Augusta students present food truck concept

Four students from Augusta’s Capital Area Technical Center spent Sunday presenting a breakfast food truck concept called Y2Koffee at McCormick Place in Chicago, where the National Restaurant Association Show opened its 2026 run this weekend. CentralMaine.com reported that Joseph Bailey, Shannyn Parrish, Allison Brann and Lizi Lord traveled to the show after winning a national food contest earlier this spring. (centralmaine.com) The concept pairs a Y2K theme with breakfast items and coffee, according to that report. The trade show runs May 16-19 in Chicago, the National Restaurant Association Show website said. (diningandcooking.com) ### Who are the students behind Y2Koffee? Joseph Bailey, Shannyn Parrish, Allison Brann and Lizi Lord are the four Capital Area Technical Center students identified in coverage of the project. (nationalrestaurantshow.com) CentralMaine.com said the students developed the Y2Koffee concept and brought it to Chicago this weekend for a presentation tied to the national restaurant industry gathering. Capital Area Technical Center is part of Augusta’s school system and has an active culinary and hospitality track. Earlier this year, the school also won the Maine ProStart State Invitational and advanced students to the National ProStart Invitational, according to a March report from the Portland Press Herald. (centralmaine.com) ### What exactly did they build? Y2Koffee is a breakfast food truck concept built around an early-2000s theme. CentralMaine.com described it as the students’ “winning breakfast food truck idea,” and a syndicated version of the report said the team created not only the food truck idea but also a logo and a video as part of the competition process. (diningandcooking.com) The Sunday Night Spotlight 2026 site lists Y2KOFFEE from Capital Area Technical Center in Maine among its 2026 winners. That listing places the Augusta team alongside another winning concept from Lincoln High School in California. ### How did a school project end up at a major industry show? (augustaschools.org) The students reached Chicago after winning the national Ecolab Bites and Beats competition in Baltimore this spring, according to the CentralMaine.com report as mirrored by Dining and Cooking. That report said the team advanced through a video submission and then answered judges’ questions in a “Shark Tank-like” exchange before winning. (centralmaine.com) The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation runs ProStart, a two-year high school culinary and restaurant management program that reaches more than 222,000 students in 2,200 high schools across every U.S. state, Guam, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, according to the foundation’s website. (sundaynightspotlight26.com) The same site says the foundation hosts competitions and industry events tied to restaurant career pathways. ### Why was the presentation in Chicago? McCormick Place in Chicago is hosting the National Restaurant Association Show from May 16 through May 19, 2026, according to the event website. The show bills itself as a major foodservice trade event and lists exhibitors, education sessions and industry networking on its program. (diningandcooking.com) The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation’s events calendar says it hosts activities “at and around” the show in Chicago. That provides the setting for student concepts such as Y2Koffee to be presented before industry participants. ### What does this say about Augusta’s culinary program? Capital Area Technical Center has posted repeated competitive results in Maine’s ProStart pipeline. (chooserestaurants.org) The March Press Herald report said the Augusta program took first place in both culinary and restaurant management at the Maine ProStart State Invitational and that the center has won 11 Maine titles since 2017. The National ProStart Invitational drew more than 400 high school students from 47 states and the District of Columbia in 2026, the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation said in an April 27 release. (nationalrestaurantshow.com) That release described the management competition as a business-plan presentation before restaurant and foodservice judges, the same kind of format that helps explain how students from Augusta moved from classroom work to a national stage. (chooserestaurants.org) ### What happens next for the students and the show? The National Restaurant Association Show continues in Chicago through Tuesday, May 19, according to the event website. Industry attendees at McCormick Place will continue moving through exhibitor halls, education sessions and foundation-linked events during the remaining days of the show. (pressherald.com) For the Augusta students, the next concrete milestone after Sunday’s presentation is the end of the Chicago showcase and a return from a national event where their Y2Koffee concept was put in front of restaurant-industry judges and attendees. CentralMaine.com’s report published May 17 places that presentation on the record as the latest step in the team’s spring competition run. (centralmaine.com) (nationalrestaurantshow.com) (chooserestaurants.org)