Whenever Petey King opens the concession window of his vibrantly designed food truck, he is almost always met with a long line of customers waiting to order their favorite southern-style meal.
His business, Grill Kingz, is the self-proclaimed “home of the fried lobster,” King’s famous deep fried lobster tails that are served paired with two or more sides including asparagus or a seafood salad. It’s a luxury dining experience on wheels.
“I’m changing the whole food truck game,” King said. “They’re still trying to figure out how to create this pretty ass lobster.”
King’s menu also features fried salmon, shrimp, seafood chowder and the popular Henessey wings. He believes presentation is just as important as how good the food tastes.
“A lot of people eat with their eyes,” King said. “Once they taste it, and it’s good, that automatically just seals the deal.”
King, who is originally from Miami, owes his signature-prepared protein to his upbringing. Fried lobster was a dish he encountered regularly in the south, and he said it was “natural” to bring it to the area. He has intentionally kept his wheels within city limits, motivated by the ideology that “high-end food” should not be confined to a specific way of life.
“I just want to make it affordable,” King said of his pricing, which is usually half what is charged for the same items in wealthier neighborhoods. “I ain’t going to bleed they pockets like that, and you definitely get more bang for your buck.”
King and his wife, Brooke, first launched Grill Kingz as a brick and mortar at 447 North St., and it’s still operating under fixed business hours. The shop and the truck each provide a different experience at a different pace.
“Both (the food truck and the restaurant) are a necessity,” King said. “They always got to catch up with me with the food truck, but the brick and mortar is really relaxed and always there.”
During the winter months, when King has to park his truck, the restaurant keeps his business afloat. Ideally, the food truck is a way to send people back to the brick and mortar even if it means collaborating with other businesses.
“I’m locking in with bars, locking in with clubs, to bring that energy and that vibe,” King said.
One of his standing partnerships is with Turntable, a bar on the corner of Plymouth and Jefferson avenues. Grill Kingz can be found parked directly across from the bar every Friday night until it closes.
The owner of Turntable, Oudomphone Breeda Phoummany, said the venue's kitchen is too small to manage food service on busier nights, so collaborating with King worked out for both businesses.
“I'm beneficial for them, they’re beneficial for me,” said King. “I’ve got a huge following and they have good drinks.”
On a rainy Friday night in mid-October, Pablo Johnson left his home in the 19th Ward to order a steak dinner paired with mac salad and fries from the Grill Kingz food truck. He said it was his only reason for going outside.
“It’s just clean, professional service and the food is good,” Johnson said. “You can't beat it.”
Not long after, bar patrons began making their way over to the truck to place food orders before heading back inside to wait.
Grill Kingz can also be hired to vend outside various private events, and King hopes to one day expand his food truck business to bigger cities like Atlanta and his hometown Miami.
For a long time, King said he felt like his contribution to Rochester’s food culture was going unnoticed, but now he has arrived (pun intended).
“I'm humble, but I need to poke my chest out a little bit more and let them know I ain't playing,” King said. “I want my spot, and I ain't just gonna be looked over no more.” instagram.com/grillkingz
Racquel Stephen is a reporter at WXXI/CITY. She can be reached at rstephen@wxxi.org.