JP Udenenwu serves pancakes “all day, every day,” bringing sunshine to customers from his turquoise food truck in West Campus. Now, as JP’s Pancake Co. faces cloudy days, the small business owner said he will not leave behind his dreams just yet, turning to the UT community for help.

Last week, Udenenwu took to Instagram to share the food truck’s struggle to maintain employees. While reflecting on the truck’s rapid growth, he said he faced difficulties keeping the lights on without a consistent staff. “Where are we today? Full transparency? We are struggling,” the post said, garnering more than 1,500 likes and several comments offering support. 

After opening in 2020, JP’s Pancake Co. proved its success even amid COVID-19, which led to Udenenwu opening a second location in Oak Hill. Remembering his many impactful conversations by the truck, Udenenwu said customers regularly stop him just to say hello. Despite his challenges nearly three years in, Udenewu said he still believes in his mission of building community through food.

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“(It’s nice) to have something that you can give to the world that, when people encounter and experience it, (it) makes them feel good,” Udenenwu said. “I’m pretty good at breaking up — when the time comes to depart from it, I’ll be ready. But I don’t think that time is now.” 

With inflation and major corporations making national headlines, Udenenwu said small businesses like his do not receive enough media attention. 

To save his business and encourage applicants, Udenenwu said he made plans to offer one shift per week and just a three month commitment. After posting on Instagram, Udenenwu said he received 25 applications and plans to put most on his staff after conducting group interviews. 

Caleb Smith, a co-manager and longtime employee, said working at the truck helped him foster relationships with both Udenenwu and other student customers, and provided him with a flexible work schedule.

“As time goes on, especially with college students, they don’t know how flexible their schedules might be,” said Smith, an applied movement science senior. “We thought this would be a better solution to that problem, and feedback so far has been looking pretty good.” 

Ben Beal, a West Campus resident and frequent JP’s patron, saw the post online and said he feels compelled to further support the business. 

“As a new Austinite, I feel like we should help our own,” Beal, a Plan II sophomore, said. “It’s definitely unfortunate that this is happening because JP’s is a staple within the community and a lot of people enjoy it, especially UT students. Any support that we as a community could give would definitely be beneficial to not only them, but to the community at large.” 

Udenenwu said enthusiasm from students like Beal will fuel his fire to keep pushing forward. 

“Hard times come, and I’ve heard it from the best entrepreneurs — a lot of great things are on the other side,” Udenenwu said. “I just want to wait a little longer to see what the other side looks like.”