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.
Interested in New Food Trucks? Check out the Weekly Radar
Next Big Event: Durham Central Park Rodeo (January 25th)
Will & Pops gets a new truck
Dubbed Will and Pops 2.0 a new truck will hit the streets mid Feb. Keep posted @willandpops. They are famous for creations like the “Big Kev”, “Hell Burger” and “919” burgers and “Gangsta” and other grilled cheese creations. Big fan of Will and Pop’s, especially since it seems they are always giving back to the community. Congrats and can’t wait to see the new whip!
Big Easy: Mardi Gras Party
From Noon to 10 pm on February 17th, Big Easy will throw a huge party on Fayetteville Street for Mardi Gras. The food truck line-up is starting to fill out, so far I’ve seen CockADoodleMoo, Hibachi Xpress, and Stuft. More event details at their website or their Facebook Page.
Stuft and Bam Pow Chow Top 10 Rookies
Fans came in full force last week and both Stuft and Bam Pow Chow gathered enough nominations to be listed in the nationwide Top 10 poll. The official announcement should come out today, but it looked like the North Carolina truck Dank Burrito came from the last to first in the last few days. You may remember Dank Burrito as they are usually at one of the Downtown Raleigh Food Truck Rodeos (next one held May 3rd).
Chick-N-Que opens its restaurant
The popular Chicken BBQ truck, Chick-N-Que, opened a brick and mortar location in Rolesville (420 S. Main Street). Currently, the restaurant is opened Thursday through Saturday serving some of the favorites found on the truck. You still want to keep following @Chick_N_Que as the truck is still on the road.
Big Mike’s BBQ opens a restaurant and craft beer store
Big Mike’s BBQ opened their brick and mortar location this weekend in Cary (1222 NW Maynard Road). The location serves up the classic BBQ offerings the Red Barn served, as well as, offering a large selection of local craft beers. The location will be open Tuesday through Saturday.
Bikini Bus adds another stop to their route to success
While most of the trucks we talk about here are food, other retail industries also interest me. And this Saturday, the Bikini Bus added another non-mobile location where you can purchase your swimwear. The location is at 2476 Walnut Street in Cary inside Salons by JC, across from Crossroads Ford and next to Sweet Tomatoes. Inside you will find the Brazilian fashions with Southern hospitality. You can stop by Wednesday through Saturday, or make an appointment.
The Parlour (Downtown Durham) is temporarily closed for renovations to expand. We’ll update as we find more information.
Trucks Opening Locations
Coming Soon
Sol Tacos (as a Sol Tapas concept) – estimated early 2015, Downtown Raleigh. I’ve seen a few hints of near Moore Square and an April 1st opening.
Deli-icious: Location is in Clayton with a 2015 date expected.
Captain Ponchos: location in Southern Village, Chapel Hill. Got word they are looking forward to February 14, 2015. So tell your date (I guess my wife will find on this post), you are going here for dinner. They are not holding back and they will a mariachi band there.
And KoKyu BBQ has kept its cards close to the vest, but recently notified Kickstarter backers that they are getting closer. I’ve been eyeing this opening like a hawk, because I’m interested to see the final restaurant and menu.
Recently Opened
Big Mike’s BBQ: 1222 NW Maynard Rd, Cary
Bikini Bus: 2476 Walnut Street, Cary (inside Salons by JC)
Chick-N-Que: 420 S. Main Street, Rolesville
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
Big Events Coming
Durham Central Park 2015 Schedule released
The dates for next year’s rodeo have been released. They are: January 25th, March 8th, June 21th, September 6, and November 1. If interested, the Durham Central Park recognized Ben Weber, Becky Hacker (Pie Pushers) and Brian Bottger (Only Burger) as the rodeo organizers.
Knightdale Rodeo
Date set for February 21, 2015. Truck lineup has not been released. For more details, check out the town’s website.
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.
Beericana
In 2014, the Triangle was introduced to an awesome event with local beer, food trucks, and music. Thankfully we will see this again September 12th, 2015. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for details on the blog.
ROAM is coming to Orlando, Florida
Hopefully you caught last week’s special post on the 2014 event.
Circle your calendars now for ROAM 2015 in Orlando. The dates are October 25th and 26th with the host hotel still being locked down. This is the only food truck industry conference that brings owners and industry-specific people together. I’ll have a special post just on my experience here in San Antonio. But in short, if you are someone in the food truck business, I think you need to be here. The dates are October 25 and 26th, which is Sunday and Monday. Hopefully, those are admin days and only 8 1/2 hours (by car) between the Triangle and Orlando. I hope we can exponentially expand our representation for this one.
Food Trucks and Restaurants to support (RED) in June 2015
I came back from the ROAM Conference early November was about the (RED) organization. The (RED) Organization fights AIDS in Africa where 2/3 of those with AIDS are located. In 2014, the organization had events around the food and beverage industry. However, they want to make it bigger and get everyone involved. It would be a nice scene to see food trucks featuring a (RED) menu next June!
For more details on the event, check out details at (RED)‘s website dedicated to the food and beverage industry.
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.
Jakki’s Juice Jam is closing up shop and selling their truck. If you are interested, contact them at 919-208-7405 or via their Facebook page.
If you got news, let the blog know. This is a weekly post summarizing food truck information in the Triangle area.
The Wandering Sheppard 