Hampton Roads take note: Greater Williamsburg now has an award-winning food truck scene.
A food truck operated by James City County chef Jim Kennedy, FoodaTude…Food with Attitude, recently won the Coastal Virginia Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Peninsula Silver Award for the best food truck on the Peninsula, according to Kathryn Kelly, digital marketing and promotions manager for Coastal Virginia Magazine.
“We are proud to have won this award and are thankful for our customers who helped us win,” Kennedy said in a county news release.
Since opening last summer, Kennedy’s truck has become a staple of the food scene at Williamsburg breweries from AleWerks and the Virginia Beer Company to beer and music festivals, according to the FoodaTude Facebook page.
Kennedy previously owned and operated the contemporary American-style restaurant Dudley’s Bistro on Courthouse Street in New Town. After the closing the restaurant in May 2016, Kennedy decided to go back to the kitchen, but this time on wheels.
“I saw it as an emerging market for our area,” Kennedy said in a 2016 interview. He noted the rise in popularity of food trucks in Virginia Beach and Charlottesville. “The Williamsburg area is pretty devoid of these things so we’re hoping we’ll start seeing more reception to it.”
And reception he has received. Only one year in and he beat out nearly every other food truck on the Peninsula. Kelly said there were 24 food trucks nominated and about 2,200 votes cast. The only food truck to outplace Kennedy’s FoodaTude: Sinful Treats — a Hampton based bakery on wheels.
The nomination period lasted through the month of January, followed by a month-long voting period which weeded the competition down to 20 contestants. Voters in the final round chose Sinful Treats and FoodaTude to represent the top-rated food trucks on the Peninsula, according to Kelly.
Kennedy previously served on the James City County Board of Supervisors for two four-year-terms from 2008 to 2016. Now he serves hungry customers wherever he parks.
The truck will make its next appearance at the Jamestown Jams on Aug. 4, the release said.
To learn more about the FoodaTude truck, click here.
