products.

NC Food Commissary will offer private kitchen space, food storage, oil recycling, trash service, restaurant supplies and a retail front where customers can pick up orders, owner Chris Thiessen said.

There is already a waitlist forming for the 20 or so clients she expects to be able to accommodate at opening, Thiessen said.

Get the full story: Fayetteville area could see a new food truck commissary early next year

The Adamses also have a food truck commissary in the works at the former Blackstone Pub on Raeford Road. Hafeena Ali-Martinez, Feena’s fruit gelato shop and dollar store owner, told the Observer in August that she plans to turn the space at 724 N. Reilly Road into a commissary, too.

A new place for food trucks to serve customers is expected to open by the end of the year.

The Haymount Truck Stop at 100 Broadfoot Ave. in Fayetteville will offer a full-service bar, patio, and indoor space alongside a rotating selection of food trucks.

Still, Adams said that he’s not confident that the Fayetteville area has the population, nor the foot traffic, to support the dozens of food trucks operating now.

“The market is flooded,” he said.

But with around 75 food trucks and counting, the business isn’t showing signs of slowing down.

Food, dining and culture reporter Taylor Shook can be reached at tshook@gannett.com, on Twitter, or Facebook. Want weekly food news delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the Fayetteville Foodies newsletter. 

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville-area food truck industry: What's next?