Tucson Food Truck Survives Coronavirus Closures Only To Burn Down

TUCSON, AZ — Joshua Bishop grew up in the restaurant industry before making it his life's work.

His grandfather was a restaurant owner, and he and his brother helped out at their dad's place, The Ol' Happy Belly, during their adolescence in the midwest. After working in the restaurant industry for 25 years himself, he decided it was time to start something of his own.

Together with his brother and a friend, they created Fork & Flame last July. Prior to the coronavirus, business was booming and the truck was booked out for over 50 events. Then the virus hit.

"Overnight, everything dried up," Bishop told Patch.

The next few months were difficult financially, even with the help of a small business loan. Even after the state reopened for business, most of the world was still working at home or in the office at a reduced capacity. Bishop said he's known of other local trucks that had to close permanently.

According to Yelp data, over 97,966 small businesses have shuttered as of Aug. 31 due to the pandemic's economic effects.

When September rolled around, Bishop said the calls began to come in again. After working a small event at a local park Sept. 15, the truck was parked in its usual storage garage.

That night, Bishop got a call from the fire department at 1 a.m. The truck had burnt down. Firefighters had had to cut the locks to get inside to fight it. An investigation revealed it was an issue with the electrical outlets.

"The truck was a total loss," he said. "It was a lot to put into something for it to evaporate."

Luckily, insurance will help the team break even, but their goal is to bring Fork & Flame back bigger and better than ever. Bishop started a GoFundMe to raise funds to help the truck rebuild and get back to serving Tucson its famous pulled pork, loaded tots and chili. Every person that donates $15 or more will get a free meal once the truck is up and running again.

Bishop considers Tucson's "tight-knit" community his home now after living there for nine years and credits the town with the truck's success. He'll probably never leave, he said.

"I feel like I’m in a small town," he said. "The community rallies."

Editor's Note: Patch is a GoFundMe promotional partner.