SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — Family is at the forefront of two mobile operations that began rolling in the greater Wilmington area this year. LVL Up Coffee truck is run by a mother-daughter duo, while New England Peddlah has a husband-wife team dishing out hearty sandwiches.
LVL Up Coffee opened earlier this spring with options for coffee, teas, “power-ups” (energy juices), and different weekly baked goods. They also have sugar-free flavor options for drinks and gluten-free treats.
Originally from Georgia, owners Sarah Batioja and Savannah Price wanted to create a coffee and gaming-loving community via a food truck.
The two moved to Wilmington in 2007 but began gaming together Fortnite and Valorant in 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Batioja said she gamed in her youth as well and was pleased to find something to do with her daughter during lockdown.
2020 is also the year Batioja’s love for coffee leveled up, so to speak. She set up her own coffee bar in her kitchen as coffee shops closed due to the pandemic, often mixing flavors and trying out new drinks.
“I used to tell my husband I was going to own a coffee shop one day,” Batioja said.
When Batioja’s father died in 2024 and her mother the following year, she decided to put some of her inheritance into opening a coffee truck. The truck is painted to mimic a video game and the entrepreneurs settled on the moniker LVL Up, in reference to a popular gaming phrase meaning a player is advancing.
“The world runs on caffeine and being a part of the gamer and coffee lover community, we wanted to unite those two,” Batioja said.
Price worked at Port City Java and then Starbucks the past five years, so she was able to bring experience to the operation. Price said she loves the preparation of coffee and joint effort with her mother to come up with recipes and drink names.
“Savannah is so creative, she handles everything,” Batioja said.
The best seller is The Golden Cookie, a caramel latte with Biscoff cold foam, Biscoff drizzle, and the cookie crumbles.
“When the customers drink our drink, their facial expressions just give it away,” Batioja said.
They plan to have specials each season and released 13 new drinks under a “Twilight” themed menu — named after the popular vampire novels and movie franchise.
Batioja and Price enjoy the series and imagined what the vampires from the series would smell like to come up with coffee drink ideas. For instance, a licorice flavor can be tasted in “The Voltouri Coven” chai latte.
Another is “Bella’s Lullaby” — an espresso latte, with floral and blueberry notes and a marshmallow cold foam.
Besides coffee drinks, the menu includes flavored teas and chais, juices, matchas and dirty sodas, some topped with foams or sweet creams, gummy bears and Sour Patch Kids, varied drizzles and more.
Price prepares the drinks and oversees the social media accounts, while Batioja’s role is public-facing, taking orders and interacting with customers. Her sister also joins in to help on occasion.
“I don’t even take pay from the truck, I just want to get out there and help Savannah get started,” Batioja said. “The enjoyment I get from it is seeing Savannah in action, it’s like I’m watching my little girl do something she loves.”
LVL Up’s prices are $2 to $9.50, depending on flavors and sizes.
Batioja and Price hope to eventually open a brick and mortar in at least three years; however, for now, customers can find their schedule posted on their social media page here.
New England Peddlah
New England Peddlah, open since May, serves hearty New England sandwiches and sides.
Owner Theron Boudakian is originally from Rhode Island but lived in Massachusetts for most of his life, and moved to Brunswick County’s Carolina Shores last fall. Boudakian and his wife, Meghan, wanted to experience living in the South and fell in love with the Calabash area.
Having worked for the U.S. Postal Service, Boudakian desired to operate his own business. His wife told him: “You’ve always wanted to do a food truck, now’s your chance.”
New England Peddlah set up at Brewha in Wilmington on May 1 and has been to more than 30 stops to date. The menu has four sandwiches and two sides, with two sandwiches rotating every couple weeks.
The two constant offerings are the Federal Hill and North Shore Beach. The Federal Hill consists of a breaded fried chicken cutlet, topped with prosciutto, melted provolone, and homemade marinara, on a freshly baked grinder roll.
“I made the Federal Hill from inspiration from the smell of garlic and tomato on the streets of Little Italy, Rhode Island,” Boudakian said.
The second most popular sandwich, the North Shore Beach, is a thinly sliced roast beef, topped with James River BBQ sauce, American cheese, and mayonnaise on a toasted onion roll.
For sides, Boudakian offers Manchester-Style Chicken Tenders, lightly breaded and fried, and Downeast Mac and Cheese Bites with smoked gouda cheese.
It’s not Boudakian’s first go-round in the food industry; he has worked as a cook before and is taking back the spatula on the truck, while his wife runs the register.
“I’ve always wanted to have my own brick-and-mortar restaurant,” Boudakian said. “But food trucks are so much more popular down here than they are up north; however, when I would see a few up north, I was interested in the idea of changing locations and not being stuck to one place.”
New England Peddlah will have seasonal options, too, such as a Jägerschnitzel for Oktoberfest, a sandwich made with pork schnitzels with Hunter gravy (a mushroom and onion gravy). The food truck also is putting out “Plymouth Rock” in the fall, which is a sandwich filled with turkey, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce.
While food is his passion, so is interacting with customers and engaging with them one-on-one.
“I love people,” he said. “There’s so many different types of people out there and I love when customers open up to me, that’s my favorite part.”
So far, New England Peddlah does about five to six events a week, and has traveled from Wilmington to Leland, Sunset Beach to Ocean Isle.
Prices range from $10-$17 and the monthly schedule is posted on their socials here.
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