SIMPSONVILLE — It began with a vision for a place to gather community over good food. A place to have a beer and a place where kids could play safely and parents could relax and enjoy some down time.
Now, two years later, Justin and Allie Holck can hardly believe their dream is a reality.
The idea the two shared in 2022, just after they moved to Greenville from Bend, Ore., has now come to life with the opening of Scuffletown Food Truck Park.
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The park is the first such dedicated food truck park in South Carolina, Justin said — and if the couple are judging from the opening weekend’s success, it won’t be the last.
“We want to open a couple more food truck parks,” he said. “Saturday was such a validation that this is a concept people really enjoy and love.”
Plans are still underway for a food truck park in Greer, which was announced earlier this year, but the owners are awaiting permitting.
Scuffletown, which sits on just under an acre at 206 Ladean Court near the Walmart Supercenter off Fairview Road in Simpsonville, features six full-time food trucks, a taproom with 21 beers on tap that are served via a self-pour model and a children’s play area.
The trucks are a mix of different styles of food and cuisines from various countries. During opening weekend, Justin tried them all out.
“It’s a very surreal feeling when you come up with an idea in your head and then it comes to life,” he said.
From coffee to food trucks
The idea for a food truck park actually began as an idea for a coffee roastery.
Justin, who is passionate about coffee and beer (he was an avid homebrewer for years), saw an opportunity to supplement his firefighter salary and to start a business of his own.
After getting more acquainted with their new home, the Holcks saw that the coffee market was a bit saturated. However, they saw a distinct lack of food truck parks, something they had enjoyed immensely while living on the West Coast.
With Scuffletown, the Holcks took all the things they loved about food truck parks and built from there. As parents of three children ages 11, 7 and 1 month, they wanted their park to be family-friendly. So, they built a fenced-in area for kids to play with a play structure, small climbing wall and a huge sand box.
Justin loved beer but detested having to wait in long lines to get one, thus the self-pour tap system. The tap allows multiple people to serve themselves at the same time. And you can get the exact amount you want.
As for the food, Justin spent a lot of time tasting and then tasting some more to find the right trucks. The goal was to offer both variety but also quality. The six trucks feature everything from Colombian-style burgers in toston, chicken wings, brisket sandwiches, Caribbean-inspired tacos, birria and donut sundaes.
The featured trucks have a one-year contract to be part of the park. Temporary trucks will fill in as needed, he said, but the hope is that there is enough variety that people can come back day after day and try something new.
“You can come here every day of the week, and it would still take you a good month or two to try everything on their menus,” he said.
Food trucks:
Half Rooted – Colombian specialties like empanadas, toston, yuca fries and a Colombian burger
BirriaBoy – Birria tacos, burritos, quesadillas and more
One Love Fusion Foods – Asian-tinged rice bowls, tacos and nachos
Duck Donuts – get one, a half dozen, or a dozen
Rad Dad’s BBQ – classic barbecue plates and sandwiches and sides
Too Sac’D Up – a variety of chicken wings with classic and new flavors
A passion for food, beer and community
It wasn’t that Justin set out to own a food truck park, but more that he saw a need and a chance to do his own thing while melding his interest in food and beer.
At one point he thought about going to culinary school but realized that while he enjoyed cooking for his family, he didn’t want to cook for a living.
After 12 years in the Air Force as a firefighter and then a couple years working as a civilian firefighter, a job he loved, he was ready for a change.
He officially retired from firefighting two weeks ago to focus on Scuffletown fulltime. He manages the taproom and the food truck park, while each individual food truck manages their own hours.
It’s hard to believe the trajectory of life over the past two years, but when he considers it, he feels immensely humbled and fulfilled.
“We want to be able to create a space for a sense of community and a place that supports local,” Holck said. “It’s really exciting to see people able to spend more time with their families and friends.”
For specifics about hours and menus, visit www.scuffletownsc.com
Note that each food truck sets its own hours of operation.
864-527-0464
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