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.
Durham Central Park Food Truck Rodeo
The original Triangle food truck rodeo closed its 2014 season with some talking points. Here are some of the scenes from Sunday’s rodeo.
By the way, if you didn’t want to wait in the line at Wicked Biscuit. Check them out at this Thursday at the RTP Breakfast Rodeo. Starts at 7:30 am and located at 800 Park Offices Drive (Not far from Davis Drive and NC 54).
Caffe Bellezza organizes a Throwdown
For those in the coffee circles may know that Tim Morris, owner of Caffe Bellezza, won a recent Throwdown at Bittersweet in Raleigh. Well, he’s organizing one on his turf, the truck, and he’s getting Will & Pops and Belgian Waffology to be on-site to serve food. The event will be Thursday, November 13th, but the location has not been determined. Food Truck and Coffee fans should expect an awesome experience.
Local Foodie Fest
The Shops at Waverly’s Whole Foods is hosting a few food trucks at their location. Olio and Aceto, CockADoodleMoo, Halal Haven (Halal Bros), Humdinger Juice, and Patrick Jane’s will all be here. The event is from 11am to 2pm and located at 102B New Waverly Place, Cary (be sure to add New in the address).
International Stout Day at Gizmo Brewworks
Both KoKyu and Not Just Icing will be at Gizmo this Saturday, November 8th for a competition between Gizmo employees. Attendees will get to taste three different brews and vote on which one will make it for the main line. The event will also benefit Best Friend Pet Adoption. For more information on the event, check out the Facebook Event Page.
Sol Tacos & Deep River Beer Dinner Postponed
Sol Tacos hit some bump in the roads lately, so preparing for this Wednesday’s dinner took a detour. No worries Chef Schaumann is slowly recuperating and Kermit will be hopping in no time. One known change is the dinner will be on a Sunday (previous dinner was a Wednesday date).
Fullsteam Pet Costume Winner
This wasn’t my dog, but it was someone in my social network. Check out what they dressed their dog up. I’m only disappointed I hadn’t done the same.
The King has left the Triad
I heard about this earlier in the month, but I wanted to confirm when I got the chance. Unfortunately, I confirmed at the last possible time. The fan favorite King Creole is leaving its Burlington base and returning to New Orleans. Both the Triangle and Triad have been fortunate to have two great Louisiana-oriented food trucks. It gave us two examples of the region’s cuisine, which brought healthy debate amongst food fans. Unfortunately, this past Durham rodeo was their last North Carolina event as they prepare to return to New Orleans. The good news for King Creole the return home and enter a food truck market in its infancy in New Orleans. I wish Chef Micah huge success and can’t wait to see him again in my next trip to New Orleans.
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!)
Halal Bros follow Halal Haven handle
Halal Bros (@halalbros) fans may have noticed last week a tweet to follow Halal Haven (@HalalHaven). The reasoning is Halal Bros is looking to do a brand refresh as Halal Haven. In the next couple weeks, fans will also see a new wrap with the new brand.
Jakki’s Juice Jam wins Best Veggie Burger at Vegan Flava Fest
Also in Durham on Sunday was the Vegan Flava Fest. This was an event featuring Vegetarian, Vegan, and Raw cuisine. The food truck that features raw juice won Best Veggie Burger.
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.
* NEW * Chick-N-Que: 420 S. Main Street, Rolesville. Anticipating December/January 2015.
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… still need to wander over)
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 with the deadline this ending Saturday, November 8th.
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 Pockets
After Anthony of Baton Rouge Cuisine, Oren has to be the tallest food truck owner in the area. Extremely nice and very talented, the food here is outstanding. The focus seems to be on fresh taste with an open kitchen concept. I am not familiar with Isreali cuisine, but the hummus and beef ragu had lots of flavor. Follow them @SoomsoomPita to catch them at their next stop.
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, but I haven’t been able to catch them. They have been posting tweets on the days they are open. You can follow them @arepaculture.
King’s Philly Cheesesteaks
The Triangle new Philly Cheesesteak truck the focuses on the authentic Philly experience. The husband and wife team are Philly-natives that are bringing the taste they loved from their hometown. While Philly Cheesesteaks are their focus, they will hopefully bring the Pork Roll and Pork Sandwich to the Triangle. They are very active on Facebook, so be sure to like their page.
Czech This 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.
Please RSVP at the Ethnosh Raleigh Facebook Page.
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
One of the trucks at the Wake Forest Rodeo, you can also catch them at Nickelpoint and Raleigh Brewing this week.
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
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.
Hao About Chinese / Hao’s Kitchen
Looks like the name behind Hao’s About Chinese recently secured a trailer and getting ready to setup a mobile food truck business. This is still very new in the phase, but wanted to alert those looking at Chinese cuisine in the area.
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, check out the site.
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.
The Wandering Sheppard nominated as Top 10 Local Food Truck Blogger by Mobile Cuisine
Currently, I sit at first place and will keep working for results to stay the same through Friday. This all started from one nomination from Not Just Icing and grew into what I hope other areas recognizing the Triangle as a food truck destination (in addition to our fine restaurants, breweries, and other food centric industry). For now, I am thanking all the nominations, as I did last week. I will tally up Retweets, Favorites, and other public shares on the page next week.
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.
To vote the for the blog, click on this link and I am at the bottom a “The Wandering Sheppard – Raleigh, NC”
If you got news, let the blog know. This is a weekly post summarizing food truck information in the Triangle area.
The Wandering Sheppard 