RollinGreens, a Boulder-based food truck operator, has expanded its fleet with the addition of a second food truck, a farmers’ market cart and a mobile juice bar, officials announced this week.

The new food truck and farmers’ market cart are in operation and the mobile juice bar — the RollinGreens Juicery scooter — is slated to debut in May, RollinGreens officials said.

RollinGreens’ food truck opened for business in 2011 with the aim of serving food made from local and organic ingredients.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/ci_22994594/boulders-rollingreens-adds-new-food-truck-cart-mobile

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Food trucks might be getting more room to roam in Boulder.

The city of Boulder is considering a summer pilot program that would allow licensed food trucks not only to operate at some city parks but also to offer late-night business in downtown Boulder.

Under the Mobile Food Vehicle Pilot Program for Parks,food trucks would be allowed to operate periodically at six Boulder parks — Tom Watson Park, Foothills Community Park, North Boulder Park, Harlow Platts Community Park, East Boulder Community Park and the city’s downtown Municipal Campus — from June 2 through Aug. 25.

The permitted number of food trucks and times of operation vary by location.

Additionally, officials for Boulder’s Downtown & University Hill Management Division and Parking Services are hashing out a summertime pilot program for late-night service. Under the proposed program, a couple of mobile food vendors could operate at the Park Central parking lot, near Arapahoe Avenue and Broadway, and serve from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

The city also is conducting an online survey to obtain feedback about the program, which would require a go-ahead from the Boulder City Council. The council is expected to consider the mobile vending pilot programs next month.

“We established some basic food truck policies a couple years ago,” said Suzanne Jones, a Boulder City Council member. “Now it’s time to take a look at those and tweak them, and also see if we can at least respond to additional desires on the part of the food truck community to see if we can’t expand upon what has worked well so far.”

If the pilot programs are approved, city officials will evaluate their effects.

The proposed pilot programs come two years after the city expanded its code on mobile vending to respond to a growing number of food trucks.

In an effort to strike a balance between the food trucks and brick-and-mortar operations, city officials established boundaries on operating times and locations. Food trucks are allowed to operate in rights-of-way in industrial zones and also in business, mixed-use and downtown zones with property owner approval, but they cannot operate within 150 feet of restaurants and residential districts.

The regulations have hindered the potential growth of food truck businesses, said Lindsey Mandel, co-owner of the RollinGreens food truck. She estimated the truck’s sales could be triple what they are now if it was allowed to move freely in areas such as downtown Boulder.

Mandel said she understands the competitive concerns from brick-and-mortar restaurants, but she believes the two can coexist. She noted a recent trip to Washington, D.C., where she saw “hundreds of trucks lined up and there’s lines out the door, but there’s also lines out the door for the restaurants as well.”

Restaurateur Dave Query — whose Big Red F Restaurant Group holdings in downtown Boulder include Jax Fish House, Centro Latin Grill, The West End Tavern and The Bitter Bar — said he supports broadening the ordinance to have food trucks operate throughout the city.

The food trucks operate a different dining experience than a sit-down establishment, he said.

“(Food trucks) have been pretty handcuffed right up until now,” Query said. “It’ll make all the restaurants work harder and smarter and try to keep all the people in our seats.”

But downtown restaurant operators have expressed many concerns and fears about food trucks rolling up and affecting business, said Sean Maher, executive director for Downtown Boulder Inc., the nonprofit organization that represents the area’s businesses.

“We have 100 food outlets downtown; it’s probably one of the most concentrated and competitive districts in the country, and they pay huge rents to be down here and huge monthly overhead,” he said. “We support food trucks, just not right in the downtown core where they have an incredible competitive advantage over restaurants.”

City officials looked to find further middle ground when laying the groundwork for the potential pilot program. The late-night program, for example, is outside the downtown core and conducted after the neighboring Mustard’s Last Stand and Alfalfa’s have closed.

“We think it’s far enough away,” said Molly Winter, director of the downtown and parking services division. “We’re not recommending any changes to the current regulations to the downtown core.”

The proposed parks program builds off an effort last summer to have some food trucks serve parks, said Sarah DeSouza, senior manager of communications, marketing and partnerships for the city’s Parks and Recreation department.

The food trucks that took part in that initial effort did not bring in much business, but they believed there might be more strength in numbers, she said.

The latest proposed parks pilot program is meant to respond to food truck operators’ requests to set up in block party-like “pods” and serve neighborhoods.

“We’re amenable to mobile vendors coming in,” she said. “We see that mobile vending is a real community enhancement (at the parks).”

K.C. Slager, co-owner of Verde Food Truck and Cheese Louise Food Truck, said the pilot program could be very beneficial for the food truck industry in Boulder.

“There will be concessions there for the summer activities,” he said.

Slager added that he hopes the city might go as far as to open up areas around University Hill and the University of Colorado and also ease restrictions on late-night operations.

“But all in all, the fact that they’re backing us and starting to open doors for us, I think is great,” he said.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_22873759/boulder-launches-food-truck-pilot-program-city-parks

Cheese Louise Food Truck owner K.C. Slager calls out a completed order to a customer during the lunch rush hour Tuesday. The food truck was serving workers in an office park south of Pearl Parkway in Boulder. (Paul Aiken, Boulder Daily Camera)

Food trucks could be allowed to park and serve food at some Boulder parks during a 12-week period this summer as part of a new city pilot program.

Under the Mobile Food Vehicle Pilot Program for Parks, food trucks would be allowed to periodically operate at six Boulder parks — Tom Watson Park, Foothills Community Park, North Boulder Park, Harlow Platts Community Park, East Boulder Community Park and downtown’s Municipal Campus — from June 2 through Aug. 25.

The permitted number of food trucks and times of operation vary by location.

The city also is conducting an online survey to obtain feedback about the program, which will require a go-ahead from Boulder City Council.

The council is expected to consider the pilot program next month.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_22878287/boulder-look-into-allowing-food-trucks-at-six

Customers stand outside the Oskar Blues food truck in the west parking lot of Twin Peaks Mall on Saturday evening. The Bonewagon was one of a half dozen food trucks gathered at the mall. ( LEWIS GEYER )

LONGMONT — What would you call it — a food court on wheels?

Drivers on Hover Street on Saturday evening may have noticed an unusual sight, but they had better get used to it: From 5 to 8 p.m. each Saturday for the next several months, Twin Peaks Mall will play host to a gathering of food trucks.

“I’m guessing (this weekend’s) might be a little hit and miss, since it’s the first time — working out the logistics and everything,” said Jeremy Easton, operator — along with Robyn Wooley — of the Waffle Cakes food truck and the organizer of the event.

“I was just basically looking for places to set up,” Easton said Friday. “We came across the mall and asked them if they had any interest in it and they did, so six months later here we are.”

Jeremy Easton makes waffles in his Waffle Cakes food truck in the west parking lot of Twin Peaks Mall on Saturday evening. Easton was an organizer for a food truck gathering at the mall. “Hopefully it will continue to grow,” Easton said. ( LEWIS GEYER )

Waffle Cakes used to operate out of a tent but Easton and Wooley got their truck last July. Since then they’ve been participants in the weekly Monday night food truck gatherings in Prospect.

The Longmont couple’s plans are one day to get a storefront and quit their full-time jobs (Easton is a computer engineer, and Wooley works full-time as a nurse). But until then they’ll operate their food truck on nights and weekends as they can.

Through contacts they’ve made, they have found more than 15 other truck owners who have expressed interest in the Saturday evening gatherings, and they hope that list will grow. Ablaze, the Giggling Greek, Cheese Louise, Rolling Greens and Seb’s Wood Fire Pizza are a few of the other trucks he’s gotten commitments from.

The trucks will be set up near the former J.C. Penney building on the northwest portion of the mall property.

Asked about the 5 to 8 p.m. time, Easton said, “We polled all the trucks to find, ‘What’s your preference on time?’ They preferred to be around a meal, lunch or dinner.

“Also, it would have ruled us out of the Boulder County Farmers Market if we were to do it around lunch.”

Malaika Jenkins, marketing director for the mall’s owner, NewMark Merrill Mountain States, said she’s attempting to see if she can arrange for some bands to come play live music during the event each week, just as the organizers of the Prospect event do.

She said she hopes the event develops into something Longmont embraces, as the successful Monday night food truck events in Prospect have been.

“As far as (the mall) is concerned, we’re still open, we’re still active,” Jenkins said. “Obviously, the plans (for redeveloping the mall) are moving forward but we want to make sure we continue to be a part of the community.”

http://www.timescall.com/news/longmont-local-news/ci_22908677/food-trucks-invade-longmonts-twin-peaks-mall

Photo : Wiki Commons) Boulder, Colorado is launching a pilot food trucks program this summer in select city parks to gauge consumer interest in mobile vending.

Two years after food truck operators asked Boulder officials to expand the ordinance on mobile vending, a pilot program is being put into place.

City officials said the ordinance was put into place in order to strike a balance between food truck vendors and smaller, brick and mortar restaurants.

Under the new Mobile Food Vehicle Pilot Program for Parks, truck vendors will be allowed to sell their goods in city parks over a 12-week period from June 2 through Aug. 25. Although the bill includes restrictions on operating hours and locations, the vendors are still happy.

“In all, the fact that they’re backing us and starting to open doors for us, I think is great,” K.C. Slager, co-owner of Verde Food Truck and Cheese Louise Food Truck, said.

The trucks will be able to operate at Tom Watson Park, North Boulder Park, Foothills Community Park, Harlow Platts Community Park, the city’s Municipal Campus and East Boulder Park.

The truck vendors also wanted to open up their business to college students around University Hill and the University of Colorado, but both students and truck owners will have to wait a little bit longer for that to happen.

Consumers are also being asked to fill out an online survey to keep track of the results.

http://www.foodworldnews.com/articles/3649/20130326/boulder-launch-pilot-food-trucks-program-city-parks-summer.htm

By Mitchell Byar  | Daily Camera

A 73-year-old Boulder woman was arrested on DUI and vehicular assault charges Wednesday after police say she clipped a food truck with her SUV, drove into a University of Colorado student eating lunch and then struck the church where she had planned to attend an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting.

Witnesses told police that a woman — later identified as Brenda Geers, of Boulder — was driving her 1998 Toyota 4Runner west on Colorado Avenue around 12:12 p.m. Wednesday when she turned into the parking lot of St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, 2425 Colorado Ave.

According to Boulder police Sgt. Jack Walker, the driver clipped the Cheese Louise food truck parked in the lot before barreling into a table where the victim –18-year-old CU freshman Eric Anderson — was eating lunch. The SUV then ran into the church’s covered entryway.

Anderson was transported to Boulder Community Hospital with a punctured lung and numerous broken ribs, Walker said. He remained at the hospital Wednesday evening.

Geers was not injured.

According to police, she told officers she was on her way to St. Aiden’s to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

Geers was in custody at the Boulder County Jail on Wednesday evening.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_21689473/boulder-police-woman-driving-suv-clipped-food-truck

By Joe Rubino | Daily Camera

The Tasterie Truck – photo by Sue France

John and Debra Grabowski sat at a picnic table in a crowded festival tent at the Gateway Park Fun Center near Boulder on Friday, carefully putting down several plates of food they had just grabbed from the nearby Street Eats 5280 truck.

The Grabowskis, of Evergreen, were among several thousand people who gathered Friday for “Truck It,” an inaugural Boulder-area food truck party.

The event featured 10 food trucks from the Denver and Boulder County areas including Street Eats and local favorites such as Comida, Heirloom and the Tasterie Truck. The Grabowskis settled in to chow down on a salad and Hawaiian-style Kalbi rib plate, as their grandchildren enjoyed sweet potato fries.

“It’s interesting, and it’s obviously all about the food,” John Grabowski said of Truck It.

The Truck It party idea originated several months back, organizer and Tasterie Truck co-owner Shannon Aten said, but took a while to materialize because truck owners could not get approval to throw the party in city limits.

Gateway, at 4800 N. 28th St., falls outside of Boulder, freeing the trucks to group together, which is not allowed under the 2011 city ordinance allowing food truck businesses.

Aten and her partner Nathan Miller discussed the idea with Crock Spot food truck owner Stephen Daniels, who had thrown similar parties in Denver, and then began enlisting fellow mobile food enthusiasts.

“The trucks were stoked,” Aten said as she, Miller and his parents dished out creme brulee, key lime pie and other sweets Friday. “A lot of us are starting our second year (in business). Year No. 1 was about surviving. Year No. 2, we want to expand and have some fun. Boulder is so thirsty for food trucks.”

Mandy Birks, of the Crock Spot food truck, left, serves food to Cyndi Reilly, of Boulder, and her boyfriend, Jaimie Penfold, also of Boulder, on Friday at the Food Truck Extravaganza outside of Boulder. ( JEREMY PAPASSO )

On Friday, trucks offered everything from quesadillas to slow-cooked pulled pork to ice cream, as local deejay Zach Johnson provided music and kids played with hula hoops or in Gateway’s outdoor maze.

Laura Bare, of Boulder, attended Truck It with her sons Cole, 5 and Tucker, 9. Bare enjoyed a pasta dish from Heirloom, while Cole and Tucker split a Street Eats burger and some Tasterie treats.

“I love it,” Bare said of Truck It. “It’s really fun. Great atmosphere.”

Beer from Avery and Upslope Brewing was poured by volunteers from Boulder-area nonprofit Parenting Place. The organization, dedicated to preventing child abuse and strengthening families, received all of the beer sales profit to help support its mission.

“Everybody wins at this type of event,” Crock Spot owner Daniels said.

Aten said she hopes the event also demonstrated to Boulder the value of the local food truck industry and encourages officials to loosen restrictions on how late trucks can stay open, where they can operate in the city limits and allowing them to group together in pods.

Boulder spokeswoman Sarah Huntley said the City Council will discuss options for food truck regulations at its Tuesday meeting.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_20818642

By Joe Rubino | Daily Camera

Mandy Birks, of the Crock Spot food truck, left, serves food to Cyndi Reilly, of Boulder, and her boyfriend, Jaimie Penfold, also of Boulder, on Friday at the Food Truck Extravaganza outside of Boulder. ( JEREMY PAPASSO )

John and Debra Grabowski sat at a picnic table in a crowded festival tent at the Gateway Park Fun Center near Boulder on Friday, carefully putting down several plates of food they had just grabbed from the nearby Street Eats 5280 truck.

The Grabowskis, of Evergreen, were among several thousand people who gathered Friday for “Truck It,” an inaugural Boulder-area food truck party.

The event featured 10 food trucks from the Denver and Boulder County areas including Street Eats and local favorites such as Comida, Heirloom and the Tasterie Truck. The Grabowskis settled in to chow down on a salad and Hawaiian-style Kalbi rib plate, as their grandchildren enjoyed sweet potato fries.

“It’s interesting, and it’s obviously all about the food,” John Grabowski said of Truck It.

The Truck It party idea originated several months back, organizer and Tasterie Truck co-owner Shannon Aten said, but took a while to materialize because truck owners could not get approval to throw the party in city limits.

Gateway, at 4800 N. 28th St., falls outside of Boulder, freeing the trucks to group together, which is not allowed under the 2011 city ordinance allowing food truck businesses.

Aten and her partner Nathan Miller discussed the idea with Crock Spot food truck owner Stephen Daniels, who had thrown similar parties in Denver, and then began enlisting fellow mobile food enthusiasts.

“The trucks were stoked,” Aten said as she, Miller and his parents dished out creme brulee, key lime pie and other sweets Friday. “A lot of us are starting our second year (in business). Year No. 1 was about surviving. Year No. 2, we want to expand and have some fun. Boulder is so thirsty for food trucks.”

On Friday, trucks offered everything from quesadillas to slow-cooked pulled pork to ice cream, as local deejay Zach Johnson provided music and kids played with hula hoops or in Gateway’s outdoor maze.

Laura Bare, of Boulder, attended Truck It with her sons Cole, 5 and Tucker, 9. Bare enjoyed a pasta dish from Heirloom, while Cole and Tucker split a Street Eats burger and some Tasterie treats.

“I love it,” Bare said of Truck It. “It’s really fun. Great atmosphere.”

Beer from Avery and Upslope Brewing was poured by volunteers from Boulder-area nonprofit Parenting Place. The organization, dedicated to preventing child abuse and strengthening families, received all of the beer sales profit to help support its mission.

“Everybody wins at this type of event,” Crock Spot owner Daniels said.

Aten said she hopes the event also demonstrated to Boulder the value of the local food truck industry and encourages officials to loosen restrictions on how late trucks can stay open, where they can operate in the city limits and allowing them to group together in pods.

Boulder spokeswoman Sarah Huntley said the City Council will discuss options for food truck regulations at its Tuesday meeting.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_20818642/food-truck-event-draws-thousands-near-boulder

This shiny barbecue beast is one of the many mobile food options on offer

Wave a fond farewell to food-truck season at Snack Attack on Oct. 16 at Morey Middle School (840 E. 14th Ave.), presented by the Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods organization.

Similar to other food-truck rallies like Civic Center Eats or the Justice League Of Street Food blowouts, the Snack Attack will turn Morey’s basketball court into a mobile-eatery parking lot. Expect a fleet of foodie faces like Bambu Chinese, The Crock Spot, Quiero Arepas, N. Z’s Smokin’ Guns, and Gigi’s Cupcakes, plus more.

Of course, there’s an ulterior motive to gathering all these tempting trucks in one place: October is CHUN’s “Membership Month,” and this is just one of the community-booster group’s roster of fun activities throughout the month. The goal is to attract Capitol Hill denizens and encourage them to join together with the CHUN. Sneaky!

Whatever the reason, it’s a good excuse to have a fall feast and wistfully watch the food trucks disappear over the horizon. Visit chundenver.org for further details, including more information on CHUN’s October events.

http://origin.avclub.com/denver/articles/snack-attack-foodtruck-rally-closes-season-for-mob,62894/

By Alicia Wallace | DailyCamera.com

In 1980, the Cunningham family moved from Minneapolis to Boulder because the Colorado city seemed the ideal locale for their business: a hot-foods wagon serving up natural fare.

Bill and Joanne Cunningham rolled out the Rollin’ Greens truck to various Boulder industrial parks, selling about 350 dishes a day in 32 to 40 stops.

Thirty-one years later, the Cunninghams’ business is back on the road.

Lindsey Mandel and Ryan Cunningham prepare lunches in the RollinGreens food truck, parked at Rally Software s Boulder offices on Wednesday afternoon. Cunningham s parents started a hot-foods wagon, called Rollin Greens, in 1980. (Marty Caivano)

Ryan Cunningham, the youngest child of the clan, has partnered with his significant other, Lindsey Mandel, on RollinGreens — a Boulder-based food truck established in homage of the original natural foods wagon.

This generation’s iteration is heavily focused on seasonally focused local and organic offerings, said Ryan Cunningham, as he prepared a vegetarian spring roll.

“We’re on the more healthy side of a mobile food truck,” he said.

Cunningham attributes the culinary leanings to how he was raised and, later in life, professionally trained by his mother, who runs a cooking school. Ryan Cunningham, now 30, may have been a twinkle in his father’s eye when the original Rollin’ Greens started, but the food culture infused much of his life.

Lindsey Mandel, left, serves fried tacos to Susan Rampson at the RollinGreens food truck on Wednesday afternoon. ( MARTY CAIVANO )

Cunningham coupled the experience from his mother’s school with additional culinary training and seasoning at a West Coast restaurant; architecture schooling from the University of Colorado; and, more recently, cooking as a private chef.

His mother, who has since changed her name to Julianaa Satie, helped give the blessing that allowed her youngest son to meld his culinary and design schooling to build a commissary kitchen on wheels and launch it in honor of the family business.

As she recalled the original intent of the early ’80s business, she also noted its playfulness — with dishes such as the Rocky Flats-inspired “Hot Tuna Meltdown.” “First of all I think we both feel honored that our youngest child would take that on,” Satie said of her former husband, Bill, who could not be reached for comment. “It’s very special; it’s a nice acknowledgement.”

The 21st century RollinGreens also leans toward a bit gourmet, Mandel added, noting the mango mustard and caramelized onions that top the Coleman beef hot dog.

“We want people to resonate with the food, but not expect it — try to be a pleasant surprise,” she said.

Launched on May 7, RollinGreens is one of five food trucks to apply for a mobile vending license with Boulder, said Mishawn Cook, the city’s licensing clerk.

The city recently set regulations for the burgeoning business sector that broadened the food trucks’ operating capabilities to include locations such as some public right-of-ways. Before, the food trucks were essentially catering companies that were allowed to operate on private property for limited hours.

As of Friday, city officials were expected to have granted three mobile food vending licenses and currently are reviewing the applications for the newest entrants of RollinGreens and Heirloom, Cook said.

Cunningham and Mandel say they know the market is competitive, but express confidence the culinary approach, the 24-foot rig’s full commercial kitchen, the Cunningham family’s history and the reception thus far will play nicely for the new business.

“We’re doing restaurant volume out of a 24-foot trailer,” Ryan Cunningham said.

http://www.dailycamera.com/business/ci_18491388