Eat Wonky is bright and recognizable from a distance

The owner of the Eat Wonky food truck, which since its debut in June 2010 served up hot dogs, poutine and whoopie pies, among other satisfying treats, announced today he is coming off the road. In a statement posted on its website and also broadcast on Twitter, Eat Wonky announced that after spending the winter on hiatus, it are selling its vehicle to another food-truck company and moving the business in a new direction.

The truck itself is going to Bayou Bros., a new cajun-themed truck getting ready to hit the streets. Eat Wonky founder Jeff Kelley, meanwhile, is staying in the food truck industry, but with a different approach. Rather than driving around and slinging hot dogs and gravy-topped French fries, Kelley is focusing on his consulting business, Food Truck Advisors, which assists aspiring mobile restauranteurs.

Bayou Bros. is also inheriting the Eat Wonky brand, though the truck’s flag-like paint job of blue, red and orange waves will be a thing of the past. Bayou Bros. being a New Orleans-inspired operation, expect lots of fleurs-de-lis.

The decision to transform the business was a long time coming, Kelley said. “Initially we considered some brick-and-mortar options,” he told DCist in a phone interview. “We got some offers to acquire the brand, not the truck. It made sense to go forward and grow Food Truck Advisors.”

So no more whoopie pies and poutine. Instead, Kelley said he’ll be consulting on important food steps like concept developing, branding, social marketing, truck acquisition and compliance with city ordinances. That last bit seems quite pertinent these days, with the District proposing a new set of regulations for food trucks. The District’s food trucks’ industry association has endorsed the proposed regulations (with a few asterisks), the comment period for which was originally slated to end February 18 but was extended yesterday.

Kelley, who started Food Truck Advisors not long after Eat Wonky dished out its first whoopie pie, is also keeping up his Uncurbed DC events, though it appears any future occasions will be catered by something other than Eat Wonky.