Cortney\u2019s husband Jeremey dreamed of opening a food truck but didn\u2019t know exactly where to start. In 2021, Cortney got a job at the popular local food truck, Lupita\u2019s Tacos, to learn the fundamentals and see if she\u2019d like running a restaurant out of a trailer. After about eight months, Cortney determined that she didn\u2019t just like it, she loved it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c<\/em>[Lupita\u2019s] food is so good. It\u2019s delicious, and I learned a lot [by] working in her truck,\u201d she said. \u201cI never touched the grill, but I asked people what they wanted and gave them their orders. It was just a great experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeremey and Cortney opened C&J Dogs & More in Franklin County in May 2022. The couple decided to set up shop around Franklin County not only because it\u2019s where Jeremey is from but also because \u201cthe people are just so nice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The owners of Lupita\u2019s Tacos \u2013 Lupita and John \u2013 helped the couple get started by walking them through which business and food licenses to get, what needed to be done to stay up to code with the state, and helping them overcome the countless obstacles people face in opening their own small business. From helping them file their business name to finding contacts and setting up their trailer, other food truck owners have always been willing to help them out. Recently, they had a hard time hooking up to the electricity at Decherd City Park during an event, and the owner of GoGo Hoagies N\u2019 More lent them a cord so they could have power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe food truck community is just amazing and very welcoming,\u201d she said. \u201cEverybody has been so nice and helpful. I can ask a question and always find an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Food Truck Friday in Winchester hosts over a dozen different food trucks in the area alone. Cortney said the food truck community is an excellent one to be a part of, even though at first she said she was very afraid of running a truck. While she had worked in retail before and had cut her teeth in the food truck industry with Lupita\u2019s, she hadn\u2019t ever worked at the grill and definitely hadn\u2019t run her own business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was terrified, but once we got one thing down we\u2019d move on to the second thing, and it just keeps going,\u201d she said. \u201cWe were trying to dip our toes in to find out if we liked it, if we could do it, but it\u2019s been a full bath.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The couple serves hotdogs with all of the fixings, Jeremey\u2019s homemade chili, hamburger sliders, fried bologna, Cortney\u2019s special potato soup, patty melts, tater tots, and grilled cheese with carnitas supplied by Lupita\u2019s Tacos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n C&J Dogs & More, in their bright yellow trailer, is parked at Decherd City Park on Tuesdays, the Tractor Supply parking lot on Wednesdays, the Tullahoma Airport on Thursdays, and The Pavillion (where the Winchester Farmers Market is held) for Food Truck Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeremey still works full time but helps Cortney park the trailer at their various locations throughout the week. He works in the truck when they\u2019re at events or have catering opportunities on the weekends. They have one helper, Robby, who works in the truck a few days a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI like being my own boss and meeting different kinds of people,\u201d Cortney said. \u201cIt\u2019s my favorite thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through C&J Dogs & More, she has been able to find her place, and the community response according to Cortney has been great. She said that one Thursday Jeremey set up the truck at the Tullahoma Airport for an air race, and the leaders at the airport liked them so much they asked them to come back every week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty good if I can say so,\u201d Cortney said of their growing menu. \u201cWe\u2019ve gotten great feedback, and the community has been good to us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For anyone thinking about opening their own restaurant or food truck Cortney suggested giving it a try. And there\u2019s no better place for it than in Franklin County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was scared at first, but go for it and see what you can do,\u201d she said \u201cJust do one thing at a time and don\u2019t be scared to do it.\u201d GN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CORTNEY WOOD, co-owner of C&J Dogs & More, is a naturally shy person. But when she\u2019s in her food truck, she\u2019s in her happy place. “When I\u2019m in my little second home here, I\u2019m comfortable and can talk to anybody,\u201d she said. Cortney\u2019s husband Jeremey dreamed of opening a food truck but didn\u2019t know exactly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":7031,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[32],"class_list":["post-7027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","tag-november"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/DSC09560-1-1024x683.jpg\")
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