In the debut episode of The Charlotte Business Podcast, host Ashley Boti sits down with Chef Josh Kitchens, the creative force behind Wrap and Roll CLT — a Charlotte food truck known for its chef-inspired handhelds. Josh grew up on a farm, mentored in the kitchen by his grandmother, Mary Kitchens, whose focus on fresh ingredients and soulful cooking shaped his approach to food.
The conversation traces Josh's path from private-chef work — including a gig that connected him with a client's network stretching from MIT to Harvard — to launching his own truck with no formal business background. He talks candidly about what it took to keep the truck running when the original setup stopped working, and why he sees pivoting as the real skill entrepreneurs need, not having every answer up front.
"Someone had a friend looking for a personal chef, and they reached out to see if I was interested. I said yes. I went out to this small island off the coast of Maine... I connected with his family — people I'd never met. From there, he introduced me to people like the president of MIT, Harvard University. I was just getting this gig set to go, and one day he asked me, 'What do you want to do with your career?' I said, 'Well, of course — a Black man in Charlotte, I want to own my own business at some point, to do my own thing.' He said, 'We'll do it. I got you. Whatever you want to do, let's do it.' ... I didn't know a lot about owning a business, so we just tried it."
"We were at the DQ where Milk Bread is now, waiting for people to come see us, and then apartments started to call us. So we kept the wheels turning, and it worked... Pivoting is key."
Josh is the creative force behind Wrap and Roll CLT, a popular Charlotte food truck known for its chef-inspired handhelds. Raised on a farm and mentored by his grandmother Mary Kitchens, he built a private-chef career before launching his own truck — bringing bold flavors and a fresh-ingredient philosophy to the Queen City.
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