Grippy's Sauce Co., a Cleveland-based food truck operation, recently made waves at the 2024 National Fried Chicken Festival in New Orleans. The small but mighty venture, founded by South Euclid resident Khalid Ali, surprised many by becoming a finalist at the prestigious event in early October.
Ali, who operates the food truck with his partner Gregory McCoy, described their journey to the New Orleans festival as “a leap of faith.”
“We've been doing our thing for about four years, really just kind of on the side—doing pop ups and events,” says Ali. “We both still work nine-to-five jobs, but we really felt that we had a great product.”
Khalid Ali of Grippy's Sauce Co.Ali says they get great reviews after bringing their truck to events, so they decided to give the New Orleans competition a shot. “We wanted to challenge ourselves,” he declares. “So, we went to the festival and got some great results.”
The Cleveland food truck was the only representative from the Midwest to compete with more than 40 vendors from both established restaurants and up-and-coming shops on Oct. 5 and 6. More than 128,000 people attended the New Orleans festival that USA Today named one of the top 10 specialty food events in the U.S.
“This was a life changing experience, and we are so proud to have represented Cleveland and all of the Midwest in this competition,” he says. “We knew we had a great product, and this confirmed that our fried chicken can compete with the best of them.”
Despite being a relatively small operation compared to some of the larger brands present, Grippy's Sauce Co. stood out and Ali says he was happy to be named a finalist. He likens their experience to “the little engine that could.”
“It wasn't because I didn't think that the food would be final worthy, I just thought that there were so many larger brands there, that you wouldn't think that it would even be a possibility,” he says. “But I guess it's just one of those things where the cream rises to the top and good prevails.”
Ali has been cooking since he was about nine years old. His father, a passionate cook, taught Ali and his older brother Daoud the basics of cooking. What started with simple breakfast dishes, like eggs and toast, soon evolved into full-course meals by his teenage years.
Cooking became a bonding experience for the brothers, even inspiring friendly competitions. "We’d even compete against each other—having grill-offs and different things like that,” Ali recalls.
Grippy's Sauce Co. Daoud passed away a few years ago, which prompted Ali to pursue his culinary dreams as a way to honor his brother's memory. “It just kind of keeps his spirit alive doing this stuff,” he says.
Khalid started Grippy’s Sauce Co. four years ago as a part-time hobby after the untimely passing of his brother and two of his best friends. “Food was always something we bonded over, whether family get-togethers or game day parties, this was a way to pay homage and honor the memories of the loved ones I lost."
Grippy's Sauce offers a diverse menu of soul food-inspired dishes. The star of the show is their proprietary sauce, which Ali incorporates into many of their offerings.
“I would say kind of sweet and tangy, a tiny bit of kick to it, but very family friendly,” he says.
The food truck's menu varies, but Ali says they typically feature two or three main dishes, including fried chicken, beef ribs, oxtail, and various Alfredo dishes with salmon, chicken, or seafood. Grippy’s even offers a vegan option: a barbecue jackfruit sandwich.
“It’s really, really good,” he says. “That really goes hard, everybody loves that."
Grippy’s also offers sides like mac and cheese, baked beans, and greens.
On a local level, finding the Grippy’s Sauce Co. truck is just a matter of following the company on Instagram, where Ali says they will announce their next location and details on Saturday, Oct. 26.