December 20, 2024 • 10 mins
Meet Joseph Nguyen, a manicurist by day and influencer by night. Discover how he channels his passion for food and cycling into the Instagram sensation, the Hangry Pedaler NWA. Listen as he shares the story behind the catchy name, and how it perfectly reflects his dual loves—cycling + food.
Joseph gives us a behind-the-scenes look, sharing how he manages to keep his content fresh and engaging. And he opens up about the thrill of trying new dining spots in Bentonville. Whether you're an aspiring content creator or just love a good food or cycling story, Joseph offers inspiration for a night out and more.
Follow the Hangry Peddler’s journey at www.instagram.com/hangrypedalernwa
A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Beth Bobbitt (00:10):
Welcome to A New American Town presented by Visit
Bentonville.
I'm your host, Beth Bobbitt,broadcasting from Haxton Road
Studio, and today we're talkingto Joseph Nguyen with the Hangry
Peddler is that?
Joseph Nguyen (00:24):
right, yes, Hangry Peddler NWA.
Beth Bobbitt (00:26):
I love it.
So talk to us a little bitabout how that came about.
Tell us about your background,Joseph.
Joseph Nguyen (00:34):
Like how it came about.
My page, yes, well, I used toalways post food pictures on my
Facebook page, pictures on myFacebook page and then my
friends were saying I needed tofind that dedicated space for it
.
So I picked Instagram, becauseit's all pictures, you know.
So I did that and my client andI came up with the name Hangry
(00:57):
Peddler, nwa, and then, yeah,the rest is history.
Beth Bobbitt (01:01):
Yeah, and why Hangry Peddler?
The rest is history, yeah, andwhy Hangry Peddler?
I mean, obviously there's theculinary and the cyclist
component.
So, how did that come to be?
Joseph Nguyen (01:12):
Well, yeah, at first it was supposed to be only
food, but then I was reallyinto cycling at the time.
So I was like, let's combine mylove for food and cycling.
So we were like, okay, let'stry to come up with a clever
name.
And then my client came up withit.
She's like hangry.
I was like, you know, I get,you know, kind of angry when I'm
(01:34):
hungry and like peddler, ahangry peddler, and we're like,
oh my gosh.
So it just kind of stuck.
Beth Bobbitt (01:40):
It does have a nice ring to it.
It's very clever, Thank you.
So, yeah, talk to us a littlebit about what a day in the life
looks like for you as kind ofan influencer, a content creator
and also, you know, whateverjust a little side gig that I do
(02:04):
, start off for fun and thenkind of snowball into a little
moneymaker.
Joseph Nguyen (02:12):
I'm not getting rich off of it at all, but my
main job?
I'm a manicurist.
I work at a nail salon.
I've been doing nails for 22years now, so I work Tuesday
through Friday pretty much 12hours a day.
Um, so I get my contentcreation in.
After work I stay up until like1 am sometimes um um, like
(02:35):
eating out.
Uh, we try to do that on theweekends.
People think I eat out all thetime.
You know, eating out, takingpictures every day.
No, I'm not.
Uh, I mainly eat out on theweekends, right?
So yeah, tuesday through Friday, working 12-hour days on the
weekends, eating out, checkingout the new spots in town.
Beth Bobbitt (02:56):
Yeah.
Joseph Nguyen (02:57):
Yeah, a lot of work.
Beth Bobbitt (02:58):
Yeah, it is amazing.
If you look at your feed, Imean, there's a lot of content,
it's really fun and busy, busyand like a good way, but I would
never guess that you'resqueezing this in, you know oh
yeah, definitely squeezing it in.
I love it, though I mean it'sit's easy work, you know yeah
eating out and just showing theworld yeah, and that's your goal
(03:21):
is really to try new things,right.
Joseph Nguyen (03:24):
Yes, yeah, I always try to find the newest
and like people always messageme telling me hey, you got to
check out this spot.
They haven't announced it yet,but they're going to open, you
know, next week or having a softopening.
Many times restaurants willmessage me, invite me to their
(03:44):
soft opening.
So I'm always, like ahead ofthe game, you get a little
preview.
Yes, I love it, yeah cool.
Beth Bobbitt (03:51):
Well, how many followers do you have now?
Do you know?
Joseph Nguyen (03:54):
uh, I think like 23 000 wow, I think yeah, but
that's been over five years.
It's a slow process, but I meanit's getting up there.
Beth Bobbitt (04:05):
What does your family think about this?
As you know, kind of a sidehobby, a passion, I mean they
get to reap the benefits too,right, yeah, for sure.
Joseph Nguyen (04:15):
They think it's pretty cool.
Now they my like my sisters,they need, I need to ask them to
help me, like, grow my my pagebecause they got a lot of
clients and all that.
And now, like they're asking meto grow their pages because
they're like trying to beinfluencers too.
Yeah, but no, they're verysupportive of me.
(04:37):
They're always tellingeverybody to follow me because I
work with them at the nailsalon.
So they're always bringing it up.
Oh, you need to follow mybrother.
He has this cool Instagram page.
So, yeah, everybody's reallysupportive.
Beth Bobbitt (04:53):
Yeah.
Yeah, that's amazing and I knowthat you have some fun new
projects and collaborationscoming up, um, including a
partnership with VisitBentonville.
Do you want to talk a littlebit about what you're doing in
terms of the content creation?
Joseph Nguyen (05:08):
Oh yeah Well, so I'm highlighting all the places
that are cyclist-friendlybecause you know, I think
Bentonville the cycling scene istop-notch and there's so many
good opportunities for people togo out and eat good food and
sometimes people don't knowabout it and that's where I'm,
(05:32):
that's why I'm there, tohighlight all these easy bike to
places and you could just rollup on your bicycle park it, grab
a bike to eat or grab a beerafter a bike ride.
Beth Bobbitt (05:44):
What are some of those places?
Joseph Nguyen (05:46):
See the Peddler's Pub.
They have a new location.
It's across from their oldlocation, actually, but it's
really big and nice Pizza'sreally good.
Beth Bobbitt (05:56):
They have a new golf simulation thing inside.
Joseph Nguyen (06:00):
Yeah, I guess I missed that then, yeah, the
Meteor Cafe.
I start bike rides there oftenReally good pizzas and coffee.
Where else?
The Hub?
Yeah, the Hub is awesome.
I love their brunch.
They throw parties after hours.
A lot of people start theirbike rides there and end there,
(06:23):
so those are some of my topspots right now thank you, and I
understand you're still acyclist.
Beth Bobbitt (06:30):
What are some of your favorite events, or are
there any that you're lookingforward to?
Joseph Nguyen (06:36):
um see.
One that I did uh this pastsummer was the um .
Excellent event.
That was probably my favoriteevent I've ever done, well
organized.
It started at Thaiden School inBentonville.
I do want to do Rule of Three.
(06:58):
And then the Big Sugar.
It's like a gravel race yes.
But I'm not racing, I'm ridingto finish, not riding right,
yeah, right, yeah.
Beth Bobbitt (07:08):
Still, those are some mileage miles and a lot of
big hills.
Joseph Nguyen (07:12):
Yeah, yeah, but so that's on my bucket list to
do um next year.
I'm going to try to get into itvery impressive.
Beth Bobbitt (07:20):
Well, great, well.
What do you want to see more of?
You know, is there something interms of the restaurant scene
or the cycling scene that youthink we have opportunity to
grow in Bentonville?
Joseph Nguyen (07:34):
Honestly, the cycling scene is top notch.
We have so many resources.
Bike companies are moving here,cyclist-friendly restaurants
are opening.
I think we're good in thatdepartment.
(07:55):
With the cycling, it's onlygetting better too.
But as far as restaurants, Ithink we need more Chinese
restaurants.
A place that has traditionaldim sum you know those carts
where they push around withdumplings and all that.
Yeah, a place with soupdumplings.
I would love to see more EastAfrican cuisines, more Korean
cuisine and Peruvian A lot morelike, because you know, there's
(08:18):
a lot of Thai restaurants here,like one on every corner but
definitely more good Chinesefood.
Beth Bobbitt (08:26):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, are there Vietnamese restaurants
?
Joseph Nguyen (08:30):
Yeah, there are there's.
Let's see there's a Pretty goodamount.
Now there's one place inBentonville called I think it's
called like Pho 85 or somethinglike that yes, yeah, yeah, so
that's very popular.
We can use more you knowVietnamese food for sure.
Beth Bobbitt (08:51):
Yeah it's, we've come a long way, I mean, oh yeah
, for sure 10 years, a lot canhappen.
I'm telling you.
So we're going to wrap with aquestion.
We ask all our guests and youknow, in your case this can be
very food-centric but I'd loveto hear about just a dream day
in Bentonville.
What would you see and eat anddo?
Joseph Nguyen (09:14):
Dream day cycling and eating.
I would you know, get my familyto rent bicycles and we would
start at Crystal Bridges andride our bikes there, walk
around the trails, maybe havelunch at 11.
I love their burger there Lunchwith a view.
It's beautiful there.
(09:35):
And just explore the trails.
Our Greenway system is amazing.
And just you know, explore thetrails, Our Greenway system is
amazing.
Maybe even go through the newWalmart campus because they're
going to have a bunch of coffeeshops and restaurants there.
Hit up all the bars Peddler'sPub, the Meteor.
Beth Bobbitt (09:55):
Yes.
Joseph Nguyen (09:56):
Any place that has food, alcohol and bike racks
, yeah you're there?
Beth Bobbitt (09:59):
Yeah, I'm there.
Joseph Nguyen (10:00):
Like you could.
And bike racks yeah, you'rethere, yeah, I'm there.
You could ride your bikeanywhere.
That's why I'm all aboutcycling and eating.
So that would be my dream day.
Beth Bobbitt (10:09):
Perfect, I love it Well, where can we find you?
So you're on Instagram.
Joseph Nguyen (10:15):
Yeah, instagram hangrypedalernwa.
Beth Bobbitt (10:19):
And then do you have a website as well.
Joseph Nguyen (10:21):
No, not yet.
I've been thinking about it,but extra work.
Beth Bobbitt (10:25):
Yeah, maybe coming soon.
Maybe coming soon, yeah, Well,thanks, joseph, appreciate you
being here, yeah thanks forhaving me.
Of course, and don't forget,visit Bentonville is here to
help you navigate things to do,where to eat and stay and what's
going on in our new Americantown.
Give us a follow on socialmedia, sign up for the
newsletter and check out thewebsite at visitbittenvillecom.
(10:47):
Thanks for listening.
Welcome to A New American Town presented by Visit
Bentonville.
I'm your host, Beth Bobbitt,broadcasting from Haxton Road
Studio, and today we're talkingto Joseph Nguyen with the Hangry
Peddler is that?
Joseph Nguyen (00:24):
right, yes, Hangry Peddler NWA.
Beth Bobbitt (00:26):
I love it.
So talk to us a little bitabout how that came about.
Tell us about your background,Joseph.
Joseph Nguyen (00:34):
Like how it came about.
My page, yes, well, I used toalways post food pictures on my
Facebook page, pictures on myFacebook page and then my
friends were saying I needed tofind that dedicated space for it
.
So I picked Instagram, becauseit's all pictures, you know.
So I did that and my client andI came up with the name Hangry
(00:57):
Peddler, nwa, and then, yeah,the rest is history.
Beth Bobbitt (01:01):
Yeah, and why Hangry Peddler?
The rest is history, yeah, andwhy Hangry Peddler?
I mean, obviously there's theculinary and the cyclist
component.
So, how did that come to be?
Joseph Nguyen (01:12):
Well, yeah, at first it was supposed to be only
food, but then I was reallyinto cycling at the time.
So I was like, let's combine mylove for food and cycling.
So we were like, okay, let'stry to come up with a clever
name.
And then my client came up withit.
She's like hangry.
I was like, you know, I get,you know, kind of angry when I'm
(01:34):
hungry and like peddler, ahangry peddler, and we're like,
oh my gosh.
So it just kind of stuck.
Beth Bobbitt (01:40):
It does have a nice ring to it.
It's very clever, Thank you.
So, yeah, talk to us a littlebit about what a day in the life
looks like for you as kind ofan influencer, a content creator
and also, you know, whateverjust a little side gig that I do
(02:04):
, start off for fun and thenkind of snowball into a little
moneymaker.
Joseph Nguyen (02:12):
I'm not getting rich off of it at all, but my
main job?
I'm a manicurist.
I work at a nail salon.
I've been doing nails for 22years now, so I work Tuesday
through Friday pretty much 12hours a day.
Um, so I get my contentcreation in.
After work I stay up until like1 am sometimes um um, like
(02:35):
eating out.
Uh, we try to do that on theweekends.
People think I eat out all thetime.
You know, eating out, takingpictures every day.
No, I'm not.
Uh, I mainly eat out on theweekends, right?
So yeah, tuesday through Friday, working 12-hour days on the
weekends, eating out, checkingout the new spots in town.
Beth Bobbitt (02:56):
Yeah.
Joseph Nguyen (02:57):
Yeah, a lot of work.
Beth Bobbitt (02:58):
Yeah, it is amazing.
If you look at your feed, Imean, there's a lot of content,
it's really fun and busy, busyand like a good way, but I would
never guess that you'resqueezing this in, you know oh
yeah, definitely squeezing it in.
I love it, though I mean it'sit's easy work, you know yeah
eating out and just showing theworld yeah, and that's your goal
(03:21):
is really to try new things,right.
Joseph Nguyen (03:24):
Yes, yeah, I always try to find the newest
and like people always messageme telling me hey, you got to
check out this spot.
They haven't announced it yet,but they're going to open, you
know, next week or having a softopening.
Many times restaurants willmessage me, invite me to their
(03:44):
soft opening.
So I'm always, like ahead ofthe game, you get a little
preview.
Yes, I love it, yeah cool.
Beth Bobbitt (03:51):
Well, how many followers do you have now?
Do you know?
Joseph Nguyen (03:54):
uh, I think like 23 000 wow, I think yeah, but
that's been over five years.
It's a slow process, but I meanit's getting up there.
Beth Bobbitt (04:05):
What does your family think about this?
As you know, kind of a sidehobby, a passion, I mean they
get to reap the benefits too,right, yeah, for sure.
Joseph Nguyen (04:15):
They think it's pretty cool.
Now they my like my sisters,they need, I need to ask them to
help me, like, grow my my pagebecause they got a lot of
clients and all that.
And now, like they're asking meto grow their pages because
they're like trying to beinfluencers too.
Yeah, but no, they're verysupportive of me.
(04:37):
They're always tellingeverybody to follow me because I
work with them at the nailsalon.
So they're always bringing it up.
Oh, you need to follow mybrother.
He has this cool Instagram page.
So, yeah, everybody's reallysupportive.
Beth Bobbitt (04:53):
Yeah.
Yeah, that's amazing and I knowthat you have some fun new
projects and collaborationscoming up, um, including a
partnership with VisitBentonville.
Do you want to talk a littlebit about what you're doing in
terms of the content creation?
Joseph Nguyen (05:08):
Oh yeah Well, so I'm highlighting all the places
that are cyclist-friendlybecause you know, I think
Bentonville the cycling scene istop-notch and there's so many
good opportunities for people togo out and eat good food and
sometimes people don't knowabout it and that's where I'm,
(05:32):
that's why I'm there, tohighlight all these easy bike to
places and you could just rollup on your bicycle park it, grab
a bike to eat or grab a beerafter a bike ride.
Beth Bobbitt (05:44):
What are some of those places?
Joseph Nguyen (05:46):
See the Peddler's Pub.
They have a new location.
It's across from their oldlocation, actually, but it's
really big and nice Pizza'sreally good.
Beth Bobbitt (05:56):
They have a new golf simulation thing inside.
Joseph Nguyen (06:00):
Yeah, I guess I missed that then, yeah, the
Meteor Cafe.
I start bike rides there oftenReally good pizzas and coffee.
Where else?
The Hub?
Yeah, the Hub is awesome.
I love their brunch.
They throw parties after hours.
A lot of people start theirbike rides there and end there,
(06:23):
so those are some of my topspots right now thank you, and I
understand you're still acyclist.
Beth Bobbitt (06:30):
What are some of your favorite events, or are
there any that you're lookingforward to?
Joseph Nguyen (06:36):
um see.
One that I did uh this pastsummer was the um .
Excellent event.
That was probably my favoriteevent I've ever done, well
organized.
It started at Thaiden School inBentonville.
I do want to do Rule of Three.
(06:58):
And then the Big Sugar.
It's like a gravel race yes.
But I'm not racing, I'm ridingto finish, not riding right,
yeah, right, yeah.
Beth Bobbitt (07:08):
Still, those are some mileage miles and a lot of
big hills.
Joseph Nguyen (07:12):
Yeah, yeah, but so that's on my bucket list to
do um next year.
I'm going to try to get into itvery impressive.
Beth Bobbitt (07:20):
Well, great, well.
What do you want to see more of?
You know, is there something interms of the restaurant scene
or the cycling scene that youthink we have opportunity to
grow in Bentonville?
Joseph Nguyen (07:34):
Honestly, the cycling scene is top notch.
We have so many resources.
Bike companies are moving here,cyclist-friendly restaurants
are opening.
I think we're good in thatdepartment.
(07:55):
With the cycling, it's onlygetting better too.
But as far as restaurants, Ithink we need more Chinese
restaurants.
A place that has traditionaldim sum you know those carts
where they push around withdumplings and all that.
Yeah, a place with soupdumplings.
I would love to see more EastAfrican cuisines, more Korean
cuisine and Peruvian A lot morelike, because you know, there's
(08:18):
a lot of Thai restaurants here,like one on every corner but
definitely more good Chinesefood.
Beth Bobbitt (08:26):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, are there Vietnamese restaurants
?
Joseph Nguyen (08:30):
Yeah, there are there's.
Let's see there's a Pretty goodamount.
Now there's one place inBentonville called I think it's
called like Pho 85 or somethinglike that yes, yeah, yeah, so
that's very popular.
We can use more you knowVietnamese food for sure.
Beth Bobbitt (08:51):
Yeah it's, we've come a long way, I mean, oh yeah
, for sure 10 years, a lot canhappen.
I'm telling you.
So we're going to wrap with aquestion.
We ask all our guests and youknow, in your case this can be
very food-centric but I'd loveto hear about just a dream day
in Bentonville.
What would you see and eat anddo?
Joseph Nguyen (09:14):
Dream day cycling and eating.
I would you know, get my familyto rent bicycles and we would
start at Crystal Bridges andride our bikes there, walk
around the trails, maybe havelunch at 11.
I love their burger there Lunchwith a view.
It's beautiful there.
(09:35):
And just explore the trails.
Our Greenway system is amazing.
And just you know, explore thetrails, Our Greenway system is
amazing.
Maybe even go through the newWalmart campus because they're
going to have a bunch of coffeeshops and restaurants there.
Hit up all the bars Peddler'sPub, the Meteor.
Beth Bobbitt (09:55):
Yes.
Joseph Nguyen (09:56):
Any place that has food, alcohol and bike racks
, yeah you're there?
Beth Bobbitt (09:59):
Yeah, I'm there.
Joseph Nguyen (10:00):
Like you could.
And bike racks yeah, you'rethere, yeah, I'm there.
You could ride your bikeanywhere.
That's why I'm all aboutcycling and eating.
So that would be my dream day.
Beth Bobbitt (10:09):
Perfect, I love it Well, where can we find you?
So you're on Instagram.
Joseph Nguyen (10:15):
Yeah, instagram hangrypedalernwa.
Beth Bobbitt (10:19):
And then do you have a website as well.
Joseph Nguyen (10:21):
No, not yet.
I've been thinking about it,but extra work.
Beth Bobbitt (10:25):
Yeah, maybe coming soon.
Maybe coming soon, yeah, Well,thanks, joseph, appreciate you
being here, yeah thanks forhaving me.
Of course, and don't forget,visit Bentonville is here to
help you navigate things to do,where to eat and stay and what's
going on in our new Americantown.
Give us a follow on socialmedia, sign up for the
newsletter and check out thewebsite at visitbittenvillecom.
(10:47):
Thanks for listening.
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