PROVO, UTAH – September 29, 2015 (Gephardt Daily) – Provo’s own “Waffle Love” brought home a second place award in the season finale of the Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race” on Sunday evening.
In the Chicago finale, teams were challenged to sell their food in three different ethnic neighborhoods with three ethnic twists on their dishes. The objective was to be the first to sell 50 dishes in each area.
Waffle Love came in just behind the champions, Pho Nomenal Dumplings, even though that truck lost a bit of ground when they sold 50 dishes outside the boundaries of Chicago’s Greektown.
Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race,” now in its sixth season, features professional food truck operators from around the country. This race kicked off in Santa Monica, California in August and traveled along the famous Route 66, crossing nearly 2,500 miles for a chance to win $50,000.
The Waffle Love Team, consisting of owner Adam Terry and his two brothers, Steven and Jared, along with six other competitors made stops in Sedona, Arizona, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Amarillo, Texas, Tulsa, Oklahoma and St. Louis, Missouri before the season finale in Chicago.
Terry expressed some disappointment in the second place finish on the show but told the Utah media this summer that the show exposed the country to the Waffle Love brand.
The opportunity to be on the show came after an inquiry into The Great Food Truck Race to Food Network. “It all happened so fast. We were initially inquiring about being a part of Food Network when we happened upon this casting call for the race,” Terry said. “We basically sent in our application and within two weeks we were selected and on our way.”
The race comes at an opportune time for Waffle Love. Just over three years ago, it was all just a vision for Terry, a husband and a father of three at the time. “I have always loved to cook and I have always wanted my own business,” he said. “Everyone thought I was crazy, but I was really determined. After all, I had a degree in business and I felt I really could do this.”
Terry, who had just lost his job as a banker in a company-wide employment cut, said he remembers thinking he really wanted a way to support his family. He said of his wife, Melissa: “She was very uneasy about investing into a dream, but she trusted me enough to back me up and support me. She is really behind so much of the success of Waffle Love today. She even designed and painted the Waffle Love truck, she is an amazing artist and very creative.”
When asked about whether or not he has been surprised at the growing success of Waffle Love in the years since their grand opening at the Springville Art City Days’ Farmers Market in July 2012, he said: “I never imagined it would go as well as it has but a part of me knew that determination, hard work and good food would be the key to our success.” He remembers it wasn’t easy at first as he struggled to gain his footing in the first few months Waffle Love was in business. “I just kept going, I knew I needed to sell 100 waffles a day to break even and for the first several months that just did not happen,” said Terry. “I was not about to give up. I am just so blessed and fortunate that it has become what it has. I am so happy to hear that people love our food.”
