SOUTHPORT — What started out as a literal dream has become a reality for Jennifer Pipkins, the owner, and operator of one of the region’s newest — and most unique — food trucks, Kono Pizza Coastal Carolina.
The concept is simple, pizza — in a cone. Now, this is not the typical waffle cone you would see at an ice cream shop, instead, the cone is made of pizza dough and is directly imported from Italy, Pipkins said.
Originally hailing from New York, Pipkins said the idea for pizza in a cone came to her in a dream one night.
“I dreamt one night of pizza in a cone, I woke up from this dream and I told my husband and he goes ‘That’s an amazing idea but it would never work.’ So I said ‘why would it never work?’ and he said ‘because you could never get the crust right.’ So, I googled pizza in a cone and Kono Pizza came up,” she said.
The nearest franchise of Kono Pizza was located in Raleigh so Jennifer, along with her husband William Pipkins, headed West in search of pizza in a cone.
“We went up to Raleigh to try it and it was phenomenal, I said ‘this is insane! I can finally have a decent pizza in the South,’ a year later we bought our first truck,” she said.
With the help of her husband and nephew Kaymel Shipley, Kono Pizza Coastal Carolina is making the rounds in the Cape Fear region and has already been a hit with customers.
Wilmington residents can expect to see Kono Pizza hitting the local brewery scene in the upcoming months.
“We are going to be doing a bunch of events in Wilmington starting in May and June. We’re going to be at the Flying Machine brewpub the Wilmington Brewing Company, and also Mad Mole Brewing Company. We’re trying to make contacts and obviously be down there to partner with the brewpubs that have no food to serve,” she said.
For those interested in trying pizza in a cone, you can find Kono Pizza Coastal Carolina on Facebook and look for it in upcoming editions of our weekly Food Truck Tracker.
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