LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – A food truck parked behind a chicken wing restaurant in North Las Vegas is gaining popularity online. It is rapidly expanding as a result of social media.
Marcen “Chef Sean” Nelson and his wife, Latrisha “Chef Tririckshaw,” dreamed of bringing a small town in Illinois past Buffalo Wild Wings near Centennial Parkway and 5th The street.
“Every holiday, especially the Fourth of July, everyone (from far and wide) will come.” We never ran out of food. “We’ll catch people making their plate, going into the car, hiding them, returning, creating another plate, and eating it,” Marcian said among a line of customers Friday evening.
The couple moved their family to Las Vegas eight years ago, hoping to break into the city’s thriving culinary scene. But, as Chef Sean explains, making a name for himself was not easy.
“When we got out of here, we started from scratch, putting plates on people’s faces.” As in, ‘Taste it! ‘Imitate someone throwing a plate in her face,’ Marcin said. “If you know who I am, you probably know who I am from your neighborhood barbershop, beauty salon, or corner store.”
Meanwhile, Chef Triksha’s recipe from her kitchen was making the rounds on Instagram. Followers quickly became customers, and the TasteBudz Creole Kitchen food truck will be born in April 2021.
The family business, which employs four of Nelson’s six children, serves jerk chicken, beef, greens, Alfredo pasta, cornbread, and other Creole dishes to a growing list of regular customers throughout the Valley. Marcin stated that the property manager of the current location, which houses Buffalo Wild Wings, agreed to let him reopen the shop.
“There is no drive-by traffic here.” Whoever comes, comes in search of us. “They’re aware of our presence,” Marcen explained.
But one dish stood out above the rest: mac and cheese. He noticed that the content about it posted online was attracting more customers.
Following a connection with the local foodie community, TikTok Customers’ comments about the dish being “the best mac and cheese” went viral. The video with the most likes and views has nearly one million and was created by @tallzz_.
“We found people who only fly and say, ‘Hey, I saw you from Detroit.'” I discovered you on TikTok. I’m originally from Arkansas. ‘I saw you on Instagram,’ said Marcian.
The truck has become so popular that wait times of up to an hour are not uncommon. According to Marcin, customers may not like the wait but appreciate the reward.
“Because we like to make it fresh, it takes a little longer, know what I mean?” “And that’s what people don’t understand,” Marcian explained Friday evening as he prepared a plate for a wall of orders. “Some people, as we call it, get hangman. But once they taste it, they say, ‘Okay, okay.’ “I’ll be right back.”
Other customers are not bothered by the wait. On Friday evening, a woman passing by Minnie was 20 minutes away from her home and had left over an hour earlier after placing her order on the message.
“I’m all for it,” Minnie said as she waited for her order. “I’m originally from Indiana, so I’m looking for places that look and feel like home.” And it gave me that feeling.”
After nearly a year of popularity, the truck’s demand has finally increased. According to Marcen, the Nelson family plans to open its first permanent restaurant location near Decatur and Lake Mead early next year.
“It was always our goal to get down to a brick and mortar,” Marcin said, “but demand is getting there a little faster than we expected.” “The feedback is similar to love and positivity.”
