What The Fries is popular for its loaded tater tots. Photo by Peter Taylor Photography

Jamie Barnes and Greg Williams have signed a lease to turn their popular What The Fries food truck into a restaurant. The restaurant will be in a shopping center on Park Road near the intersection of Pineville-Matthews Road.

Chefs Greg Williams (left) and Jamie Barnes pick up the keys for their first restaurant. Photo courtesy of What The Fries

The food truck is one of the most followed in town, commanding long lines any time the chefs pop up in Charlotte. Dishes like loaded fries, bread puddings, and burgers gained What The Fries a loyal following.

“This is a long time coming,” Barnes said in a statement. “Being in one spot — and not on the truck — will give us a chance to spread our wings from a culinary perspective. Our goal is for people to taste our food and walk away with the feeling that they have to come back again because the food was so distinctive. Now they won’t have to find the truck, they can find us in the same spot.”

Barnes and Williams are founding members of the Soul Food Sessions dinner series, a collaboration among Black chefs in Charlotte to highlight talented chefs of color. Their restaurant is scheduled to open early next year, once renovations in the 3,420-square foot former Cici’s Pizza are complete.

Barnes took part in our first annual Meat & Potatoes dinner, and served our favorite bite: biscuits with a beef tongue marmalade. We can’t wait to see what they do with a stationary kitchen.