Food trucks prepare for biggest weekend of business with Myrtle Beach Food Truck Festival

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — The Myrtle Beach Food Truck Festival is a few days away, and trucks are preparing for what is the busiest weekend of the year for many of the trucks.

More than 50 food trucks will gather at the Burroughs and Chapin Pavilion Friday through Sunday, including The Gnosh Pit.

Meredith McCarthy is gearing up for her fourth year as owner of the truck and also her fourth year in the food truck festival. She said in the past four years, business has been up and down.

Between COVID-19, inflation, and supply chain issues, she felt like she just couldn’t catch a break.

“COVID hit and that kind of was a downfall,” McCarthy said. “All these people that canceled the events and everyone was so scared to come out of their houses and this, that, and the other thing — it’s full force. All these events are back, and people are coming out and we’ve had a great response.”

McCarthy used to pay $18 for fryer oil. Now she pays $45 for the same amount.

“The prices on everything has skyrocketed,” she said. “So when you go to your local restaurant or local store, anything, and you complain about the prices, it’s because we’re paying three times, if not more, for everything.”

The more expensive products are also taking longer to come in, and McCarthy isn’t the only one feeling that pressure.

“We are out of a couple things that we are having a tough time re-filling,” said Adam Eversen, the owner of Booze Pops Myrtle Beach.

Eversen and McCarthy both said 2020 almost killed the food truck business.

“We thought we were going to have to be shut down for the whole time, but instead we were able to drive around the neighborhoods like a regular ice cream truck and really got everybody excited,” Eversen said. “[We] were able to bring the booze pops right to their house.”

McCarthy and Eversen both agree the Myrtle Beach Food Truck Festival is a big weekend for business.

Single-day tickets for the festival cost $5.