CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Anyone looking for a quick bite to eat in uptown Charlotte this week might notice something missing. A bright orange mobile food truck near the Square is gone.
The Harvest Moon lunch truck usually sits between the Bank of America building and Chima Brazilian Steakhouse on S. Tryon Street. When it’s not serving, it is parked at Friendship Trays, south of uptown.
But some time between Thursday night and Saturday morning, someone stole it.
“We think it probably got missing between 12 Friday night and early Saturday morning,” said the truck’s owner, Cassie Parsons.
Parsons is both a chef and a farmer, and her truck sells food prepared from locally-grown ingredients, including pork from the farm she shares with co-owner Natalie Veres in Lincoln County.
All of the ingredients are bought within 100 miles of Charlotte, and most of it comes from even closer — within 40 miles.
On Monday, the company released a statement saying they will continue to serve lunch this week starting Tuesday, August 2nd, inside the Harvest Moon Grille at the Dunhill Hotel on N. Tryon and 6th Streets.
“Just like the cart, we’ll serve your lunch in a to-go box, and we pledge to get you in and out quickly so you can get back to work,” the company said. “Being farmers, we are stubborn and resilient, so be assured we are not giving up. We intend to get a full-fledged cart back on the street asap.”
Parsons said the truck — and the newer restaurant it helped create — don’t just support her farm and restaurant businesses, but farmers all over the region.
“In nine months, I have literally bought $169,000 of local food within 100 miles,” said Parsons. Over the two years she’s owned the truck, she believes the investment has been much higher — nearly half a million dollars.
She estimates the new restaurant alone has had a $1.1 million impact on Charlotte’s economy.
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