Time-Out hopes to bring food truck to campus

UNC students have been snacking on chicken and cheddar biscuits for almost 35 years. Soon, those biscuits will come on wheels.

Eddie Williams, owner of both Time-Out Restaurant and Time-Out Sports Bar, said he plans to expand his Chapel Hill-based business to food trucks in coming months.

“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” Williams said. “This is a sign of the times.”

Time-Out has already bought a truck, said Ira Green, a consultant for Time-Out who added the truck is already being decorated.

Green said that a permit for the food truck has not been obtained, but they hope to apply for one within the next month.

Williams said after noticing the popularity of food trucks in cities across the U.S., he felt like his customers would appreciate a Time-Out food truck.

He said the truck will feature Time-Out’s classic favorites, including the chicken and cheddar biscuit and macaroni and cheese.

“We just feel like we are a Southern, Southern, Southern place,” he said.

Williams said he also hopes the town will let him bring the food truck to UNC’s campus and let him serve food late at night.

Under the current town ordinance, food trucks are only allowed in private, commercial parking lots with the lot owner’s approval.

Williams said part of the reason he decided to move forward with a food truck is the upcoming demolition of University Square, where Time-Out has been located since 1978.

But he said the food truck will not replace his brick-and-mortar restaurant.

“We could bring the food to the customer,” he said. “Chapel Hill is going that direction.”

Williams said they are looking for a new site for Time-Out, but he thinks the food truck will help keep the restaurant as popular as it has been in the past.

“I want (the truck) to be so sleek and clean and pristine that it almost is not even out of a truck,” Williams said.

Time-Out’s popularity has been helped recently by newfound television fame.

Green said the restaurant saw a surge in popularity after being featured on “Man v. Food” and “Best Sandwich in America.” Both shows featured Time-Out’s chicken and cheddar biscuit and Southern cooking.

Williams said he was so surprised to hear from “Man v. Food” that he initially hung up.

“I thought it was a scam,” he said. “My sandwich is nothing fancy. It’s just a chicken and cheddar biscuit.”

Cody Rigsbee, a UNC alumnus, said he plans to check out the food truck.

“The main reason I eat here is just ‘cause it tastes good,” he said.

Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.