2 weeks Ago
A Triad musician has put his musical career on hold to start his own food truck. Kris Dennis, owner of Tommy D’s Cuisine, a food truck specializing in Philly cheesesteaks, poses for a portrait on Wednesday in Greensboro. Kris Dennis is the owner of Tommy D’s Cuisine, which often can be seen parked outside Conn’s HomePlus at 3508 W.
Gate City Blvd. in Greensboro with a handful of other trucks there, too. The truck, which launched in 2022, is named Tommy D’s after Kris’ late father, Tommy Dennis, who died from COVID in April 2020 at age 56, during the early days of the pandemic.
Dennis said his father loved to cook, though he didn’t want to start a food truck himself. A traditional Philly cheesesteak with a side of chicken bacon ranch fries. “I lost my father during COVID and I couldn’t even give him a funeral,” Dennis said.
“I refused to let him just die that way. My body instantly said, ‘Why not let him be remembered for food?’ That’s what he was known for.” People are also reading.
.. Dennis said his father worked for years at Procter & Gamble, often cooking for his friends and coworkers there.
“He would cook at the house and bring it to P&G to feed all the people he cared about. He never charged,” Dennis said. Dennis, 32, graduated from N.
C. A&T with a degree in public relations and was working on a career in rap music. He said he was finishing work on an album when his father died, but he put that aside to go into the food business to honor his father’s memory.
Dennis first started doing plates with help from Daveda Leigh, the mother of his two-year-old son. “Her food was amazing, and we started out selling plates, but she didn’t want to do the truck.” Once Dennis decided to pursue a food truck, he looked to his Philadelphia roots for the menu.
Dennis was born in Philly, but his father brought him to North Carolina when he was 5. “But my dad taught me how to make Philly cheesesteak. And it’s not Steak-umms, no,” he said.
Shondre Henderson seasons fries. At Tommy D’s Cuisine, customers can get a Philly cheesesteak in many forms. There’s the classic cheesesteak with beef ($17), plus chicken and vegan versions.
Among his best-sellers are Philly cheesesteak toppings to hot dogs ($12) and burgers ($15). He also sells a chopped cheese ($16) – essentially a cheeseburger chopped up to fit in a hoagie roll – as well as several types of loaded fries. Dennis sells a Blue Dream lemonade with blue raspberry flavor ($5).
Pink Runts is a strawberry version. And Purple Haze is a combination of the two. Dennis said he got help starting the truck from Will Pettiford, the owner of the Backyard Flames truck, and his friend Robert Whitted.
He currently is assembling a team, including cook Shondre Henderson, to run the truck so that he can get back to his music career. “That’s the plan, to book a team so I can go back to the music. And when I do shows, I plan to have the food truck outside all my shows,” he said.
But his long-term plans still involve keeping his father’s memory alive. He has designed Tommy D’s jerseys – he can be spotted wearing his own with C.E.
O. printed on the sleeve - and would like to start a clothing line. He also would like to have a brick-and-mortar restaurant.
“I plan on getting a restaurant in three years. It will be filled with everything he stood for.” PHOTOS: Tommy D's Cuisine food truck Shondre Henderson prepares a Philly cheesesteak at Tommy D’s Cuisine, a food truck specializing in Philly cheesesteaks, on Wednesday, Oct.
30, 2024, at 3508 W. Gate City Blvd. in Greensboro, N.
C. Shondre Henderson prepares food at Tommy D’s Cuisine, a food truck specializing in Philly cheesesteaks, on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, at 3508 W.
Gate City Blvd. in Greensboro, N.C.
Shondre Henderson seasons fries at Tommy D’s Cuisine, a food truck specializing in Philly cheesesteaks, on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, at 3508 W. Gate City Blvd.
in Greensboro, N.C. Shondre Henderson prepares chicken bacon ranch fries at Tommy D’s Cuisine, a food truck specializing in Philly cheesesteaks, on Wednesday, Oct.
30, 2024, at 3508 W. Gate City Blvd. in Greensboro, N.
C. A traditional Philly cheesesteak with a side of chicken bacon ranch fries at Tommy D’s Cuisine, a food truck specializing in Philly cheesesteaks, on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, at 3508 W.
Gate City Blvd. in Greensboro, N.C.
A variety of homemade lemonade is kept in a cooler at Tommy D’s Cuisine, a food truck specializing in Philly cheesesteaks, on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, at 3508 W. Gate City Blvd.
in Greensboro, N.C. Kris Dennis, owner of Tommy D’s Cuisine, a food truck specializing in Philly cheesesteaks, poses for a portrait on Wednesday, Oct.
30, 2024, at 3508 W. Gate City Blvd. in Greensboro, N.
C. Kris Dennis, owner of Tommy D’s Cuisine, a food truck specializing in Philly cheesesteaks, poses for a portrait on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, at 3508 W.
Gate City Blvd. in Greensboro, N.C.
Kris Dennis, owner of Tommy D’s Cuisine, a food truck specializing in Philly cheesesteaks, holds a bottle of Blue Dream lemonade on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, at 3508 W. Gate City Blvd.
in Greensboro, N.C. mhastings@wsjournal.
com 336-727-7394 @mhastingswsj Phone: 267-994-6226 Email: [email protected] Instagram: @tdcuisine2021 With our weekly newsletter packed with the latest in everything food. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
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