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From Wild West chuck wagons to food truck gourmet treats; how modern technology relaunched and reshaped mobile dining

PRE News & Ideas | By Annette Weston
Published October 29, 2025 at 5:29 AM EDT
Rachel Whitner and her husband operate the No Rules food truck – with a revolving menu that might include a pineapple burger one day and a steak and cheese sandwich the next.
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Rachel Whitner and her husband operate the No Rules food truck – with a revolving menu that might include a pineapple burger one day and a steak and cheese sandwich the next.
Annette Weston, Public Radio East
Ice cream trucks symbolize carefree childhood summers for many who have fond memories of chasing the truck, sharing treats with friends, and past summers when life felt more carefree. Lisa Kingery, owner of The Dairy Duck in Swansboro, is operating one and selling cold treats in several communities in the surrounding area.
2 of 4  — Ice cream truck 1.jpg
Ice cream trucks symbolize carefree childhood summers for many who have fond memories of chasing the truck, sharing treats with friends, and past summers when life felt more carefree. Lisa Kingery, owner of The Dairy Duck in Swansboro, is operating one and selling cold treats in several communities in the surrounding area.
Annette Weston, Public Radio East
While ice cream trucks, and the blue tongues that can result from a colored, frozen treat are nostalgic for many generations, modern technology – like the internet and social media – have been a game-changer for the food truck business.
3 of 4  — Ice cream truck cover.jpg
While ice cream trucks, and the blue tongues that can result from a colored, frozen treat are nostalgic for many generations, modern technology – like the internet and social media – have been a game-changer for the food truck business.
Annette Weston, Public Radio East
Fall, and not the busy summer tourist season in eastern North Carolina, is the busiest time for mobile food vendors.
4 of 4  — Ice cream truck 3.jpg
Fall, and not the busy summer tourist season in eastern North Carolina, is the busiest time for mobile food vendors.
Annette Weston, Public Radio East

From Carolina barbeque to Cajun treats, sweets and donuts, food with a Mexican or Caribbean flair, there are dozens of food trucks feeding people in eastern North Carolina.

Listen as Public Radio East’s Annette Weston shares more about mobile dining in the region, with Lisa Kingery, owner of The Dairy Duck in Swansboro, and Rachel Whitner, who operates the No Rules food truck.
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Annette Weston
Annette is an award-winning journalist based in Eastern North Carolina. Her career includes professional stops across the Midwest, Pacific Northwest, and Southeast, recently culminating in a 2026 Region 8 Edward R. Murrow Award for Small Market Radio Best News Series for her work on the Camp Lejeune Justice Act Series. Guided by a passion for human-interest storytelling, she focuses on narratives that touch hearts and connect communities. A mother of four and grandmother of two, Annette enjoys reading and creating epic Halloween costumes in her spare time. If you have a story idea to share, please reach out by email to westona@cravencc.edu.
See stories by Annette Weston