It was always known in town that if you needed a vehicle with a salesman who cares about transparency you would go to Wilmington Auto Center and give the “Honest Car Guy”, Clinton Becker, a visit. These days, however, people are visiting Becker for a much more tasty reason, to have a smash burger from Becker’s SMASH-tastic Burgers.
Clinton Becker is a Clinton County original and he really leans into the “honest” part of his nickname, by being open to share his roller coaster life with people who cross his desk at WAC or the grill at his food truck. After Becker dropped out of high school and was then kicked out of art college, he lived a simple life with his wife and big family, until their lives were flipped upside down following a move to Florida in 2009. “I made several bad choices that led me down a dark path that would cause me to become a convicted felon [for time share fraud]. These things in my life all played a part in forming me into the man I am today,” said Becker when asked about his sordid past. Becker attributes the resurgence of his success to giving his life fully to Christ in 2013, and moving back to his roots in Wilmington.
Becker does not let his past define who he is moving into the future. He made a commitment to himself and God back in 2013 to live a transparent lifestyle, “I had spent so much of my life being a liar and dirt bag that when I got saved in 2013 I committed to God that I would always be honest and transparent at everything I did in life from that point forward,” says Becker. This lead to the birth of his persona, “The Honest Car Guy”, who is open and transparent with his customers at all times thus gaining the respect and a positive reputation in his automotive career which he has brought into his food truck business.
Though, even if you experience great success in a job, ultimately you can experience the dreaded “burnout” when you do it for the better part of two decades. Becker is no exception to this, after 17-years in the car business he decided to make a spontaneous change to follow his passion for making smash burgers after joking with many for years that he would open a truck. “One day I decided to buy a small 12-foot trailer and do it as a hobby and Becker’s SMASH-tastic Burgers was born.” Becker went on to say that the success of the first truck was absolutely insane, to the point where the Becker family was able to hire their eldest two daughters as full time employees, expand their menu, and buy a second larger trailer!
With all the success it is hard to imagine that the Becker family faced challenges along the way to helping their patriarch live his dreams. Becker discussed the uncertainty he faced leaving his stable and full-time position with WAC to flip burgers in a food truck when he has 5 children and a wife that depend on him. At the end of the day the support of his family to do what makes him happy is absolutely heartwarming. Sometimes that little leap of faith is what keeps small business owners passionate. The amount of support for his dream and the compliments about his food really help motivate the passion for Becker’s SMASH-tastic Burgers.
Having been open less than a year the success and support that Becker has had is beautiful and it shows the community’s commitment to our small businesses. The Becker family loves seeing the sight of familiar faces and know that they have a loyal following. Becker encourages all customers, both repeat or brand new, to let him know what they loved or what could be improve about their meal for the future.
You can visit Clinton and the Becker family at their food truck in several locations around Wilmington and Clinton County. While the menu is expansive, Becker says that his favorite thing is the classic ‘Big Becker Burger’ and his wife’s daily made-from-scratch ‘Becker’s Wicked Beans’, so if you see the truck stop, give them a try and you just may find yourself becoming a repeat customer.