Downtown event is cooking up comradery
It began toward the end of the coronavirus pandemic: A rally of food trucks began gathering on Oak Avenue in downtown Spruce Pine, which provided a chance for people to meet and eat together in the open air. But even after the pandemic waned and the town’s restaurants and bars began to reopen, some enthusiasm for the food truck gathering remained.
This is when Tammy Ramsey, co-owner of the mobile Sips Soda Shop, joined forces with Samantha Burnette, the co-owner of Burnette’s Country Store with her husband Kirk. Rather than food trucks lining Upper Street (Oak Avenue), Samantha Burnette suggested turning the parking lot abutting her store into a proper food truck pod on alternative Thursday evenings, creating Tasty Thursday, which will return to downtown tomorrow.
Then Hurricane Helene (downgraded to a tropical storm after slowing down over land) hit. But as with the upheaval surrounding the pandemic, the disaster galvanized support for the food trucks, especially as the restaurants and bars on lower Locust Street were all damaged in the flood and closed.
The number of participating vendors grew, as did the size of the crowds.
“It’s been phenomenal,” Ramsey said from her Sips Soda truck. “It’s provided a space for the people of Spruce Pine, as well as for visitors and guests.”
From behind the cash register at her store, Burnette agreed. “It’s getting bigger than we imagined,” she said. “People have actually started bringing lawn chairs with them, so that they can sit and visit with other people while enjoying the food.”
Eight different food trucks are now normal for Tasty Thursday, ranging from Japanese and Mexican food to Ramsey’s mobile soda shop and doughnuts. The trucks operate between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., while many of the Oak Avenue businesses stay open later to accommodate customers.
Tasty Thursday occasionally coincides with the Third Thursday events on Lower Street (Locust Avenue), where commerce and dining are slowly returning. Ramsey and Burnette, along with the Third Thursday organizers, make certain to promote each other, making the food truck customers aware of the farmers’ and artisans’ booths located a street away.
The participating food trucks are a combination of local businesses and those from out of town. Based in Hampton, Tenn., Sylvia Stevens’ Fork in the Road truck, which specializes in American and Mexican comfort food, has become a Tasty Thursday staple.
“We’ve enjoyed being part of this,” Stevens said. “We operate in Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina, and this is one of our favorite stops.”
Based in Elizabethon, Tennessee, Rick Brewer, owner of the popular Diggy Donuts, is also happy to be affiliated with Tasty Thursday. Brewer’s truck is a miniature bakery, where you can watch doughnuts being freshly made and then topped with glaze, chocolate, or caramel.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled,” Brewer stated.
Tasty Thursday returns to Oak Avenue on July 17, then again on Thursday, July 31.