It has been six years of success, hard work and creating a family business for restauranteur Vanessa McKoy, also known as “Chef Kwon” to the Fayetteville foodie community. 

Since having to unexpectedly pivot careers in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, McKoy has left a lasting impression with her recognizable food truck Kwon’s Kitchen, serving up her own specialty crafted menu inspired by friends and family. 

“At that time when they shut down all the shops, and I had a lot of friends and they would come by the house, and I'd cook a lot, and I'd be like, ‘Try this and try this.” And I'd feed them different types of food. And they would say, ‘Hey, you need a restaurant or a food truck,’ and they kept telling me that. Well, the barber shop was shut down. I said, "What can I do to make money? And I started cooking,” shared McKoy. 

Featuring a fusion menu blending Korean and American dishes, McKoy operates on a rotating menu that includes items like bulgogi tacos, cheesesteak fries and Korean hot dogs.

“I was like, ‘Okay, if I do bulgogi, I don't want to just do bulgogi and rice and the kimchi.’ That's where I started thinking about Americans that don't know Korean food, they know what cheese steaks are, they know what tacos are, or empanadas, so that's where I added the fusion twist,” shared McKoy.

The name of the food truck itself; Kwon’s Kitchen is a tribute to her family who inspires not only her cooking, but remains her driver for success.

“My food really came from my mom who inspired me. My mom's first name is Kwon, and then all five of my kids have Kwon as their middle name. I had to put her on there since my middle name is Kwon too. It represents her, me, and then I’m passing along my food truck to my oldest, it will be [going to] another Kwon,” shared McKoy. “I’m like the backbone of everyone, and I can't see myself failing because I have everyone that depends on me. And I love cooking, I don’t think I can do something that I don’t love.”

McKoy shared that she is already training her oldest daughter, Nevaeh Veal, to take over the food truck while she gets started on a new endeavor outside of Fayetteville. 

“I’m preparing to leave soon. I want to go to Charlotte and see if I can try to open up a restaurant in a bigger city and then give her the food truck,” shared McKoy.

While she has set her sights and some goals on travelling, McKoy shared she has nothing but gratitude for the Fayetteville area and the people who have supported her. 

“I would just like to say thank you to everyone that supported Kwon’s Kitchen from the beginning. I had the food truck, and then I had the restaurant, and I built both of those. That was one of the hardest, but most rewarding journeys. So just thank you for every purchase, every share, every like, every follow, every returning customer, just thank you. They allowed me to keep going, keep growing and just dreaming for bigger things,” shared McKoy.

Follow Kwon’s Kitchen on Facebook at Kwons Kitchen Korean Fusion Cuisine. For more updates and her scheduled stops, follow Kwon's Kitchen on streetfoodfighter.com.