Food Truck Check-in: Spiked mixes locals’ love for food and drink

When it comes to the local food truck movement, it’s fairly common to find one of Charlottesville’s mobile eateries parked outside of a homegrown brewery or dishing out grub at some of the area’s most popular vineyards. It seems that Cvillians love to imbibe on local craft beer and wine while enjoying handheld delicacies — a fact that is not lost on Will Conti.

Conti, a 25-year-old Charlottesville native, decided to pour his love for food and alcohol into the Spiked Food Truck. The truck debuted April 12 at the Tom Tom Founders Festival.

Since the festival, the truck has been making the rounds at area breweries and vineyards. The alcohol-infused menu includes beer bratwurst slow-cooked in Missile IPA from Champion Brewing Co. and a London broil with red wine horseradish sauce that serves as a culinary compliment to the wine menu at Glass House Winery in Crozet.

Blitzed BBQ pulled pork sliders

Conti also offers Blitzed BBQ pulled pork sandwiches marinated in whiskey and Drunken Steak sliders marinated in moonshine. Oh, he also has fries, but sadly they come sans spirits.

“I wanted to start something that differentiated myself from the other food trucks,” Conti said when asked about the inspiration behind his truck and menu.

In addition to the alcohol marination, Conti’s menu is made up of a variety of delicacies that include Spanish cuisine, Mexican food, and Americano favorites.

“It’s a little bit of everything,” he said. “I’m always up for suggestions.”

Conti cut his teeth working in food service for the Potomac Nationals minor league baseball team and for vendors at the University of Virginia. The self-employed foodie said he always wanted to start his own business.

“I was kind of thinking of food trucks before the food trucks started popping up around here,” Conti said, noting the cost to run a food truck is cheaper than opening a restaurant.

Conti has built up a loyal customer base and can be found at the Earlysville business park from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesdays and at James River Runners near Scottsville for lunch service on Sundays.

Spiked is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, but can be found parked outside Charlottesville businesses or Albemarle County wineries throughout the summer. To find out where Spiked will be next, find the food truck on Facebook or follow @SpikedLLC.

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