From the Rooftop to Ground Level

Fahrenheit’s new food truck serves up Hawaiian street food in parking lots across Charlotte

- TAYLOR BOWLER

AT 21 STORIES, Fahrenheit is one of Charlotte’s most popular places to dine on a rooftop. When COVID-19 invaded the city this spring, Executive Chef and Director of Operations Dave Feimster and his team made the difficult decision to temporarily close their restaurant on South Caldwell Street in Second Ward. But instead of a complete shutdown, they put their operation on wheels and brought Hawaiian street fare to customers in a little red food truck they call roof.top21.

“It was actually built in late December, pre-pandemic,” Feimster says. “We were going to keep it a surprise and use it for catering and special events, but then the pandemic happened, so we thought, ‘Let’s get it out on the streets and start feeding people now.’”

Roof.top21 hit the pavement in April with a limited menu of handheld, Hawaiian-inspired street food. “We’ve been taking it to a lot of apartment complexes because it’s a great way for residents to stay safe and still get restaurant food,” Feimster says. The Fahrenheit team also joined the “Feed the Soul” initiative to help feed frontline health care workers during COVID-19. On Thursdays in April and May, members delivered 300 meals to Novant Health and Atrium Health’s main hospitals.