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.
Frequent readers: Moved the Radar to Tuesdays starting in March.
Food Truck’s March Madness!
If you follow the Durham Central Park’s (DCP’s) Facebook page, you already know March 8th is kicking off the second of Durham’s 2015 Food Truck Rodeo. There will be 50 local food trucks in attendance with Pitchblak Brass Band performing. For more details on who will be there, be sure to check out DCP’s website.
Also this month, we have the first Pittsboro Food Truck Rodeo (March 21st) and Wake Forest’s first rodeo (March 29th).
Town of Cary releases Chatham Street Chowdown Schedule
Town of Cary’s food truck rodeo series, “Chatham Street Chowdown” will kick off April 19th. Slated to have fifteen trucks, live music, and seating areas, this event draws food truck fans into the beautiful Downtown Cary area. Later dates include July 26th (evening rodeo) and Oct 2nd.
Bull City Ciderworks needs our help
Huge fan of Bull City Ciderworks. During February’s 919 Beer Taste The Triangle event, attendees learned that Bull City Ciderworks’ location has been purchased and they need to find a new location in Durham. The support has been overwhelming as they have already raised over 20% of their $25,000 goal and have become one of the kickstarter projects for beverages over the weekend. Here are more details on the kickstarter project.
Raleigh Brewing celebrates two years
On March 7th, Raleigh Brewing will celebrate two years with music and food trucks. Both Dump Pho King Truck and Philly’s Cheesesteaks will be there from 2 to 8pm and Iced Cupcakes will have complimentary cupcakes from 4pm-8pm.
In addition to three special beers and three food trucks, there will also be live music
Music Line- Up is as follows:
*2pm – 4pm: The Hey Brothers
*5pm – 7pm: Cosmic Superheroes
*8pm – 10pm: Gary Mitchell: Music with a Message
Lastly, Raleigh Brewing is giving away a Kegerator with $1 raffle tickets. 100% of the ticket sales will go to the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Tickets will stop at the close of business on March 7th and the winner will be announced on Monday, March 9th.
World Beer Festival – Raleigh
All About Beer Magazine brings 250 craft and specialty beers to Downtown Raleigh’s Moore Square on April 11th. The event is separated into two sessions an afternoon (12-4) and evening (6-10).
Food Trucks in attendance: American Meltdown, Belgian Waffology, Charlie’s Kabob Grill, Chirba Chirba Dumpling, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, Mac-UR-Roni, Only Burger, and Stuft. For more details and tickets, find it here.
For those looking for next time, Durham hosts one in October (last year it was at Durham Bulls Athletic Park).
KoKyu is Hiring
KoKyu is looking to fill full- and part-time for all aspects of its business (catering, food truck, sandwich shop, and commissary). They will be open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at their Sandwich Shop, Na’ Mean, located at 4823 Meadow Drive Suite 108, Durham from Noon to 5 pm. More details can be found on their post on Craigslist.
Cousins Maine Lobster getting close for launch
Yesterday, followers were updated that the countdown is on for Raleigh’s family-owned Cousins Maine Lobster. The food truck is being built at the company’s facility, but it should be in the Triangle later this month. If you want to be more in the loop, catch updates @CMLobsterRAL.
Blues Events at Durham Central Park
Looks like Durham Central Park will have a few events with food trucks in the near future.
May 30th – 1st Annual Blues and Brews Festival (Tickets)
The Warehouse Blues events will kick off July 10th the opening date with three events to follow on Fridays afterwards.
Special Food Truck Dinners
Food trucks and breweries are having special dinners at their taprooms. Here are a few going on now:
Bull City Street Food & Bull City Ciderworks: March 11th at 7pm (5 courses for $35)
●Course 1 – Taco with Chicken Braised in Rhiz Up! Cider with Red Quinoa, Apple Slaw, Pickled Onions and Cilantro Cream
●Course 2 – Wild Rice Stuffed Pork Loin with a Cardinal Cin Cider Infused Apple Chutney
●Course 3 – Spruce Bringsteen Cider Stir Fry with Black Tiger Prawn and Asian Vegetables
●Course 4 – Hearty Beef Tenderloin Stew with Root Vegetables and a Steep South Cider Gravy over a Bed of Garlic Mashed Potatoes
●Course 5 – Sweet Carolina Cider Glazed Bananas with Candied Pecans
Reservations can be made at the Cider Bar at Bull City Ciderworks.
Olio and Aceto (Chapel Hill Cafe location) & Wine: February 26th rescheduled to March 12th due to inclement weather. See the blog’s post.
Manna & Double Barley: April 8th
Rabbit Farm Crowd Funding Project
Fatty Owl Farm (@ready4rabbit) in Pittsboro is looking to raise funds to add a processing center on their farm. They have asked if food trucks might be interested in working with them on a reward. I also noticed they have a reward geared toward restaurants. If want to see more on the project, check out their barnraiser page. Update: Over 70% funded with 20 days left!
Also, if you enjoy rabbit Chef Sean at Bam Pow Chow hinted rabbit could be served at Lonerider this Wednesday. Stay posted @BamPowChow, also don’t forget to vote for them as Best Food Truck Taco.
Trucks Giving Back
I hope you can recall last year when Gussy’s organized a rodeo that was just for the Durham Rescue Mission. The event was participated by Gussy’s, Stuft, Chick-N-Que, and Not Just Icing, where they provided food to those at the Rescue Mission for free. Gus wants to do the event again expanding it to more trucks and Rescue Mission locations. If your food truck is interested, contact Gus at 919-656-7096 or Direct/Private Message @GreekGussys. The event was covered by many media outlets, including a live shot by Anthony Wilson from ABC 11.
Trucks Opening Locations
Coming Soon
Sol Tacos (as a Sol Tapas concept) – estimated early 2015, Downtown Raleigh. Hints have been out about an April 1st opening.
Deli-icious: Location is in Clayton with a 2015 date expected.
Captain Ponchos: location in Southern Village, Chapel Hill. The date has been pushed back from originally posted. However, based on the photos, things are progressing well. Stay posted here.
And KoKyu BBQ will open Na’mean, a sandwich shop, in the near future. The location is 4823 Meadow Drive, Suite 108.
Big Events Coming
Durham Central Park 2015 Schedule released
January 25th (what a great day that was)
March 8th
June 21st
September 6th
November 1st
If interested, the Durham Central Park recognized Ben Weber, Becky Hacker (Pie Pushers) and Brian Bottger (Only Burger) as the rodeo organizers.
Wake Forest Rodeo Days announced
March 29th
May 17th
July 12th
November 8th
Location is 419 S Brooks Street in Wake Forest at the Over The Falls Shopping Center. Rodeo will go on from 12 to 4pm.
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
May 3rd
June 14th
August 9th (Evening Rodeo)
October 11th
Beericana presented by 919 Beer
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.
Outside the Triangle
The inaugural Capital City Food Truck Convention organized by the DMV Food Truck Association (DC-Maryland-Virgina) is taking place Sunday, April 19th. This one day event will gather current and new food truck owners, as well as, other people within the industry. Currently, they are doing early bird registration until February 28th. For more details on the location, registering and agenda, see the association’s website.
World’s Largest Food Truck Festival III
Just outside of Tampa, Generation Food Truck is organizing another large food truck festival. You can follow them @100truckrally or find details at the Facebook Page. The event is March 28th and 29th with a fee $250 for trucks interested. The event is free for those who attend, but $6 parking.
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. 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 November 15 and 16th, 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 2014 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.
Is your food truck news here? This post focuses on Triangle food trucks every week. If you got news, let the blog know using the form below.
The Wandering Sheppard 