Each Monday I recap food truck news as it relates to the Triangle area (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill). Bringing news that impacts food truck owners, fans, or those curious.
Downtown Garner revives with a Food Truck Rodeo
Sunday, Downtown Garner revealed some of the work they are doing to their Downtown area. There was live music, local beer, and food trucks up and down Main Street. The event seemed pretty well attended and I hope to see another one soon!
Durham Central Park Food Truck Rodeo
Shake off those cobwebs and put some meat on those skeletons as Durham Central Park will be surrounded by over 40 food trucks, live music, and happy food truck fans. For those into local beer, there will be Fullsteam and Ponysaurus beer to enjoy. Also the Biker Bar will be on hand and Beer Durham, Durham’s new craft beer shop, is behind the pavilion that houses the Farmers Market for additional beer and wine options.
The Bird’s Nest has found its nest
I heard some clucking from multiple sources that Chick-N-Que has found a location. The location is in Rolesville and in old The Rolesville Grill (420 S. Main Street), which closed earlier this month. This is pretty exciting news. This also means Rolesville has become a hot bed of food truck-to-restaurants. Wish them best of luck and I can’t wait for the opening date (I hear chirping of real soon!)
A new Tradition begins
Another happening in the Northern Wake area, Sweet Traditions celebrated 3 years of operations. Coincidentally, it looks like the location is opening this Wednesday, October 29th from 9am to 5pm. Also, the first 15 customers at the opening get a free cupcake. The new location is at 12516 Capital Blvd, Suite 106 in Wake Forest (next to the Lowe’s Foods)
Vegetarian Flava Fest 2014
The Vegan Flava Cafe, a mobile vegetarian cafe, is hosting this event in the Durham Armory, which is located across from the Carolina Theatre. The event will highlight vegetarian cuisine with speakers and demonstrations revolving around the diet. Tickets are available at the site for $10, which is a discount over $12 at the door. For more information and tickets, go to: http://www.vegetarianflavafest.com/
Halal Bros adds a new Twitter handle
I think there will be more to this story, since they have hinted there will be more to come. This also stems from Halal Bros recently changed the name behind @halalbros to Halal Haven and also pointing fans to @HalalHaven for more news.
Sol Tacos & Deep River Beer Dinner
Last week, Sol Tacos and Deep River released tickets for a 5 course beer dinner. The dinner will be held at Deep River in Clayton and held on Wednesday, November 5th (a day Deep River is typically closed). Tickets can be purchased here.
Wake Forest Rodeo
This week the Wake Forest Rodeo has announced the line-up. One thing you’ll noticed, more truck this time. The line-up includes: Virgil’s Jamaican, Gussy’s, Backyard Bistro, Pie Pushers, Chirba Chirba, Tailgater Toby, Chick-N-Que, Hibachi Xpress, AmigoSan, Captain Ponchos, Sarge’s, Kona Ice, Lumpy’s Ice Cream, Dusty’s Donuts, Jay’s Italian Ice, Sweet Traditions, Lady bugs’ Treats, Not Just Icing, Jam Ice Cream, Well Bean Coffee, and Fahsyrah’s Lemonade. That’s 21 trucks, not including vendors like House of Swank. Back in July, there were 11 trucks, so Wake Forest you are challenged again to exceed the supply (you guys came strong for the first one!)
Trucks Opening Locations
Coming Soon
Sol Tacos (with a Sol Tapas concept) – estimated early 2015, Downtown Raleigh
Deli-icious: no date set, but expected soon in Clayton.
Captain Ponchos: location in Southern Village, Chapel Hill. Have not heard of a date.
Big Mike’s BBQ: 1222 NW Maynard Road (High House and Maynard / across from Kroger) in Cary. Got an update on this one. Few things still need to be wrapped up, but as soon as that happens a couple weeks. So it could be a few weeks before the storefront.
Recently Opened
Iced Cupcakes: 5911 Poyner Village Pkwy #103, Raleigh
Olio and Aceto Cafe: 400 S. Elliot Road, Chapel Hill
Sarge’s: 400 Southtown Circle, Rolesville
Sweet Traditions: 12516 Capital Blvd, Suite 106, Wake Forest (not pictured, opens Wednesday)
Crowd Funding Projects
Tootie’s Bar crowd funding project
Tootie’s in Durham is raising funds for a live music venue and bar in Durham. Check out some of their perks which extend out to Funnel Bakes and Urban Entrees. They are looking to raise $25,000 in over a month with this project.
New Trucks
Here are some of the new trucks with the last few months.
Cock-a-Doodle Moo
Need to bring out the tape measure to confirm a comment of “Longest Food Truck in the Triangle” by a guest, but Big Red is huge. This truck is deceiving in, “Oh, another BBQ truck.” It can do more than that and it does. Check out the global fusion and local, farm-sourced cuisine. They are at Raleigh Brewing (Monday) and Wake Forest Farmers Market (Saturday) this week. Check out the Raven one of the items currently on the menu.
SoomSoom Pita
Kicked off officially at Surf Club this Saturday, the truck is expanding their dates with a stop at Fortnight (Monday), Cocoa Cinnamon (Wednesday), and Fullsteam (Thursday). Follow them @SoomsoomPita.
Arepa Culture
Chef JP gave me the heads up on this and before you know I found them on Twitter. This truck looks to be located in the Northwest Raleigh area at 7105 Glenwood. They have been posting tweets on the days they are open. You can follow them @arepaculture.
King’s Philly Cheesesteaks
A new Philly Cheesesteak truck, which I finally got to meet in person this past weekend. They are very active on Facebook, so you may want to follow them there. A great husband and wife team serving up the classic, authentic sandwich.
Little Mama’s Truck
H/T to Triangle Explorer for finding this truck. The truck is now on Twitter (@YumLittleMamas), but also has a Facebook and Instagram profile. The truck shows a base in Hillsborough, so maybe a far west Triangle coffee truck. Keeping it on my radar and will post updates as I find them.
Czech It Out
A unique truck hitting the scene featuring Czech cuisine. Had an opportunity to try this past weekend and the food is delicious. I’m also happy to report that Ethnosh Raleigh has picked them as their November location. The event will be Wednesday, November 12th at Lucky B’s in the Glenwood South district. Follow them @Czechfoodtruck.
BullCity Street Grill
This truck was reported late last month, which looks to be staying around the Green Room in Durham. You can follow them on Twitter (@bullcitystfood) to see which days they will be open.
Amigosan Food Truck
This Latin-Asian fusion truck was at the State Fair, but will return to Nickelpoint this Thursday and one of the trucks at the Wake Forest Rodeo.
If you haven’t seen them, follow the truck @AmigosanFood and check out their schedule at Amigosanfood.com.
Bam Pow Chow
Bam Pow Chow has been hitting the streets, too and making appearances in the Northwest Raleigh. They have been spotted at House of Hops, Lonerider, Gizmo Brewworks, and Person Street Bar. Their website has posts scheduled events bampowchow.com and you can also follow the truck @BamPowChow. They have also were featured on Behind The Wheel.
KocinA Food Truck
Hopefully you caught their Behind The Wheel. This truck focuses on South American tapas and cuisine. You can catch them on Twitter: @kocinafoodtruck
Events and locations looking for trucks
- House of Hops (6909 Glenwood Ave #100, Raleigh): I overheard that Sunday this craft beer shop receives a lot of activity. Behind the bar there are two televisions, which may help draw people. If you are looking for a Sunday spot, I’d contact them.
Big Events Coming
Roam Conference
I am going to miss the Wake Forest Rodeo, however, I hope to bring back some opportunities for the Triangle region. On November 8th and 9th, the ROAM Mobile Food Conference takes place in San Antonio, Texas. If you are interested in starting a mobile food business or in the industry, this is an event you may want to check out. The conference takes place in the Embassy Suites on the famous Riverwalk and one of the events is discovering the city’s food truck park. If you are interested, use the OctSpecial50off code and you’ll save on registration.
World’s Largest Food Truck Festival III coming
Awhile back Generation Food Truck down in Tampa, Florida organized the largest food truck parade in March 2014. Looks like they want to organize another one this March 2015. The goal is to have over 200 food trucks at the State Fairgrounds outside of Tampa. If interested, email the organizer at Generationfoodtruck (at) gmail (dot) com. I did hear they will provide power for this event.
Brewgaloo
This event has been around, but this year was my first time. For beer (and spirits as local TOPO Distillery was here this year) and food truck fans, this is a prime event. Two stages on both ends of Fayetteville Street with beer and food trucks filling the asphalt in between. The date set is April 25, 2015 and is from 2-10pm. I know a bit early, but you might want to circle it and tell your family this is a great weekend to visit.
Downtown Raleigh Food Truck Rodeo 2015 Dates announced
The day after the last one Sunday, already 2015 has been announced. Be sure to catch them May 3rd, June 14th, August 9th (evening rodeo), and October 11th. Their dates are very similar to the 2014 Rodeo and are all Sundays.
Truck and Equipment For Sale
Green Olive Deli is selling their truck for $32,000 OBO. If interested, contact Hugh at 919.815.8451 or email him at greenolivedeli@gmail.com.
Local Blogger could be nominated as Top 10 Local Food Truck Blogger by Mobile Cuisine
This will probably post before the announcement today. But I have to think based on feedback and the overwhelming comments that the Triangle will have one of the ten. Regardless of what comes out today, I really want to thank Not Just Icing for being that snowflake that started this joy avalanche that everyone has brought me. I love writing about food trucks, so I am glad y’all appreciate what I put out. I tried to keep track of all the mentions, but if I missed one it was an oversight and I am sorry in advance.
Thanks to Not Just Icing, Sol Tacos, Olio and Aceto, Tailgater Toby, Eat Raleigh, Triangle Explorer, JAM Ice Cream, CockADoodle Moo, Jay’s Italian Ice, Barone Meatball, LovinMyBulls, RaleighEyeGuy, the team at 919Beer, KocinA, John N. Wilson, Bam Pow Chow, American Meltdown, BulKogi, CookEatLife, Ellen Mathis, Chick-N-Que, Baton Rouge Cusine, Humble Pig, Taco Grande, Jesse Zachary, Kathryn Tuner, Captain Ponchos, Sarge Chef on Wheels, Beer Durham, Manna, Dump Pho King and to my personal Facebook family and friends.
If you got news, let the blog know. This is a weekly post summarizing food truck information in the Triangle area.
The Wandering Sheppard 