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.
This weekend was awesome! Raleigh closed the weekend out with their first rodeo of 2015. The next Raleigh rodeo is scheduled for June 14th, while the next city rodeo is Wake Forest on May 17th. Now, what’s going on in the Triangle
Cousins Maine Lobster rolls into the Triangle
Last week, the food truck scene was buzzing over Cousins Maine Lobster new family truck in the Triangle. They had a quiet opening in Cary at the Chatham Hill Winery, but followed up with two large events back-to-back. The first was Meet in the Street in Wake Forest on Saturday and Downtown Raleigh Food Truck Rodeo on Sunday. Both events seemed highly successful with a line that took over half a city block. I spoke with Kelly Groop in the line and she mentioned she was in line for an hour and a half with several ahead of her. She did mentioned it took 2 hours finally on my Facebook Page (thanks for the follow-up!) I read another comment in Cousins’ Facebook Page and they mentioned it took them two and a half hours. If you missed out or didn’t want to wait, Bombshell Brewing Company in Holly Springs mentioned Cousins will be there on Saturday. Brewery engagements are usually less frantic than festivals, so I highly recommend going to this engagement. For more details on Cousins Maine Lobster here in Raleigh, check out their Behind The Wheel.
Dump Pho King Truck on hiatus
The popular food truck that launched last year is on a brief hiatus. While rumors have wondered the fate of the two girls one truck, rest assured the girls and the Dump Pho King Truck are okay. The girls are currently working on a side project.
Sol Tacos popping up soon?
Details are still in the works, but expect to see Sol Tacos doing a pop-up at Bombshell. The event will be a limited complimentary event to promote a future counter service concept. Chef Schaumann has shown me a few of the ideas around it and I am very excited about it.
Town of Garner organizing a Summer rodeo?
Word is spreading that the Town of Garner will have an event on June 7th with food trucks, local beer, and live music. Garner had a decent turnout for their Trick or Eats festival for Halloween 2014. It highlighted some of the revitalization in downtown Garner.
Bang Bang Banh Mi going out with a bang
This came as a shock to me, when someone said Bang Bang Banh Mi was going out last week. They posted on Facebook they will have dates until May 9th (this Saturday). I’m sad to see them go as I enjoyed their Fried Chicken (they used coconut milk) and Rice dishes. Check their Facebook Page’s Notes section to find their last schedule (last updated date was May 3rd).
Green Olive Deli is rolling out to the sunset
This year saw the re-emergence of Green Olive Deli. With that reemergence, the Triangle got its first Indian food truck. The truck was still branded as “Green Olive Deli,” which may have confused patrons. Owner Craig Warbington decided its time to change the truck. A new name has not been announced.
Support MaMa Duke’s
Last week, I posted that MaMa Duke’s was doing a Go Fund Me page for their recent accident caused by a drunk driver. The Alexakis family are okay, but they are looking for our support.
Chick-N-Que shares knowledge
Queen Harris, the matriarch of Chick-N-Que, is an instructor for an upcoming curriculum on Food Truck Enterprenuership at Vance-Granville Community College (VGCC). The program starts on May 11th with weekly classes until June 8th. Chick-N-Que has operated as a mobile food unit since 2008 with participation in food truck festivals, the annual State Fair, and recently opening a restaurant this year in Rolesville.
For more details on the program, see VGCC’s website. (Thanks Chuck Odom for the heads up)
Sarges’s Chef wants you
If you are looking to start your food truck business, contact Julius West of Sarge’s Chef. He has space in his commissary located in Rolesville, just north of 540 on 401.
Contact Julius by e-mail: sargeschef (at) aol (dot) com, by phone 919.247.3547 or direct message on Twitter (@SargesChef)
Funding Projects
Both UM UM Italian Ice (as a UM UM Q) and Cocoa Cinnamon have crowd sourcing projects currently in process.
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), Gussy’s Place (2945-122 S Miami Blvd, Durham), Deli-icious, and Sol Tacos have released they have restaurant locations in the works this year. Stay tuned on details.
Porchetta expected to open mid to late May in the Streets of Southpoint food court in the old Five Guys location.
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
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 
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