Brand New “Cookie Express” to Debut at Food Truck Rally Thursday

Tuscaloosa's newest food truck will make its public debut Thursday and if you've got a sweet tooth, you're in luck.

The Cookie Express, a converted school bus owned and operated by Cliff and Nikki Thomas, will be open for business at the University of Alabama's Food Truck Rally from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Thursday.

The Thomas family also runs the Party On supply store off 15th Street in Tuscaloosa, and Cliff Thomas told the Tuscaloosa Thread that baking for clients and employees there eventually led the couple to investigate launching a food truck.

"I'd bake these cookies for people in the store and everybody kept talking about how much they loved them, so my wife said you should probably start a food truck," Cliff Thomas said. "We looked to see if anybody was doing anything like this in Tuscaloosa and nobody is, which creates a great opportunity for us."

Thomas said as the name suggests, the Cookie Express will focus at first on creating delicious cookies, including chocolate chip, sugar, oreo crumble, snickerdoodles and oatmeal cookies.

As the venture grows, he said he would like to add other baked goods, like brownies, pastries and cupcakes, but their first focus will be making the best cookies in Tuscaloosa.

"I’m really just looking forward to really serving the whole Tuscaloosa community since there’s not a cookie truck around and everyone loves cookies," Thomas said. "We're looking to spend most weekdays on the UA campus and weekends around town, but I really want to serve people all over town -- wherever I can be."

Thomas said patrons can follow the Cookie Express on Facebook and Instagram to see where they'll be heading on a day-to-day basis and eventually vote on what cookies and other treats should be added to the food truck's menu.

To try out their baked goods on their first day in business, head over to UA's North Lawn for the Food Truck Rally there Thursday afternoon and see what the Thomases have to offer.