Henry Fletcher of 1115 Mobile Kitchen (Photo by Jay Paul)
In November 2020, Richmond native and self-proclaimed Deadhead Henry Fletcher launched his food truck, 1115 Mobile Kitchen, offering Southern-style traditional and plant-based dishes, including crispy chicken sandwiches and a line of signature sauces. With a loyal team and hopes for expansion, Fletcher, 27, aims to change the way people perceive the vegan experience.
Richmond magazine: Where did the vision for 1115 Mobile Kitchen come from?
Fletcher: I was always the pioneer of finding what to eat for my friends. When COVID hit, I had a lot more time to cook at home and realized I could make a banging chicken sandwich. I really wanted to create a place where both [vegans and carnivores] could get a very similar experience, where people don’t have to pay extra for plant-based, and where people who eat meat don’t have to feel like they’re compromising. We are also lessening our carbon footprint on the earth, and that’s really my guiding force behind offering that plant-based option.
RM: What were you doing prior to the food truck?
Fletcher: I had been working at Best Buy for five years selling cell phones and was really customer service-driven. It was stressful, but I kept coming back each day and giving my best to people, and I thought, Man, if I do this for a company I don’t care about in an industry I don’t care about, what can I do for myself doing something I care about? After endless convos with my mom and friends, I thought, I’ll start a food truck.
RM: Skateboarding is obviously a huge part of your life; can you tell us more about that connection?
Fletcher: I started in first grade. … When I went to Freeman High, I was introduced to so many insanely good skateboarders. There were kids whose families could barely speak English, but we could all communicate through skateboarding, and I think that’s very similar to food. I’ve experienced so many different cultures by eating different food and experienced so many different foods by eating at the houses of these kids I skated with. Skateboarding has always been the thing to drive me off of a negative path. It’s a really serious therapeutic release for me. When you work on a trick and land it, the only comparable feeling to that is when someone comes up to the truck and says they really enjoyed our food.
RM: What are your goals for the future?
Fletcher: We think having a brick-and-mortar in town and whether or not it has a drive-thru is really important. We want a place to park the truck and use as our own commissary kitchen and maximize opportunities under one roof. Once we get into that space, our goal is to have that be a hub where then we can start putting trucks in different cities.
