Tweeds Food Truck, Foley

I was recently introduced to an Orange Beach entrepreneur, Angelo DePaola, and among his many talents and interests is his love and appreciation for the best hamburger found along the Scenic 98 Coastal area. He even goes so far as to have his own YouTube channel, Cheeseburger in Paradise, to tout his latest finds. 

As we visited, he excitedly told me he had discovered the best hamburger on the Gulf Coast at a place called Tweeds in Foley. He had my attention. With a neighbor friend, Bob Ford, and Paul LaBue, owner of LaBue Restoration, we met at Tweeds to see what all the fuss was about. It was a home run!

Tweeds hasn’t been around long. It is located just off the corner of Highway 59 and Underwood Road (County Road 24), There you will find a food truck is permanently covered by a tin roof shed on a concrete pad with a smorgasbord of patio furniture, including one large wooden cable spool turned picnic table and various chairs, none of which match are available for seating. Get the picture?

Plenty of folks are gathered at the tables, and others are waiting to place their orders. The lunch menu consists of at least ten variations of burgers, pulled pork, and beef sandwiches. Three variations of Hot Dogs with sides like Crawfish Mac and Cheese, Etouffee, Chilli, Chili Cheese Fries, and regular French Fries round out lunch offerings.

Okay. It was everything it was billed to be: fantastic! We sat at a patio table and oohed and aahed. Truly everything Angelo said about the burger was spot on. I had a side of the Etouffee; it was as good as the double cheeseburger. Bob and Paul raved about the fries. We all said we would be back soon!

When we finished, I sat down with the owner, Mark Hutchinson, who goes by Hutch, and his daughter, Holly. Mark grew up in the Ft. Walton/Destin area and was with the Destin Fire Department for 28 years. His wife, Elizabeth, was a nurse practitioner. They both retired in 2022 and bought twenty acres in  Elsenor, Alabama, exactly 30 miles from where two of their children live in Molino, Florida, and Fairhope.

Hutch retired as the Battalion Chief at the Destin Fire Department but did the cooking for the 28 years he was there. “Food is sacred. No TV, no phones, no rank,” he says. “When I retired, I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t give up cooking and always wanted a food truck.”

He actually owns two food trucks. One he uses for crawfish, crab, and shrimp boils, mostly on weekends for private parties. The Tweeds Food Truck has a grill and produces its delicious- maybe now famous- burgers and other fare. The name Tweeds and many of the burger offerings are named after his  Labrador Retrievers. Holly helps him run the business.

Tweeds is also open for breakfast from 7:30 until 10:30 AM and serves fantastic breakfast burritos and bowls. Each breakfast comes with two eggs and toppings. “We are still being discovered for breakfast, but lunch business is phenomenal.” Lunch is served from 11 AM until 2:30 PM. Holly handles social media and tells Hutch they have had over 1500 5-star reviews so far.

Hutch has plans to grow the business. He wants to add Steak Nite twice monthly and plans to expand the present location. He says their charbroiled oysters and the crawfish burrito are amazing. I can tell you this, Hutch knows his way around a kitchen and loves what he does.

Check out Tweeds, which is open Tuesday through Saturday. Go online or call ahead at (251) 215-9617. You will be glad you did. My mouth waters just thinking about it!