Small Business Spotlight: Paige's Plate Food Truck

Paige's Plate food truck serving breakfast at T & J Panel Systems (Samantha Hill/Lake Norman Record).

Paige’s Plate food truck serves breakfast on the go with a touch of local flavor and love. Paige Woodside, owner of Paige’s Plate, is serving breakfast three days a week in Statesville.

At the start of 2023, the food truck hit the road serving breakfast. Woodside, who attended culinary school at Johnson and Wales and lived in Charleston, SC for seven years, moved back to her hometown to start her business. “I just had my second child,” shared Woodside. “This was kind of like a new adventure. I had left on maternity leave and decided that I wanted to explore owning my own business.” 

Woodside landed on starting up a food truck with a focus on breakfast. “I chose breakfast just because I have two, young children,” shared Woodside. “I wanted to work mornings versus nights. Nights can be very late in the food and beverage world.” Along with being a mom and a wife, she wanted to tap into the Sunday brunch, which was popular in Charleston when we lived there.  “I know Charlotte has their brunch scene and Statesville’s coming along,” she shared. 

Paige’s Plate utilizes local products to the Iredell County region. For instance, the grits that are served are sourced from Linney’s Mill, based in Union Grove. Their livermush and sausage is sourced from McLaughlin’s Sausage, based in Mooresville. Additionally, the truck sells cold brew lattes, sourcing their coffee from Night Swim, based in Charlotte. “When you’re supporting Paige’s Plate, which is a small business, you are also supporting other small businesses," said Woodside. 

Paige's Plate menu (Samantha Hill/Lake Norman Record).

Behind the four walls and wheels, Woodside has experience working in culinary and restaurants. “When I was in culinary school, I had a hard time envisioning what my future looked like,” shared Woodside. “To be honest, when you’re in culinary school, they try to teach you that you’re not immediately going to go from culinary school to an executive position. You have to work your way up.” She shares about how she has worked in different kitchen settings, the preparation work and breakdown of being in the food and beverage business. 

“I went to culinary school with my associates in applied science,” said Woodside. “I didn’t do my bachelors degree for business because in my mind, I was thinking I would never own my own businesses or my own restaurant.” 

After meeting her husband and moving back to Statesville, starting the food truck allowed her to bring a piece of Charleston with her. She shares how she wanted to serve an elevated breakfast menu to the community. “We have our bowls and we have our sandwiches but, it’s not your traditional mom and pop breakfast around here,” said Woodside. “You get a dish and there is a chef behind it who's created the flavors and profile behind it.”

The OG handheld from Paige's Plate food truck (Samantha Hill/Lake Norman Record).

Certain menu items hold their southern charm and classic such as the OG handheld—livermush, fried egg, cheddar cheese on a potato bun topped with mustard and mayonnaise. “There's a lot of people that come to the truck and like they get the OG and they're like, ‘I've never had mayonnaise and mustard on it.’ When they get it and they like it, they love it,” shared Woodside. 

Paige’s Plate food truck has become a staple for morning commutes for Statesville locals. Check out Paige’s Plate on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and their website to keep up with their locations and new menu items.