EST. 1977 · Halifax

1977

It started on Spring Garden Road.

In 1977, Bud and Nancy True opened a little chip truck on Spring Garden Road, right in front of the Halifax Public Library. They hand-cut PEI russets, fried them fresh, and called it Bud the Spud. Halifax took one look — and never left. For nearly half a century, generations grew up eating fries on the low concrete wall at the library's edge. It became the city's unofficial front porch.

Halifax's original food truck.

The original Bud the Spud chip truck parked on Spring Garden Road in front of the Halifax Public Library
The original chip truck on Spring Garden Road.

One name, four eras

Same name on every window.

Bud the Spud has changed hands four times in its life — but never its name, its recipe, or its corner of Halifax's heart. Each owner kept the legacy and passed the torch.

  1. 1977 – 2010

    Bud & Nancy True

    The founders. Thirty-three years on Spring Garden Road.

  2. 2010 – 2015

    Glenn Tait

    The first hands to carry it after the Trues.

  3. 2015 – 2021

    Jody LeBlanc

    "Time to pass the torch onto a new 'Bud.'"

  4. 2021 – today

    Kyle & Kathleen Conrod

    The current Buds, keeping every tradition alive.

The current owners, Kyle and Kathleen Conrod, standing at the front of the original Bud the Spud truck
The current Buds, on the original truck.

A new chapter

We lost the corner. We kept the city.

For 47 years, you always knew where to find us. In 2024, we were outbid for the Spring Garden Road spot and lost the location that had been home since 1977. It hurt — that wall, that library, that corner were part of the story. But Bud the Spud was never really a place. It was a name, a recipe, and a city that kept showing up. So we loaded the legacy onto new wheels. Now you'll find us all over Halifax.

Same truck spirit. More places to find it.

Then · Spring Garden A summer crowd of bystanders gathered around the original Bud the Spud chip wagon on Spring Garden Road
Now · All over Halifax The Nine Locks and Bud the Spud collaboration trailer with side lettering, serving across Halifax
The legacy, on new wheels — find us across Halifax.

Today

Same hand-cut russets. Same world-famous Spud Sauce. Same Halifax cult following.

Forty-nine years on, nothing about the food has changed. We still hand-cut 100% PEI russets in the back of the truck every morning. We still make the world-famous Spud Sauce from the same recipe, no shortcuts. The only difference is you'll find us in more than one place now — so wherever you are in Halifax, the truck window's never far.

  • 100% PEI spuds — hand-cut russets, fried fresh, same as 1977.

  • World-famous Spud Sauce — same recipe, no compromises.

  • Halifax loyalty — countless friendships made through the truck window. Four decades of regulars.

A kraft bag of hand-cut Bud the Spud fries against a green bokeh background
A Bud the Spud smash burger with pickle and cheese on checker paper
A fork lifting a cheese pull from Bud the Spud poutine
A plate of Bud the Spud fish and chips with tartar sauce
See where we're open right now

As seen around Halifax

A Halifax institution — with the receipts.

  • Best Fries in Halifax — hall-of-fame, multiple years running.

  • Best Burger — nominated (the first smash burger in Halifax).

  • The Coast · Best of Halifax — Gold winner, 2022.

  • CTV Atlantic — featured the truck, June 2025.

  • Classified (Halifax rapper) — caught eating fries on Spring Garden.

  • Richard Kind (actor) — stopped in for poutine.

  • "Bud the Spud" — Stompin' Tom Connors sang our name in 1969, eight years before the truck. We've worn it proudly ever since.

The Coast Best of Halifax Gold award, 2022, for best fries — Bud the Spud
The Coast · Best of Halifax Gold · 2022

In memory

It started with them.

Bud and Nancy True started it all in 1977 — a truck, a recipe, and a name that became part of Halifax. Bud passed in 2020. Every basket of hand-cut fries we serve still carries their name, and always will.

Thank you, Bud & Nancy. We'll keep the window open.

We were very lucky to fall into Bud the Spud, the long legacy, the name. It's a Halifax institution. So we're grateful and thank you and hope to see you guys all summer.

Kyle Conrod · Owner since 2021

Hope to see you soon.

Bud the Spud · Halifax · Since 1977