RICHMOND, Va. — 1115 Mobile Kitchen food truck is sitting totaled in a Richmond salvage yard after a Richmond Ambulance Authority truck slammed into it during a June event.
Henry Fletcher, owner of 1115 Mobile Kitchen, said an RAA truck hit his food truck while it was parked at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture during the IllumiNATION event on Saturday, June 27.
"One of my employees was actually in the truck on the fryers when we were hit by the ambulance, which pushed us seven-ish feet forward and kind of knocked my employee around a little bit," Fletcher said.
The impact cracked the food truck's frame and pushed the front end into a hitch, damaging the engine.
Fletcher said his employee, who he calls his best friend, avoided a potential hot oil bath due to inertia but did receive a concussion.
"I've tried to look at everything, like how could I have helped prevented this? But we had a special parking permit by the city to be in the spot that we were. We were hugging the sidewalk as close as we can so that customers wouldn't have to step into the street and get food," Fletcher said.
The ambulance also narrowly missed a propane tank attached to the back of the food truck.
"If this had been directly hit with the pressure inside of the propane tank, it would have blown up and there would have been potentially casualties," Fletcher said. "The fact that that wasn't impacted, I can't be anything but grateful when I look at this."
RAA did not explain how the crash happened in a statement, but Fletcher said the authority admitted fault and is working to settle a claim with their insurance company.
"The Richmond Ambulance Authority takes the safety of our community very seriously. We are taking every step we can to prevent this from happening again. We are glad to see the incredible support the community has shown the 1115 Mobile Kitchen and appreciate the understanding and grace the owner has given to our first responders and our agency," the statement said.
The crash comes during the busy summer festival season and as Fletcher is seeing a surge in business. Style Weekly readers voted 1115 Mobile Kitchen the top food truck in both 2025 and 2026.
"This 30-day period, from like when the accident happened 30 days out last year, we did about $35,000 in sales during that time period. Right now, we're nowhere near that," Fletcher said. "We got to keep going."
Fletcher said the community support has been tremendous, but it will take thousands of dollars to get back up and running.
"We bought the food truck for $70,000 and that doesn't include a lot of like upgrades that we've put our time into making it our kitchen and a lot of the stuff that we lost on the truck — on top of the lost income this 30-day period," Fletcher said.
1115 Mobile Kitchen is now operating out of a tent, though strong summer storms have repeatedly forced them to shut down. Fletcher is raising funds through T-shirt sales on the food truck's website to support his seven employees while he waits for the insurance claim to settle.
Known for fried chicken sandwiches — with all menu items available in vegan versions — 1115 Mobile Kitchen will set up at a special pop-up with Fat Rabbits and Smashed RVA at the end of the month and at events in Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden's "Grooving in the Garden" series.
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