New Food Truck With Big Aspirations Launching Here Thursday
In a neighborhood already brimming with great food options, North Loop resident Ques Johnson said there’s still a gap that he intends to fill–during the lunch and late-night hours when people are looking for something fast and tasty.
With help from his friend and mentor, Billy of Billy Sushi, he’s launching his new “Ferrari red” food truck, Tender Lovin’ Chix, at 11 am Thursday at what he considers the perfect spot: the corner of 6th and Washington.
“Me sitting at that corner eating at Smack Shack every day, I’m just like, something has to be right there,” Ques said. “When Billy asked me ‘what spot,’ I just knew in my head. That’s where I could see that beautiful truck right there.”
He’ll be serving chicken tenders over Japanese fried rice with secret Yum sauce on the side.
“It’s super crispy but it’s so juicy,” said Billy, “and you are like what the hell is going on here, right?”
Photo credit: Tender Lovin’ Chix Instagram
During the pandemic, Ques and a couple of business partners opened a popular but short-lived restaurant in Uptown. He admits he knew plenty about making great food but little about the business side of things, which is where Billy comes in. He taught Ques how to structure a menu—focusing on two or three things to start, “so you can do those things so good,” Billy said, “the people fall in love with you, right?”
Tender Lovin’ Chix will start with lunch this week and see how long it takes to sell out. Eventually, the truck will be out for late-night crowds as well. And both men are hinting that they have expansion plans in mind.
“Pretty confident people are gonna love it and it’s gonna do very well,” Ques said. “Everybody likes KFC but guess what, now it’s TLC.”
“It’s just born in North Loop,” said Billy, “and then we’re going to take it all over the world.”
By Mike Binkley, North Loop volunteer