If you’re hungry in Riverton, there’s one place that never fails to impress, and their food truck has been listed in a roundup of best food trucks in Wyoming. 

Bunk’s BBQ has been a part of the Riverton community since 2015 when founder James Bunker bought his first food truck. Bunker moved to Riverton to help his father’s tractor business. He had always liked to cook and had gone to culinary school, so he started offering free food Fridays for customers at the dealership. People soon came from all over for the delicious food. Bunker took the hint, and started Bunks BBQ. 

“Our little town is one of the best places to live right now,” Bunker said. “It’s welcoming and supportive.” 

That support has sustained Bunk’s BBQ throughout the years, and it has become a community staple. Their food truck is a constant presence at community events in and around Riverton including the Lander Brewfest, Rendezvous City Beef Roundup, and Fremont County Fair.

What started out as a simple love of food now has Bunker balancing a traditional restaurant, catering services, and a food truck, all of which have their own unique schedules and demands. Their menu includes a wide variety of all things barbecue including smash burgers, tacos, brisket, pulled pork, and nachos. Even their side dishes have become famous like their fan-favorite smoked mac and cheese. 

Bunker also sells his signature BBQ sauces in the restaurant. “Sometimes we can sell more than five gallons over lunch and I have to go back and make more,” he said. Flavors include standard, spicy, whiteout, and comeback “fancy fry dip.”

Summer is their busy season, and the operation runs six days a week. It takes a lot of work, and Bunker relies on his staff as well as friends, part-timers, and parents to meet the demands of the business.  

“I have the best staff I could possibly have,” Bunker said. “Everyone wants to work together.”

The food business is notoriously risky and demanding, but Bunker maintains the Riverton community has made it very enjoyable. “I could have done this somewhere else, but it would have been more challenging,” he said. “The community here has embraced us. You can feel it everywhere.” 

So what’s his favorite Bunk’s BBQ meal?  “Birria tacos. Every Thursday is taco day for me,” Bunker said. 

The downtown Riverton restaurant is open Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 11:30am to 8:30pm. The food truck schedule and specials are always on social media.

Bunk’s BBQ has all the right adjectives – local, family-owned, award-winning – but even more important it has embraced the community and provided its own flavor to Riverton.