Giant Pothole On I-80 Puts Popular Rock Springs Food Truck Out Of Business

What started as a retirement hobby for a Rock Springs couple soon became a familiar sight across southwest Wyoming.

Tip’s Kitchen, a small — and very purple — food trailer known for serving comfort food, chicken wings and friendly service, quickly built a loyal following wherever it parked.

Now, after one hard hit on Interstate 80, Tip’s Kitchen may be finished for good.

Mike Tipton, co-owner of the food truck with his wife Kat, said the trailer was badly damaged while he was driving home from an event late last year.

Near mile marker 97 on Interstate 80 west of Green River, he hit a large hole in the highway.

“We were on our way home,” Tipton said. “It was after dark. I was tired. I just set the cruise control and was just driving.

“I forgot about the big hole in the interstate at the mile marker 97. And I hit it at 80 mph.”

The impact broke the trailer’s frame and dropped the fenders down onto its tires.

‘I’m Still Waiting For A Check’

For a while, the Tiptons hoped they could save their popular food trailer.

Mike said the original plan was to move the equipment into a new enclosed trailer and keep going with a fresh design and menu.

But he said months of delays with the couple’s insurance claim has changed that.

“Four and a half months we were stuck in the process,” he said. “I’m still waiting for a check.”

At first, he said, the insurance company questioned whether the damage was even the result of an accident.

Tipton said the back-and-forth dragged on long enough that he eventually gave up on trying to rebuild.

“I had everything in front of me,” he said. “I could have rebuilt this into a brand-new trailer for less than $15,000 with a brand-new 2026 enclosed trailer.

“But after they hesitated for so long, and there are so many food trucks now, I decided (that) I don’t want the salvage, just keep the whole thing.”

That decision may mark the end of the road for the Tiptons, and for local fans of Tip’s Kitchen.

“As far as the food truck, no, there’s probably not going to be another one in the future,” Tipton said.

‘Let’s Buy A Food Trailer’

Tip’s Kitchen opened in March 2022 after Kat suggested her recently retired husband needed a hobby.

“I told him to find a hobby,” she said with a laugh.

Mike’s solution was simple, or at least that’s what he thought.

“Let’s buy a food trailer,” he said.

What the couple expected would be a part-time project quickly became much more.

“I told him we’d work at it a couple days a week and we’d be good,” she said.

“Yeah,” Mike replied. “Turned out to be a nine-day-a-week job.”

Even so, the couple stuck with it.

Tipton said the business lost money in its first year, then climbed to the break-even point and stayed there, no small feat in the food business.

“It was a break-even business,” he said. “It’s not like everybody thinks that you open a food truck and you’re making millions. It’s not that way.”

Still, he said, they were close to possibly making a profit.

“We were one year from having it paid off,” he said.

Built A Following

Along the way, Tip’s Kitchen built a following in Rock Springs, Green River, Bridger Valley, Rawlins, Evanston and beyond. 

In 2022, the trailer was named a finalist in Sweetwater County’s Best of the Best competition for chicken wings.

In 2023, the Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce awarded it the Small Business Rockstar Award.

For Tipton, the food truck was never just about sales. It was about cooking, showing up and building a reputation one customer at a time.

When something went wrong, Kat said, the couple made it right. 

“Anything went wrong, it’s like bring it back, we’ll fix it,” she said.

That approach seemed to resonate with customers.

Even after the trailer was damaged, Tipton said people from around the region were upset to hear the business might not return.

“Rock Springs, Green River, Farson, Superior, Rawlins, Bridger Valley, Evanston, Kemmerer — there are people all over who have told me they’re upset that I’m not in business anymore,” he said.

The loss comes at a time when operating a food truck was already becoming harder, he said.

Fees at events had risen, annual inspections and other business costs kept piling up, and competition had grown.

“Everybody’s got their hand out,” he said.

Not Gone Entirely

By the beginning of this year, he said, the costs were increasing and with the trailer gone — and insurance finding every reason to not pay out their claim — the Tiptons don’t feel it’s worth starting over. 

“All the yearly bills come in,” he said. “The LLCs are due, the health inspection’s due, the fire inspection’s due.

“All the bills just kept coming in in January and February, and it’s like, ‘Yeah, no. I’m 64 years old. Let the young kids do it.’”

Even so, the Tiptons said they are not disappearing entirely.

The couple still plan to do some catering and rent commercial kitchens for select events, including an upcoming city dart tournament and possibly Inkfest.

“We’re not gonna fall completely off the face of the earth,” he said. “We got too many followers just to go completely away.”

But for the purple trailer that became Tip’s Kitchen, the future appears over.

“It’s been great,” Tipton said. “I’m gonna miss it.”