Truck Talk: The Mill builds food truck community through candid conversation

Truck Talk: The Mill Builds Food Truck Community Through Candid Conversation

Dyersburg, TN – July 30, 2025 – On Tuesday, July 23, The Mill Workspace brought together food truck owners from across the region for an open, honest panel discussion about what it really takes to run a food truck business.

The event took place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at The Mill Workspace in downtown Dyersburg, and was led by The Mill’s CEO, Chris Donaldson.

Panelists included:

• Robert and Tiffany Aguirre, the husband-and-wife duo behind Yummy Sourdough Pizza based in Kenton, TN
• Jason Foust, owner of Squatch BBQ out of Weakley County, TN
• TJ Walley of Dyersburg, who operates multiple trucks including Walley Taters and More, the Eddyville Weiner Wagon, and Eddyville Pork Skins—businesses previously owned by veteran food trucker Edd Daniels
• Edd Daniels, who’s been in the game for over 20 years and is now slowly easing into retirement

The night included time for networking and Street Food Finder [SFF] onboarding, followed by a thoughtful and informative panel discussion covering everything from startup costs and permits to menu planning, marketing strategies, and the unexpected challenges that come with the territory.

One big takeaway from the evening of that there’s no one-size-fits-all path to success. While Foust, Walley, and Daniels made significant upfront investments in their trucks, others like the Aguirres are doing things differently by starting small, setting up at markets and other popup events.

Tiffany Aguirre shared that they jumped into the industry with far less preparation than their fellow panelists, but they’ve managed to keep costs lower by working with what they have.

Across the board, the panelists agreed that no matter how long you’ve been in the industry, you’re always learning. Walley pointed out that flexibility is key—his menus and locations shift based on demand. Daniels and Foust echoed that sentiment, stressing how important it is to stay active in booking the right events while avoiding those that are too saturated to be profitable.

It was a night full of insight, shared experience, and valuable advice for both newcomers and long-term food truckers alike.

About The Mill Workspace: The Mill Workspace, a DBA of Northwest Tennessee Entrepreneurship, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)3 entrepreneur center located in Dyersburg, TN and focused on serving entrepreneurs in the nine counties of Northwest Tennessee. They help businesses through one-on-one counseling, workshops, and multi-week programs all designed to help businesses in the region start up and grow.   

Programs at The Mill are funded in part by a grant from LaunchTN. 

The Mill is dedicated to helping food truckers in Northwest Tennessee build traction, grow, and succeed. Every week, The Mill hosts different food trucks to its venue, signs them up for StreetFoodFinder.com to increase their following and visibility, and creates a marketing campaign for them. All of these services are provided to food truckers across the region, free of charge. 

SFF is an application designed to connect food lovers with their favorite food trucks. By simply opening the app, the user will be able to see all the trucks that are operating within 25 miles of their current location. They will also be able to see the schedule for the trucks and the schedule of registered locations along with menus and other contact information.

Truckers can sign up by visiting: https://streetfoodfinder.com/signup.

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