Shad and Kenzie Shapland own and operate 1979-American Food Fare, a food truck and catering business that travels throughout Kansas and beyond, serving everything from cheeseburgers and smoked pork nachos, to chicken wraps and Philly cheesesteaks.
“We just travel all over, providing food for all kinds of different events,” Shad said. “Just making sure people are fed.”
A Ulysses native who graduated from Ulysses High School in 1998, Shad has worked professionally in the food industry for 26 years. The food truck, however, grew out of the COVID-19 pandemic. As food trucks became increasingly popular, the Shaplands decided to take the opportunity to build their own.
“We decided we needed to do something, but everything was trending towards food trucks,” Shad said. “So we decided to get into that, get into the catering business, and let that drive us in.”
The Shaplands opened 1979-American Food Fare in early 2021 and have now been operating for more than five years.
“It’s been a pretty good decision,” Shad said.
Today, the business is Shad’s primary occupation. He operates it alongside Kenzie and their four children, making 1979-American Food Fare a family endeavor.
The name “1979” comes from Shad himself.
“1979, the year I was born,” he said. “I like numbers.”
The truck’s bright red design was also intentional.
“When you look at colors, red draws your eye,” he said. “So when you drive down the road, you see a red box on the side, you immediately look, and like, ‘Oh, hey, I am hungry.’”
The menu changes frequently, depending on what Shad feels like cooking and what customers are looking for.
On any given day, customers might find cheeseburgers, smoked pork nachos, Memphis chicken wraps and Philly cheesesteaks. One item, however, has remained a constant.
“The smoked pork nachos, that’s the only thing that’s been on the menu for five years straight,” Shad said. “Number three, never taken it off.”
The business also has its own signature soda, 79 Soda, which Shad describes as fruity and sweet.
“I tell everybody it’s like drinking a unicorn,” he said.
Shad also noted Philly cheesesteaks on the menu, and as someone from the Philadelphia area myself, I had my own culinary critiques when it came to the kind of cheese used.
But the menu, by and large, reflects the business’s larger philosophy of serving “everything,” which is what Shad replied when I asked what kind of food he specializes in.
The food truck gives him room to experiment with different dishes, while catering allows him to take on larger events and more customized menus.
The business has taken the Shaplands well beyond Ulysses.
“We’ll kind of go anywhere,” Shad said.
Stops have included Protection, Lakin, Garden City, Scott City, Tribune, Syracuse and Cimarron. The business has also received inquiries from farther away, including Great Bend and Wichita, as well as from outside Kansas in Oklahoma, Colorado and Florida.
What began during a pandemic as an opportunity to enter the food-truck business has since grown into a full-time family operation. Five years after opening, Shad said he continues to enjoy the work and where it has taken the family.
“We just really enjoy everything that [our business] has been doing for us,” he said.
From its bright red truck to its ever-changing menu, 1979-American Food Fare has grown from an idea into a family business built around keeping people fed, wherever the road takes them.
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