Nice to meet you!

Sand & Street Founder & Chef Alişan Ulucay always loved food and dreamed about owning his own restaurant. As a kid in a small town in Türkiye, he was raised on farm-fresh fruits and vegetables from his mother’s garden. Later, when he lived in Istanbul, street foods became a staple part of his diet. Turkish food culture made a permanent impression on Alişan’s heart.

Alişan eventually moved to the US via hospitality work in hotels. He continued his career in Durham, NC, met and married his wife, Emily Combs, and later moved to Charlotte to explore new opportunities. Here, he was pleasantly surprised to find food trucks and street food rising in popularity.

When Alişan met Chef Bilal Anlaş, also from Türkiye and passionate for good coffee, they realized they had complementary dreams that could bring the best of both worlds into one food truck: Coffee service during the day, and Turkish street food in the evenings. And the name? “Sand” references how Turkish coffee is traditionally made, and “street” is where you’ll find us.