The food trucks on Grounds serve hundreds of students every day, adding a unique dimension to the dining experience. Got Dumplings and The Pie Guys work with the University to offer quality lunch options for students.
Got Dumplings provides students with dumplings in addition a selection of Asian cuisine while The Pie Guys specialize in savory Australian meat and vegetable pies.
“When I put these recipes together, I think about how [my mother’ would [prepare food],” owner of Got Dumplings Phung Huynh said. “So all of these [dishes] are a reflection of my mom’s cooking.”
Got Dumplings started their business here at the University.
“It was really started when they were remodeling Newcomb Hall and they needed more places for the students to eat, so they thought about food trucks or trailers.” Huynh said. “They wanted a dumpling trailer so that’s when we got started.”
Got Dumplings staffers prepare just enough dumplings to sell out on weekdays. On Saturdays, the food truck sells at the farmer’s market near the Downtown Mall.
Huynh has a personal connection to the recipes she shares with the University.
“[My mother] made the best food, and I never had to worry about cooking until she was diagnosed with lung cancer,” Huynh said. “She passed away really quickly, so [ended up] cooking for my family and I had to think about how she cooked.”
Huynh graduated from the McIntire School of Commerce.
“I really enjoy working with the students, it’s like being back home,” Huynh said.
Owner of The Pie Guys Justin Bagley brings his overseas experience to the University.
“I spent some time traveling overseas and lived in Australia for a while, and discovered meat pies over there,” Bagley said. “I fell in love with them and ate them all the time. My wife is Australian, I met her over there, and we both decided that when we moved back here we were going to bring the pies with us.”
The Pie Guys have a commercial kitchen in downtown Charlottesville, from which they run special events, catering and wholesale business. They also sell at the farmer’s market on Saturdays.
The University approached them last year to inquire if they were interested in selling pies on Grounds.
“It’s great—we have our regular customers, and we’re still fairly new so we are constantly having people come up and try us,” Bagley said. “Everyone has always been super friendly, and it’s nice being around the younger population.”
The Pie Guys sell a wide variety of hand-held pies, but the most popular pies are the Melbourne, a meat pie with beef tenderloin, and the Snake Bite, a Thai chicken curry pie.
“It seems that the students most appreciate the fact that because our product is hot and ready to go, they don’t have to wait in line for it to be made so they won’t be late for class,” Bagley said. “Because the pies can be picked up out of the tin and eaten with your hand, it is very easy to eat them on the go between classes.”
Huynh shares Bagley’s sentiment of working with University students being a positive experience.
“A lot of times the students know exactly what they want so it makes it easy,” Hyunh said. “They get their Plus Dollars and student ID ready which makes it really easy – they are really thoughtful.”
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