Punk Truck Stop is a coffee shop and live music venue in Fayetteville’s Metro District. The shop sells local art. There’s music, there’s food, there’s more. And it’s already hosted several community events since opening in early August.
Ozarks at Large’s Sophia Nourani recently visited the Punk Truck Stop to speak with Dallin Credible, one of the owners and operators of the store. She wanted to learn more about the space and about Credible’s motivations for opening.
The new Punk Truck Stop at the Fayetteville Metro District is a coffee shop, bodega and live music venue similar to the space’s predecessors Artemis Lounge and American Shaman Coffeebar. Punk Truck has already become a hotspot for local music in Fayetteville.
“Yeah, so you walk in and there’s a table with a bunch of books and bookshelf with radical literature on it. And then right in front is this cafe island bar, which I’ve tried to kind of make look like a bodega when you walk in, like the whole ‘Clerks’ vibe, but not quite there yet. But we serve coffee and there’s inks and things. We have a hot dog roller that often has Spam musubi heating in there as well.
“And then where you and I are is behind that front area. And then we have a couple restrooms, and then there’s a venue and stage in the back.”
That’s the voice of one of the owners of Punk Truck Stop, Dallin Credible. He says while the shop is new, the idea of the Punk Truck Stop has existed for over a decade. Dallin would travel with bands and sell his wares.
“I would sell shirts and hot dogs and books out of the back of my truck when I traveled around the country, from Asheville and New Orleans, and here in Salt Lake City is mostly where I would spend time doing Punk Truck Stop. And mostly wanted to make some rude T-shirts and sell patches. And then I started selling books and they did really well. And then friends’ record labels, music and food outside of concerts and stuff, like the hot dogs and boiled peanuts were very much a part of it.”
It wasn’t until Dallin partnered with friends Kiwi Mullen and Harry Kim that Punk Truck started to become the shop it is today. Once they began designing and printmaking merchandise, things started to take off.
“We were making enough money. We were kind of like, ‘Man, we need a brick-and-mortar,’ because people just keep asking about when they can come in and buy our stuff. And we didn’t have any place except for our random pop-ups.”
Dallin is originally from Salt Lake City, but he’s lived in Northwest Arkansas for 12 years. Since opening Punk Truck Stop, he says he’s seen overwhelming support from the local DIY music community in particular.
“We’ve seen lots of support here, which has been great. And I think some people come and pay for a show ticket and then leave, and it’s because they’re just being like, ‘Ah, this isn’t my jam, but I want this place to exist.’ And we’ve received a lot of support financially and just from people purchasing things we sell here and from people patronizing the place and showing up, which has been great.
“But yeah, I think it’s just important to provide space for the other communities, whatever the other is. And turns out there’s a lot of us and there’s a lot of people that want space to do their thing. We’ve hosted queer events and events for fundraising for people’s different causes. Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition is doing a fundraiser here. And we also host the Ozarks Free School. They have potlucks and workshops, skillshares here.
“Yeah, I think it’s just really important to continue providing spaces when, I’ve noticed this town since I moved here over a decade ago, a lot of people are waiting for permission to do things. And I think even in the culture of resistance, people are waiting for permission. And this place very much helps provide a space for that culture of resistance to incubate and for friendships to be made.”
Dallin says the word punk may be limiting to some people, but to him it’s an expansive, open thing.
“Punk rock is just such a small part of being a punk, and we honestly try to encapsulate a lot of that here, including, we have a space that you can come and just read books and drink free coffee, as well as buy coffee and sit and have a time or buy a book. And we have a free infoshop here with zines and stickers and posters that we print and put things there for free. But also the community comes and drops that off.
“And the biggest part of punk culture for me was learning about how organizing and anarchists and abolitionists fit together to be there for each other and to rely on one another rather than the state.”
The Punk Truck Stop is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. For Ozarks at Large, I’m Sophia Nourani.
That was Credible, part owner and operator of Punk Truck Stop, located at 509 W. Spring St. in Fayetteville Metro District. For more information, visit Punk Truck Stop on Instagram or punktruckstop.com.
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