“Pull Up Or Park”: Meet Carl ‘Big C’ Richardson

DURHAM, NC – Big C Waffles, located off Highway 55 in Durham, has gained local fame as a food truck, with their delicious fried chicken and waffles.  Opening a brick-and-mortar location at 2110 Allendown Drive (behind the Papa Johns) in 2017, Big C Waffles offers hungry customers the opportunity to ‘pull up or park.’ You can show up, place an order, take your food to-go, or enjoy the outside seating.

Owner, Carl “Big C” Richardson, Durham-native and former member of the North Carolina Central University men’s basketball team, has created a laid-back, family-oriented atmosphere that gives you a ton of bang for your buck. It’s not fancy, but it’s homestyle comfort food that authentically gives customers the flair and feels they need.

Richardson also runs his own foundation, Big C Waffles Cares, a nonprofit organization that he started in 2020. He has been using his nonprofit platform to help provide meals for families, frontline workers, and senior citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to give back to the community.

Carl got into the waffle business when his mother purchased a waffle maker for him on Christmas in 2011.

“I had a corporate job in IT and on Fridays when we got paid, we did breakfast,” says Carl. “This is when everyone would bring breakfast in for each other. I started to take my waffle maker in on Breakfast Fridays to cook for my co-workers, we were a small group of about 30 people. When I cooked my waffles everyone loved them. Then I would start to test different waffles out on them. I would do any type of waffle you can think of … Twix waffles, Twinkie waffles, honey bun waffles  … anything you can imagine I have tried. During this time the company started to grow to about 300 people and then we started the Big C Breakfast.”

In August 2013, Carl’s father passed away unexpectedly and from that point on he knew he wanted to do something different with his life. He purchased his first food truck in 2014 while still working his full-time job.

“I had no knowledge of a food truck or how it worked,” says Carl. “My Uncle Wayne worked at a restaurant that recently closed. I called him up and said ‘Unk, I’m getting a food truck.’  I told him he would do the waffles and I would do the chicken and then we got started. I would work four days at my corporate job and then the three days I was off I would work 16-hour shifts on the food truck. I would go to local offices, breweries, and apartment complexes. ” 

Big C Waffles offers seven waffle flavors. You can choose between Donut (which is made from a whole donut), The Bacon Egg N Cheese, Pecan, Red Velvet, Sweet Potato, Blueberry, and Thin Mint. With all these great flavors, it does make it hard to choose between only two. They’re crispy and fluffy,  with unique flavors that you won’t find anywhere else. It’s so hard to choose!

Another favorite is Granny B’s Kool-Aid which is a homemade flavor, color, and sweet taste that will make you feel like a kid again. “We are very excited about Granny-B’s Tropical Punch Shake It to Make It,”  Carl proclaims. “This is our first product launch. We only sell this product online for $25. This is actually a kit when you receive it that includes the GrannyB’s Tropical Punch in our custom jug, a custom Granny-B cup, a refill pack, and a funnel along with the instructions. The goal is to have our customers sign up for the monthly subscription for the Refill Packs. We will be working on getting Granny-B’s to retailers locally and out of state.”

Uncle Wayne’s Chicken is the name of Big C Waffles’ standard flavorful homestyle wings. They are seasoned and fried to golden-brown perfection, along with a light honey glaze. What makes Big C’s stand out is that not only do they offer amazing waffles but also typical game day meal of Uncle Wayne’s chicken. They’ve got a Wings n Tings platter that’s loaded with 75 wings. You can keep the wing selection simple with one flavor or choose up to three.

If you have an event coming up, with just 24-hour notice, you can have a catered meal of waffles and chicken. Now that’s a quick turnaround. Just call in, create your order and you’ll be set for greatness.  The waffles reheat well in a toaster or oven. 

Follow Big C Waffles on all social media @bigcwaffles on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, or click here to go to their website.

To keep up with more local black-owned restaurants follow Spectacular Magazine (@SpectacularMag) on all social media and visit spectacularmag.com for more reviews! 

Feature photo credit: Malcomb Beamon