Oftentimes, when we talk about places to go and things to do in Waynesville and Haywood County, our unique and growing food truck culture gets overlooked. Western North Carolina is home to a vibrant, entrepreneurial spirit and the presence of such a robust food truck scene is a testament to that environment. We want to highlight some of the businesses in our area that consistently show up to events and provide excellent food choices for both locals and tourists alike. And currently in November and December, the Smoky Mountain Event Center is featuring many of our local food trucks at their newest event, Food Truck Wednesdays.
While Asheville has a strong food truck scene, Waynesville and Haywood County is no slouch in this area and has an abundance of choices that you will see at festivals or street events, around town in semi-permanent locations, at the town farmer’s markets in Waynesville & Canton or at popular local businesses like Barber Orchard’s Fruit Stand during the fall season. One of our local success stories in the food truck business is Fuego, which was a successful food truck that has just recently made the leap and opened up a brick-and-mortar restaurant getting great reviews in the Hazelwood area of Waynesville. Below is a breakdown of some of the more popular food trucks in the area that you should check out if you get a chance.
Our Favorites
Without a doubt, our favorite food truck in the area is Harvest Moon Crepes, which is a consistent vendor at the Haywood County Farmer’s Market in Waynesville. They offer both sweet and savory crepe options and have fun refreshments to go along with them. They always have a great turnout wherever they go. And one of the more permanent food trucks here in Waynesville that also has a good following is Jose’s Taco Truck at the Corner of Russ Avenue and Dellwood City Road. They focus mainly on tacos and for a quick, tasty bite, they are a great option. For those with a sweet tooth, two great options you will see at local events are Frozen Josie’s (hot cocoa and ice cream with fun seasonal toppings) and The Cheesecake Mousse (single-serve unique cheesecakes, nuff said!).
Unique Takes on Classic Food
Of course, food trucks are known for unique takes on classic dishes and the food trucks of Haywood County are no exception. A couple of the more active food trucks in the area are Woof Street Bistro, Ben’s Backdraft BBQ and Wicked Fresh Maine Lobster. All of these are very popular, and you will be sure to get a tasty meal or snack at any one of these great trucks. You can look for them at special events that are occurring in the area. Speaking of barbeque, there are plenty of other great options in the area, each with their unique spin, like Appalachian Smoke or Hit the Pit.
Other Food Trucks and Similar Businesses
And of course, our list above is nowhere near a comprehensive list of all the cool small businesses that are in the local food truck / food cart scene. With food trucks, you will most certainly be supporting local entrepreneurs, which is definitely a hallmark of our tight-knit western North Carolina community. Other well-known local options include Soul Dawgs and Mi Montanita Tacos in Hazelwood, Sunburst Coffee from Canton, as well as Pavino’s Pizzeria from Maggie Valley.
Food Trucks with Special Origin Stories
And before we conclude, we want to highlight a couple of local food trucks with inspirational stories similar to the aforementioned Fuego. Back in 2020, the Haywood Pathways Center, one of our local non-profits, started the Holy Cow Food Truck and their story is outlined in this Smoky Mountain News article. They are also an active local food truck, and all proceeds go towards supporting the Haywood Pathways Center and they also help folks in the center with training and job skills.
Also with a great story, one of our community’s newer food trucks is a success story in coordination with the Small Business Center of Haywood Community College. Sticky 8’s is a new venture started in November of 2022 bringing Asian Fusion dishes to our Haywood County food truck lineup. This article gives a great breakdown of how local entrepreneurs got the support and guidance they needed to succeed. It’s great to see Haywood County chosen when folks look around for great environments for small businesses! We certainly agree that this is a great place to be a small-business owner!
With food trucks, the challenge, of course, is knowing where and when they will be appearing in communities or at events. We’ve tried to link to the social media profiles of all of them above as most of these businesses use social media as their digital storefront. We encourage you to follow your favorites on social media so you can see where they are at on your next visit to the Inn!
We hope to see you soon!
Your Innkeepers,
Brenda and Peter
