T.C.’s Fully Loaded sets roots in KC while honoring past in Japan and Alabama

Courtesy TC’s Fully Loaded

Since 2019, T.C.’s Fully Loaded food truck has frequented local music festivals, office buildings, and countless obscure boulevards. The niche dish is a combination of succulent protein and homemade sauce atop a baked potato.

It has been well-received as an alternative to traditional, often fried, food truck options. However, these nomadic spuds will soon have a permanent home near downtown Kansas City. 

We sat down with Thomas Clark, the innovator behind T.C.’s Fully Loaded, to delve into his international culinary influences, the nuances of his menu, and the opening of his inaugural brick-and-mortar restaurant. 

T.C.’s diversified menu is derived from an expansive travel history. As a native of Prattville, Alabama, T.C. boasts of traditional southern entrées like Conecuh, a pork sausage, and grits that shaped his love for southern cuisine. A three-year stint in Japan as the child of a career soldier submerged an impressionable, adolescent Clark into Japanese culture. After college, the novice chef relocated to Kansas City and basked in the historic barbecue traditions of the city. 

He now incorporates all of these distinct regional flavors into his menu and credits each of the places individually for influencing his palate. 

“When I lived in Japan I used to eat shrimp burgers at McDonald’s. Then I came [back] to America and the food didn’t taste the same so I tried to make it at home… That’s where the cooking, experimenting, and curiosity really came from… the curiosity of Japan, being from the south, and then moving to K.C. That was pretty much like the triangle, the blueprint,” says T.C.

Courtesy TC’s Fully Loaded

The Fully Loaded menu consists of five meticulously crafted loaded potatoes. These recipes range from an elevated rendition of the quintessential sour cream, cheddar, and bacon baked potato, to a seafood-adorned tater endearingly named “Mr. Krabz”. 

Besides the SpongeBob references, T.C.’s menu also features baked potato-adjacent dishes, like potato chips and loaded fries. Arguably the quirkiest combination of the menu is The K.C., a barbecue baked potato that pays homage to both Kansas City’s and North Alabama’s acclaimed barbecue cultures.

“It’s really a hybrid. The K.C. [potato] is definitely an Alabama foundation, with the Kansas City barbecue brand and product,” says T.C. of the burnt ends baked potato option.

After five successful years cooking at various locations and in his food truck, T.C. hopes that his forthcoming premiere restaurant will heighten his customer experience and allow him to collaborate with upcoming chefs. 

As T.C.’s Fully Loaded expands alongside the growing infrastructure of the city, the starch enthusiast reflects on the overwhelming support he’s received from Kansas City patrons throughout his tenure. 

“A permanent location definitely signifies that the community is still supporting Fully Loaded. We’re pretty much moving to the next chapter in the dream. We just thank Kansas City, and everyone for their support,” T.C. says. 

Clark informed us that he will roll through this festival season operating primarily out of his food truck—a victory lap, of sorts, before he transitions to his storefront in October 2024. 

T.C.’s Fully Loaded will be located at 1407 Southwest Blvd, Kansas City, Kansas, 66103. Follow along online for current food truck locations.