Taco Talk: Pedal it Forward's Kenny Williams
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Kenny Williams, executive director of Pedal it Forward, was particularly impressed with the radishes. Photos: Worth Sparkman/Axios
Note: Taco Talk is a new regular feature. We'll sample a taqueria with the movers, shakers, artists and bakers of NWA, and rap about news in their world. 🚲
👋 Worth here. I recently met Kenny Williams at Boss Man Tacos Burritos & More in Springdale to talk shop and break bread.
The setup: Williams is executive director of Pedal It Forward, the nonprofit that fixes bikes and donates them to people in need for recreation and transportation.
- Boss Man, formerly King Burrito, has six locations in NWA.
- He ordered the street taco plate — four tacos of your choice ($11.50) — with pastor and birria; me with asada and birria.
How it works: Williams described an efficient, if cumbersome, recycling system. Pedal It Forward receives donated bikes everywhere from people cleaning out garages to truckloads from Walmart return centers.
- If a bike can be repaired, it is by volunteers with mechanical skills. If not, it's raided for parts.
- Sometimes rare finds are purchased at monthly rummage sales.
- If all else fails, there's the scrapyard.
Most bikes are distributed through a network of partners — schools, churches, homeless and women's shelters — but Williams fields the odd one-off call and helps when possible.
State of play: Last year the organization fixed and donated 2,000 bikes and it's on pace to do about the same this year.
- Williams, who's been at this job about 2.5 years, said it takes hundreds of volunteers for the organization to fulfill its mission, but he relies on about 40 steadfast folks.
- He described a nonprofit that's poised to grow, but needs more visibility in the community and, of course, help with funding.
Between the lines: It costs about $25 to fix a single bike and get it to a person in need. Recurring gifts are easy to set up.
The verdict: We were both pleased with lunch. The meat was tender and flavorful. Corn tortillas didn't fall apart and the portions were about right.
- The sauces — we tried green and orange — were hotter than expected.
- Not too much, but they were the "real deal" according to Williams, who grew up in Texas.