File Photo: The Grilled Cheese Nation truck. Credit Courtesy Food Truck Festivals of NE

The Board of Selectmen granted food trucks an eight-month extension and four new trucks in town.

In October of 2012, Brookline Patch reported that the Board had extended the permits for r Baja Taco Truck, Compliments Food Truck, Paris Creperie, Pennypacker’s Food Truck, and Renula’s Greek Kitchen at their current dates and times.

At the Selectmen’s meeting on Tuesday, April 23, Health Department Director Alan Balsam said that he had observed the food sanitation aspects of the Food Trucks and was pleased with what he saw.

Economic Development Planner Andy Martineau said that during the PILOT program and through the first extension, complaints about the trucks have been minimal from both residents and restaurants.

“Overall, I think this program has been a success and I think that if we continue to administer it in a manner that isn’t detrimental to brick and mortar establishments or the greater community at large, I don’t see why it shouldn’t be continued.”

Martineau addressed two complaints from Espresso Royal and from Nud Pob Thai Cuisine both issued complaints about food trucks. “These establishments have complained about a decline in business,” Martineau said. “It’s unclear that that’s solely attributable to the presence of food trucks in the area. There are a number of other variables at play besides the food trucks.”

Larry Marguiles, owner of Espresso Royal, spoke at the meeting about the detriment food trucks create for his business since Brookline gave the green light for trucks on Commonwealth Avenue and St. Mary’s Street.

“Since the food trucks started, food sales are down,” Marguiles said. He said that during the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., sales at Espresso Royale are down anywhere between four and eight percent while the food trucks are parked near by.

Selectmen Dick Benka said that he was concerned with the well being of local businesses. “They (the trucks) are not paying taxes. Unless they are headquartered in Brookline, they are not paying the food taxes in town and they’re not paying rent.”

Martineau sited that Boston University is in the middle of renovating several buildings and classrooms in the area of Commonwealth Avenue and St. Mary’s Street. The St. Mary’s location is one of the most desirable locations because of the foot traffic in the area.

Martineau said that one of the goals of the food truck programs is keeping the trucks away from brick and mortar restaurants.

Several residents spoke in favor of food trucks, saying that they provide diverse menus in town. Owners of trucks, like Bryan Peugh, who owns the Baja Taco Truck, said that he buys about $250 worth of propane from Brookline Ice and Coal on a weekly basis. He and several other trucks also employ local Brookline residents, which is they claim is their way of rewarding the town for allowing them to operate untaxed.

The Selectmen voted to extend the program from May 1, 2013 to December 31, 2014.

Baja Taco, Compliments, Paris Creperia, Pennypacker’s and Renula’s Kitchen are all returning. The new trucks in town are Fugu Foods, Grilled Cheese Nation, Lobsta Love, Bean Town Taqueria and Clover.

http://brookline.patch.com/articles/food-trucks-given-the-ok-until-december-2014

BROOKLINE - Thirty inches of snow and whipping, freezing winds are not ideal weather conditions for running an open-air restaurant on wheels.  Foot traffic halts and parking spaces become snow mounds, making the food truck business a tough one during the cold winter months in Massachusetts.  However, the food trucks in Brookline aren’t ready to close their doors, or windows, just yet.

“Storms are typical here in Mass.,” said Bryan Peugh, owner of the Baja Taco Truck, “But we love our customers and love the business, so we stick it out.”

The Baja Taco Truck is one of the five trucks taking part in the Brookline Mobile Food Vendor Pilot Program.  Of the nine trucks that applied for the program, the Pennypacker’s Food Truck, the Paris Creperie, the Compliments Food Truck, Renula’s Greek Kitchen, and the Baja Taco Truck were chosen.  The program, which began on April 27, 2012, was granted an extension on October 16, when the Board of Selectmen unanimously voted to continue the pilot program for an additional six months. However, those six months are flying by for the owners who have seen drastically slowed sales during the winter months.

“Every day is different,” said Peugh, “On a typical winter day we maybe sell 60% of what we would in the fall or spring.”

The past few weeks in Brookline, however, have not been “typical winter days”.  With a 24-hour driving ban and a four-day parking ban caused by a major snowstorm, the food trucks in Brookline were at a standstill.

“When its really cold or extremely stormy, sales are down upwards of 75%, occasionally reaching nearly 100%,” said Peugh,  “Its really tricky, because at the beginning of each week we look at the forecast and try to plan orders based on what we see.  If we are off in our predictions, though, we can suffer big losses.”

On top of the storms, a large sewer separation project on the corner of Commonwealth Ave. and St. Mary’s St. has forced the trucks that are normally permitted to park there to shut down their grills and close their doors.  The project began in the beginning of January and is expected to continue through March.

“We were closed for seven weeks.  Between truck problems, then BU’s break, then the road construction which was pushed back even more because of the storm,” said Peugh.  “We lost two of our seven employees, but who can go seven weeks without a job? Not many.”

The Baja Taco Truck was able to reopen its doors on February 19 and is training new employees to help run the busy restaurant.

The Pennypacker’s Food truck, which also parks on St. Mary’s St., faced the same problem.

“The town basically told us sorry but you’re out of luck,” said Kevin McGuire, co-owner of the Pennypacker’s Truck sighing, “We were told two days before Christmas about the construction and we are still waiting for the second spot on the corner to be ready for our truck.”

Pennypacker’s, which also has a second truck that is located on Tide St. in South Boston, was able to open their doors a few days in various suburban towns in Massachusetts during the displacement. However, the revenue earned while open a few days a month is not comparable to the potential revenue of being open daily on the busy streets of the BU campus.

Many customers are also annoyed with the inability of the trucks to be at their usual spots around the BU campus.  Gemma Vardy, a Boston University student who often stops at the trucks to grab a “quick lunch”, was unhappy to learn about the displacement of the St. Mary’s St. vendors.

“Food trucks are such easy, on-the-go lunch spots,” said Vardy walking through campus, “So it’s unfortunate they haven’t been around because of the construction. I’m hoping once the warmer weather comes around so do the rest of the trucks.”

The extension of the pilot food vendor program ends in April of this year, but the food trucks are not ready to give up yet.

“There certainly are some challenges that we continue to face everyday,” said Peugh,” But its an awesome adventure and we love running the truck.”

http://bunewsservice.com/brookline-food-trucks-face-challenges-during-snowy-months/

Bostonians enjoy browse the menu of fine cuisine from the local food truck Bon Me. Courtesy Bon Me

Beginning in April, food in Brookline is officially going mobile.

Brookline recently joined the growing food truck wave, announcing it would implement a pilot program in coming months to introduce food trucks to the town’s streets and public parks.

“We’ve had mobile food trucks and vendors in Brookline for a very long time but they haven’t necessarily been legal,” said Kara Brewton, Brookline’s economic development director, “and [with] that, combined with Boston’s program getting started, we saw more and more people requesting to operate food trucks in town.”

The program received nine applicants who will be evaluated on multiple criteria including freshness, affordability, uniqueness and nutritional value, she said.

“Restaurateurs can develop new food concepts at relatively low costs and bring them to locations where there may be an unsatisfied demand for freshly prepared food,” according to the pilot program’s website. “Brookline is a desirable place to support mobile food, in part because of its population of college students, young professionals and families.”

The popularity of food trucks has caused a revolution in dining experiences, said Jack Ludden, the operations manager at Paris Creperie, a sit-down café in Coolidge Corner that applied to the pilot program in February.

“Nationwide there is a food truck movement happening and it’s growing significantly, especially in the Boston area,” he said. “Boston is doing a second round and even expanding their program.”

Thomas Smith, co-owner of the BBQsmith, another applicant, said food trucks are a great asset to cities and appeal to many customers.

“It’s interesting, it’s affordable, it’s fast and people have really latched on to it,” Smith said. “It’s become kind of a trendy thing.”

Ludden said the rising number of food trucks might be due to the advent of social media and its usefulness in establishing relationships with customers.

“As [social media] grows more popular it goes hand in hand with the growing popularity of the food trucks,” he said. “Because [food trucks] don’t have a set location, they rely on communicating with their customers through those means.”

Ludden said adding food trucks to an existing restaurant’s offerings could help expand their companies and serve as a mobile advertisement.

“Not only will it be a profitable business on to itself . . . [but also] our truck is going to be quite a spectacle,” he said. “It’s going to be like a moving billboard for our café.”

Although some local businesses and restaurants told Brookline officials food trucks may unfairly detract from their business, Brewton said, the pilot program will make sure “to do no harm” to the existing communities and businesses.

“When making food truck parking assignments, the Town of Brookline will take into careful consideration the location and type of established restaurants, because the Town values its existing, robust restaurant community and wishes to minimize any impact of the Mobile Food Pilot Program on existing businesses,” according to the program’s website.

Ludden said the presence of food trucks will help enrich local communities.

“The way we see it is it will create more variety in locations around Brookline and it will bring a vibrancy to the community,” Ludden said. “The more things there are, the more places to eat, the more people will want to go there. So ultimately I think it enriches the community and neighboring businesses.”

Smith said the program will provide a new dining opportunity while still sticking to traditional high-quality standards for professionally prepared food.

“It’s giving people the opportunity to realize there are other food trucks out there. It’s not just the old traditional ice cream truck and hot dog cart,” he said. “You can go and get really creative, home-cooked food.”

http://dailyfreepress.com/2012/03/21/food-trucks-to-roll-down-brookline-streets-as-part-of-pilot-program/

Patch Stock Photo: Food Truck Credit Mayor's Food Truck Rally

To the Editor,

I have been a proud Coolidge Corner resident for about three years.  Having attended both undergraduate and graduate school in the area, I’ve lived from Roxbury and the Back Bay to the North End and South Boston.  And I couldn’t be happier now living in Brookline. It is a wonderful area with lots to offer and residents that seem to take great pride in their community. I thought it couldn’t get better.

And then I heard food trucks would be coming to Brookline–I think I actually yelped with joy. Having enjoyed the food trucks that have popped up in Boston, I was thrilled to hear Brookline was going to get a piece of the action. I think food trucks are what small and local business is all about–creative and delicious ways to reach the people in the neighborhood; people who are quite literally, within walking distance. Food trucks in Brookline seemed like a great proposal that would bring both young and old, singles and families together. Food trucks would also encourage people to discover and explore the surrounding local businesses. As someone who has often felt like I don’t really belong in the area, with my absence of children, I was excited to see something proposed that would really invite all residents to participate, and at the same time, encourage entrepreneurship and small business.

So, I was pretty surprised when I read there were people in Brookline against the proposal of food trucks. With the influx of new banks to the area and the complaints that have surrounded that business, the food trucks seemed like a perfect counteraction to keep a great balance in the area of food, retail, and other services.  I am honestly pretty confused and frustrated by the immediate dismissal of what is supposed to be a trial run. I do not understand why people would not want to give small and local businesses a chance in the area. Just because they have wheels does not mean they can’t add to the permanent vitality of the area.

My uncle owned and operated a hot dog cart for much of his life in the New London, CT area. He was constantly embattled by towns on where he could and could not set up his business. He passed away almost 10 years ago, but I know he would love to have seen the growth of food trucks in the country. People still remember him as the hot dog man, and I believe he brought something to those towns that goes beyond what brick-and-mortar can. His cart was like an outside town hall. Bringing people from all walks of life together to see what was new for lunch.

As someone who hopes to stay in the Brookline area, I hope that we give these food truck owners a chance to become a part of our community and to bring a little something different to our town.

Nicole Fonsh
Green Street Resident

Ipek Karyagdi, a BU student, stops by the gourmet cupcake truck, The Cupcakory, while parked along Commonwealth Ave. - Wicked Local Staff photo by Erin Prawoko

Paris Creperie

In a nutshell: Building off their brick and mortar location in Coolidge Corner, Paris Creperie plans to serve crepes and smoothies.

Where and when: First choice, St. Mary’s Street at Commonwealth Avenue on Sunday through Friday (sometimes lunch, sometimes dinner). Second choice would be dinner on Fridays at Pleasant Street and Commonwealth Avenue, followed by Saturday breakfast at the intersection of Beacon and Washington streets.

Food: Options include a variety of sweet and savory crepes (Brie and apple, crispy turkey and a vegetarian option). The menu also lets customers build their own combinations. Sweet offerings include Nutella chocolate, and butter and sugar. Customers can top their crepes with a variety of fruit and vegetables. There’s a tomato soup as well.

Drink: The truck will offer several fresh fruit blends, along with drinks like a frozen Nutella chocolate, and mango passion (a concoctions of mango juice, pineapple sorbet, frozen peaches and strawberries)

Momogoose

In a nutshell: Founded by MIT and Yale alumni, Momogoose owners bill their truck as healthy Vietnamese food. The truck currently operates in Cambridge.

Where and when: Lunch, Monday through Friday at the intersection of St. Mary’s Street and Commonwealth Avenue.

Food: Like Bon Me, customers pick from a customizable menu, choosing spring rolls, salads or soups. You start with a grain base (rice or ramen noodles, buckwheat or brown rice), top it with a protein (barbecue or regular chicken or tofu, steak or pork), and finish it with 10 types of vegetables.

Renula’s Greek Kitchen

In a nutshell: The owner says he plans to prepare traditional Greek fare as taught to him by his aunts, natives of the island of Rhodes.

Where and when: Renula’s wants to serve lunch Monday through Friday at one of two locations in town. Their first choice is at the intersection of St. Mary’s Street at Commonwealth Avenue, followed by Pleasant Street at Commonwealth Avenue.

Food: Greek salads, gyros (lamb, chicken, pork); stuffed and roasted vegetables; Greek meatballs; chicken souvlaki; rice pilaf.

The Cupcakory

In a nutshell: The Cupcakory is looking to join the pilot program after spending more than a year operating in Brookline Village and Coolidge Corner. As the name suggests, owner Diane DeMarco serves cupcakes.

Where and when: At the intersection of Pleasant and John streets (the Durgin Garage). First choice would be Saturday lunch, followed by Friday dinner.

Food: Some of the cupcake offerings include salted caramel, chai and honey, and sometimes gluten-free and vegan choices.