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.
Food Trucks and March Madness
Two things I enjoy: Food Trucks and the College Basketball Tournament. This year I lined up food trucks with schools for the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Tonight, KoKyu BBQ (Wisconsin) and Pie Pushers (Duke) are the remaining schools/food trucks left. To see how we got here, check out the post.
Mixed rolling out a food truck
If you have not been to Mixed, the casual Korean restaurant in Chapel Hill, you are missing out. Taking the traditional Korean cuisine, bibimbap and dulsot (my favorite) with the added bonus of letting you customize the proteins and vegetables. I rarely review things (I’m lazy), but you can check out my Yelp review.
The news here is Mixed is running a special menu at the restaurant before they roll out a food truck. After confirming via Facebook and sending a tweet, Mixed responded (see below) that within a month they will be on the road.
LocoPops’ van on the road
New Raleigh reported (see below) that Locopops has a VW Van serving the area. It was at last week’s Oval Park rodeo (1st Thursday every month in Durham’s Oval Park) and the loco-favorite will probably be at other events this year.
The Ritz looking for Food Trucks
Every month, The Ritz in Raleigh will have Tribute Nights. The next one will be April 11th (this Saturday) with Liverpool (a Beatles Tribute band). These events will be promoted on various media channels (radio, B2B, social, etc.), which food trucks will be highlighted on as well. If you are interested, contact them today (the event is Saturday).
The Ritz is located at 2820 Industrial Drive, Raleigh. If you probably don’t recognize the venue, as they had major renovations completed this year.
Big John’s Wings and Things, now Wingski’s
Over the winter, Big John’s decided to build a new trailer and a new menu. With all those changes, they also rolled out a new Twitter handle @WingskisNC. Don’t worry if you already followed Big John’s, they just changed the name. Remember to use the @WingskisNC when tweeting them.
Events this week
Manna and Double Barley Beer Dinner
April 8th: Manna will server up five courses at Double Barley. Contact Double Barley’s taproom for tickets. The event sold out last time. Contact them via phone (919) 934-3433.
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.
Downtown Cary Food and Flea
The Humble Pig and Not Just Icing will be at this monthly event on the second Sunday in Ashworth Village (200 Academy Street, Cary). For more information on the event, check the Facebook Page.
Flora and Food Trucks
All American and Chez Moi will both be at the Flora and Food Trucks series this Saturday at Fairview Greenhouses and Garden Center.
NC Food Rodeo at Grove Winery
On the second Sunday of every month, Grove Winery in Gibsonville (north of Burlington) hosts a food truck rodeo. The event is worth a trip with tastings by the local winery (they have a wide variety of grapes), Natty Greene’s on tap, local entertainment, and local food trucks from both the Triad and Triangle. So far, I’ve seen Thai Box Zing on the schedule.
For the rest of April
Pittsboro’s April Food Truck Rodeo
A food truck lineup has been announced with Baugettaboutit, Bandido’s, Halal Haven, Little Dippers, Red Eye BBQ, and Belgian Waffology. Bella Donna and Bear Creek Brews will also be there. The event is April 18th across from the Pittsboro Road House.
Chatham Street Chowdown
April 19th will be the first of the Cary’s food truck series, Chatham Street Chowdown.
Brewgaloo 2015
Over 30 food trucks listed for the event taking place on April 25th from 2 to 10pm on Fayetteville Street in Downtown Raleigh. This event is one of those big events that puts a bow on NC Beer Month (April). In addition to beer and food trucks, there is also live music that book end the festival.
Taste The Event hosts a Burger Smashdown
Watch Mattie B’s Public House, Tyler’s Taproom, Al’s Burger Shack, Buns and Only Burger prepare their favorite burger and side combinations for your vote. In addition burgers and sides, Sean Lilly Wilson of Fullsteam will pair beers for each item. Part of the ticket proceeds will fund the Durham Branch of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina. The event takes place at Fullsteam Brewery on April 25th. Tickets available here.
Special Food Truck Dinners
Food trucks and breweries are having special dinners at their taprooms. Here are a few going on now:
Manna & Brueprint at New Hope Valley Railroad (Brew & Choo): April 25th
Food Trucks Hiring
Jay’s Italian Ice is looking for part time help. See their Facebook page for contact information.
With Gussy’s opening up a new restaurant in May, Gus (“Gyro Hero”) is looking for the help, especially with a grill person. Contact him for more information.
New food truck, Thai Street, is growing in popularity and are looking for some help. Contact info [at] thaistreetfoodtruck [dot] com
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
Recently Opened
KoKyu BBQ opened Na’mean, a sandwich shop, today at 4823 Meadow Dr, Ste. 108 in Durham. Check out info on our Wheels and Mortar post.
Coming Soon
Captain Ponchos (Southern Village, Chapel Hill), Deli-icious, and Sol Tacos have released they have restaurant locations in the works this year. Stay tuned on details.
Big Events Coming
For Rodeos, check out the Rodeo Page.
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.
Lowcountry Vendors and Food Truck Expo
The event is taking place Saturday, May 2nd down in Beaufort, SC. The event is highlighting the community and they are looking for food trucks to promote the region. For more details on the event, you can see more at their Facebook Page.
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 
That was a lot of great information! I’ve got to find a good one that i might be able to get to!