Chillz Intergalactic Donuts in Fayetteville closed. What's next for the food truck?
Chillz Intergalactic Donuts, a Fayetteville food truck serving specialty donuts since 2019, closed unexpectedly late last month, leaving fans disappointed. Owner Muhammad Shams hopes to reopen as soon as possible.
On Aug. 30, an announcement made on the truck’s Facebook page said that it may be their last day in operation because a major investor had backed out.
"It deeply saddens me to have to announce this to my #fayettevillenc Martians that today Aug-30-2022 will potentially be our last day in Fayetteville. One of our major investors is having to back out due to some personal and family emergencies,” the post said.
The donut truck, which is usually parked at 5001 Raeford Road, has more than 4,000 followers across Facebook and Instagram.
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Made-to-order donuts with extravagant toppings were Chillz bread-and-butter. Items like apple fritters topped with cinnamon sugar, caramel apple, crunchy graham crackers and vanilla icing were $22 for a dozen.
Shams, 35, said the former investor owned the trailer that the business operated from, forcing him to stop donut sales. The Harnett County native hopes to raise $30,000-$50,000 for a new trailer via a new investor and community donations to resume serving donuts as soon as possible.
“I’m having nightmares about donuts. All I can think about is donuts,” Shams said.
In the meantime, he is working to launch an online store with items like donut batter, Italian ice and branded clothing shipped to customers. The business began as an Italian ice cart, which he is now back to operating.
He and his son Jabril Shams, 16, started Chillz Italian Ice in the summer of 2019 in Cary where the family lives. Muhammad Shams said he encouraged his son to start a business because the then 13-year-old said he wanted to drive an Audi.
“I said, ‘Hey man, start this Italian Ice business and you can buy whatever car you want,’” Shams said.
The ice cart was performing well enough for Shams to shut down the home remodeling business he owned at the time and manage the cart full-time. There was just one problem — Italian ice didn't sell in cold weather, Shams said.
He said his inspiration for donuts came from those he ate as a child at the former flea market on North McPherson Church Road. Chillz Intergalactic Donuts was born and the business in Cary took off.
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Two years later, Shams said, so many customers were driving from Fayetteville to Cary to try the donuts that he decided to come to them.
“I didn’t imagine people traveling from surrounding cities,” he said. “The goal was just to make some freaking kickass donuts.”
From that point on, he said, Fayetteville became his main customer base.
"Fayetteville held me hostage,” he said.
The recent setback aside, Shams said the support of the Fayetteville community makes him confident that Chillz has a bright future. He hopes Fayetteville will become the epicenter of operations, with locations in Charlotte, Wilmington and Fort Lee, Virginia.
“We wouldn’t be able to do it without the support of Fayetteville,” he said.
Food, dining and business reporter Taylor Shook can be reached at tshook@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville food truck Chillz Intergalactic Donuts closes
