Nana’s Frozen Custard made its debut Friday at Center Park. (Photo: Staff)

For the first time this season, food trucks gathered at Market Street’s Center Park on Friday with two new additions to the street food scene. And there may be two more food trucks in coming months.

Owner Duane Olscvary of Nana’s Famous Frozen Custard, 6707 Hixson Pike, built a truck to take his product to the streets.

The other new addition is King of Pops, which is a cart with handcrafted popsicles made with fresh fruit.

The street food scene in Chattanooga now includes Famous Nater’s, Southern Burger Company, Local Slice, Nana’s, A Taste of Argentina, The Missing Link cart, King of Pops, The Muenster Truck—which should hit streets this summer—and Rock N’ Tacos, which Nooga.com hasn’t written about before, but it’s been open for about a year.

Rock N’ Tacos couldn’t make it to Center Park today because of mechanical trouble, Jim Williamson, vice president of planning and development for River City Company, said.

And this summer, a waffle truck and a burrito truck may join the scene—Mountain Waffle Wagon and California Smothered Burrito, respectively.

Williamson said he doesn’t want to say the trucks will definitely be here, but plans are in the works.

Nana’s Famous Frozen Custard
The Hixson location is a “retro drive-in kind of place,” Olscvary—who built the truck to take his product to the streets—said.

“You can’t buy a book on how to build a food truck—you just sort of look at other food trucks,” he said.

He bought parts from vendors and put the truck together over months. His truck didn’t need a lot of cooking equipment, so he got a big freezer, generators and cabinet and started putting together the metal plates and doing the electrical work.

He passed the fire and health inspections and hit the street Friday.

Local company Printree did the truck’s wrap, which has a picture of his grandchildren on it.

He will be at the market on Sundays and at Home Depot tomorrow.

“The word is getting out,” he said. “We’re doing weddings. We cater. We want to keep the truck on the road if we can. We are learning where to go. We’re excited about this and waiting to see how well it works.”

King of Pops uses fresh, local ingredients to create its product. (Photo: Staff)

King of Pops
Hudson Magee has brought King of Pops from Atlanta to Chattanooga.

“It’s not a franchise—we work together to bring it to different places, and we’re a local company wherever we go,” he said. “We start different kitchens in different cities and buy local produce.”

So far, Magee is making them in Atlanta and bringing them to Chattanooga, but he is looking at potentially opening a kitchen here and possibly a storefront one day, he said.

But the King of Pops cart is key to the business, Magee said.

“A lot of our character comes from the push cart and the street sales, and that’s kind of our trademark. It’s a fun way to run the business,” he said.

There are other cart-type street vendors that show up around town, too, such as Monkey Town Donut Company; The Chattanooga Cookie Company; and Pure Sodaworks, which now has a storefront and bottling location on the North Shore.

None of those businesses came out Friday, though.

Williamson said he was pleased with the turnout for the first day at Center Park, which coincided with the season’s first Fresh on Fridays, which is in Miller Plaza.

“There was a huge crowd down there today,” he said.

http://www.nooga.com/161009/new-food-trucks-debut-at-center-park-more-possible-this-summer/

Photo Source: Center Park Chattanooga Facebook

CHATTANOOGA, TN (WRCB) — City officials announced the addition of a new park in downtown Chattanooga.

Center Park is a newly designed pocket park that will be added at the vacant lot on the 700 block of Market Street.

Officials say the major transition and utilization of the space will be the growing food truck market in Chattanooga as well as city activities and public leisure.

The Food Truck Court at Center Park will include Taste of Argentina, Local Slice, Famous Nater’s World Famous, Southern Burger Company, Missing Link and The Muenster Truck and will officially launch April 12.

For more information on Center Park, visit facebook.com/centerparkchattanooga.

http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/21857043/new-park-food-truck-court-coming-to-downtown-chattanooga

via facebook.com

Southern Burger Co., Chattanooga’s first food truck is set to celebrate two years of business this week. Southern Burger Co. will host its two-year anniversary party at Chattanooga Brewing Company on Saturday, from 12-3 p.m.

Chattanooga Brewing Company will be offering $2 pints and Southern Burger Co. will be giving away delicious food.

Chattanooga may be losing one of its food trucks—Taco Sherpa.

“We are indeed getting out of the food truck business,” owner Whit Altizer said via email. “We found we weren’t passionate enough about the food industry. We have a newfound respect for people in the restaurant business.”

Whit and his wife, Lindsay, are moving back to South Korea, where Whit got a job teaching English at a university.

Before starting the food truck last summer, the couple spent four years in Korea with Whit teaching there.

Taco Sherpa was an effort to bring the country’s taste to Chattanooga.

The truck is for sale on eBay.

“We are looking for buyers and would love it if someone carried on the name,” Whit said.

http://www.nooga.com/159762/food-truck-taco-sherpa-for-sale/

Local Slice will soon join the city’s other four food trucks to serve residents downtown. (Photo: Contributed)

Chattanooga’s newest food truck, Local Slice, will soon join the street food scene, owner Justin Bennett said Wednesday.

“I’m about two weeks out from being completely finished,” he said. “We’re putting the finishing touches on the inside of the truck.”

After that, the game plan is to hook up with the other area food trucks and start delivering downtown, he said.

His family has made pizza as long as he can remember.

Local resident Justin Bennett is working with his uncle to change an old bread truck into a pizza truck. (Photo: Contributed)

And in August, Bennett told Nooga.com that he recently worked with his uncle, who is a baker and owner of The Bread Peddler in Monteagle, Tenn., to learn the craft of baking.

He will offer wood-fired pizza, and the menu is going to be unique, he said. For example, he makes a potato pizza with thinly sliced, sauteed potatoes; bacon; caramelized onions; and rosemary, according to Nooga.com archives.

He’ll also offer weekly specials, pizza by the slice, and 10- and 15-inch pizzas.

He has already secured one employee and is looking for at least one more person.

Bennett scoured the Internet and found an old bread truck that he purchased for $3,000, according to Nooga.com archives.

He is saving money by revamping the truck himself, with the help of his uncle, he said Wednesday.

There are companies that can build out food trucks, but it can cost as much as $90,000, Bennett said. And his costs “didn’t even come close to that,” he said.

“It’s helped me save a tremendous amount of money,” he said.

There are currently four food trucks in Chattanooga—Famous Nater’s, Southern Burger Company, A Taste of Argentina and Taco Sherpa.

This time last year, there were only two.

And other street food vendors, such as Monkey Town Donut Company and The Chattanooga Cookie Company, have also joined in the movement.

Pure Sodaworks, which makes small batches of natural sodas with organic herbs, spices and produce, also frequent events with the food trucks and other mobile vendors, although they also have a storefront in Coolidge Park.

Leaders of each truck recently created a coalition called the Chattanooga Street Food Project. The coalition provides a more organized effort and standards, such as high inspection scores.

http://www.nooga.com/158139/new-food-truck-local-slice-moves-closer-to-hitting-the-streets/

Starting next week, Street Food Tuesday at Warehouse Row will be Street Food Thursday. (Photo: Staff)

Chattanooga’s street food scene is growing and organizing—more food trucks are expected to hit the city soon, and those that already exist have created a coalition.

“It’s all very new,” Nathan Flynt, owner of Famous Nater’s food truck, said. “So there isn’t really a set schedule of when we get together, but we are getting together regularly … to kind of get a group consensus of how things are going and to form a groove.”

Flynt said the operators of the street food trucks in town are becoming “fast friends,” but the coalition, called the Chattanooga Street Food Project, is more of a formal business group.

It’s the strength-in-numbers idea, he said.

“If we can all pool our resources, this can get better a little quicker,” he said.

There are four food trucks in Chattanooga—Famous Nater’s, Southern Burger Company, A Taste of Argentina and Taco Sherpa.

This time last year, there were only two.

But other street food vendors, such as Monkey Town Donut Company and The Chattanooga Cookie Company, have also joined in the movement.

And, although Flynt said he couldn’t provide details, he said more food trucks are coming to Chattanooga soon.

As for the coalition, Flynt said it’s still forming, but they do plan on having guidelines about who can join, such as insisting that potential members have good health scores.

Click here to view the coalition’s website. The website offers maps of dining locations and profiles on each Chattanooga Street Food Project vendor.

“We are excited to have this large of a food truck scene in Chattanooga,” said Lindsay Nash, marketing coordinator for the newly formed coalition. “Where else in the city can you get such a wide variety of quality food featuring local farms and products? And, if you work downtown, all you have to do is walk out of your building’s front door, and you’re there.”

Street Food Thursdays
Leaders with each of the city’s main food trucks have said in the past that they work together at times to decide a location to set up.

And River City Company has created Fresh on Fridays, which has become a big day for the food truck operators.

They have also been coming to Warehouse Row for Street Food Tuesdays. But, next week, it will become Street Food Thursdays.

“The street food coalition came together, and Thursday just works out to be a much better day for us,” owner of Southern Burger Company Christian Siler said.

The food truck operators gear up throughout the week because their biggest business comes in on the weekends.

And so, for some, Monday is a day off. But that was hard to do if they had to prepare for Street Food Tuesdays, Kelly Scott, who oversees retail space in Warehouse Row, said.

So, Warehouse Row leaders agreed to change the event to Street Food Thursdays.

Warehouse Row leaders will be at the Thursday events to help promote the other businesses in the space, which has recently come back to life.

They will offer half-off coupons for portions of a food truck meal, and owners of other Warehouse Row businesses will be offering specials during Street Food Thursdays.

“I do think that the more people that come to Warehouse Row, the more opportunities there are for everyone to get benefits,” she said.

New location, other news
The Chattanooga food truck scene is also visible at Nightfall, the Chattanooga Market, the parking lot of the Majestic 12 and more.

Now, the Chattanooga Street Food Project is adding a North Shore location to allow people north of the river to take advantage of Chattanooga’s growing food truck scene, according to Nash. From noon until 5 p.m. on Saturdays, local food trucks will be parked in front of Renaissance Park.

Nash also said that the food trucks will be in this location, and possibly in the Majestic 12 parking lot, during Riverbend.

http://www.nooga.com/155647/updated-food-truck-leaders-create-coalition-more-street-food-expected-in-chattanooga-soon/

Southern Burger Company, a local food truck, is opening a store front in Warehouse Row. Staff photo.

Chattanooga food truck Southern Burger Co. is expanding and will open a store front in Warehouse Row in January.

Owner Christian Siler has been planning the expansion since he started his business and he is excited to see the plan come to fruition.

“Expanding has always been a goal,” he said Wednesday. “I wanted to be more than a truck within our first year anniversary.”

He will also be expanding the menu and hiring three or four people to work in the Warehouse Row location, he said.

“The concept is quick walk-up service,” he said.

The employees aim to give customers their order in five to nine minutes, he said.

Southern Burger Company is the second tenant in a month to sign at Warehouse Row, following Lines Orchids, which opened in November, Warehouse Row representatives said.

Other dining establishments already in Warehouse Row include Public House, The Social and Petunia’s Silver Jalapeno.

“We are kicking off 2012 with a bang,” George Krauth, Jamestown’s creative manager, said in a prepared statement. “Having Southern Burger Company establish permanent space at Warehouse Row is a testament of its following and great food. It also offers visitors another dining option at Warehouse Row.”

Despite the expansion, Siler plans to keep the truck on the streets of Chattanooga.

“If you can’t make it to the restaurant, we’ll still take the restaurant to you,” he said.

Currently, Southern Burger Co.’s mobile truck can be found through daily social media updates on the truck’s location and specials.

With a stationary restaurant addition, Siler hopes to provide extended availability and more options to a wider demographic that will now include shoppers, tourists, and local businesses.

“There’s no doubt that Chattanooga has come back, and Warehouse Row is one of the best examples,” he said. “We’re excited to partner with Jamestown Properties and get people enjoying this local icon.”

Siler said he has been putting away money to fund this expansion and he hopes to see more local restaurant options move into Warehouse Row.

“The more, the merrier,” he said.

Warehouse Row representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

Updated @ 11:59 a.m. to include comment from Warehouse Row/Jamestown Properties.

Signal Mountain businessman David Soloff – who wanted to open a mobile barbecue kitchen next to Pruett’s Grocery Store – was soundly rebuffed Monday evening by council members after local restaurant owners turned out in force to complain that his proposed operation would put them at an unfair disadvantage.

The town council voted unanimously to deny Mr. Soloff’s request after listening to a series of speakers voice strident opposition to the proposal.

“Believe it or not, I have had more comments on this than on the (proposed property tax) issue,” Vice Mayor Susan Robertson told the assembled crowd. “I get comments like ‘Are we going to have a cotton candy stand next?’ . . . The community doesn’t want it.”

The council’s decision was a major victory for owners of brick-and-mortar restaurants such as Russ Holmes of 517 Subs, who told council members that businesses such as his must pay overhead costs far higher than what would be required of a mobile kitchen.

“My first $200 in sales every day goes to cover” expenses such as rent and insurance, he explained. It’s not fair to allow a business with far lower overhead to open up and possibly put other restaurants which have made substantial investments in the community out of business, he and other food service business representatives said.

Mayor Bill Lusk, who had just returned from Asheville, N.C., where he said a debate over mobile businesses is raging, said he was concerned that approving Mr. Soloff’s request would set a bad precedent.

If one such business were approved, he said, it could become difficult to turn down others. That could make it impossible for brick-and-mortar restaurants to stay in business, he noted, and eventually mobile kitchens might be the only food establishments in the town.

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_210991.asp

Just a few minutes after the venders finish setting up for the first Street Food Tuesday event, customers were already beginning to show up. Staff photo.

Six of Chattanooga’s most popular food truck and food cart vendors participated in Warehouse Row’s first Street Food Tuesday’s event this week, many of them selling out of their products.

Southern Burger Co., Famous Naters, Pure Sodaworks, Good Dog and Dailey’s Delights all participated in the first day of the event, which was considered a big success by the vendors.

“There were lines at every single vendor and that’s exciting,” Susan Paden of Good Dog, said about the event.

Street Food Tuesday will take place every Tuesday through Oct. 25 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.

“Food trucks have increasingly grown in popularity over the past year and we want to bring that excitement to Warehouse Row,” George Krauth, spokesman for Jamestown Properties (which owns the Warehouse Row properties), said in a prepared statement. “Warehouse Row is a dining destination, in addition to having great shopping.”

Shena Sabens, event specialist for Jamestown properties, said she thought the event went very well and hoped that because of the first week’s success, more vendors will participate in the event.

Any additional food trucks or food carts are welcome and encouraged to participate, she said.

“You can take one hot dog cart or one food truck and sit on a corner and maybe get some interest but when you create something like this, it’s not competition- it’s a destination and I think it makes it so much more interesting,” Paden said.

http://www.nooga.com/14002_street-food-comes-to-warehouse-row/

Nathan Flynt, owner of Famous Nater’s World Famous, prepares a sandwich inside his food truck. Famous Nater’s will join five other mobile food vendors for Street Food Tuesdays at Warehouse Row. Photo by Jenna Walker

Looks like food on the go is here to stay.

The nationwide trend of food trucks has been growing in Chattanooga — one, Southern Burger Co., is even in the running to appear on the Food Network. Fresh on Fridays, a weekly Friday convergence, kicked off last month at Miller Plaza.

Now foodies (or should we call them “truckies?”) can look forward to tasty truck treats early in the week as well. Street Food Tuesdays will kick off at Warehouse Row on Tuesday.

Six trucks and food carts will park at the Motor Court at 1110 Market St. from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Vendors will include Southern Burger Co., Famous Naters, Bull Dogs, The Crepe Outdoors, Good Dog Go and Dailey’s Delights.

“The great thing about street food is that it allows a great variety of skilled food presentation without having to actually commit to a permanent fixed menu and location,” said Michael Phillips, a managing director at Jamestown Properties, which owns Warehouse Row. “Part of what we want Warehouse Row to be about is really presenting and facilitating a conversation about best-in-class retail, best-in-class fashion and food, and getting people engaged. I think street food is a great way to do that.”

Street food, Phillips said, allows talented cooks or food artisans who might not have the means to open a restaurant to present their work to the public. “The barrier to entry for someone who makes a great popsicle or a terrific ice cream is so much lower than having a whole restaurant. So you get people who are excellent home cooks who get to experiment with commerce and business.”

Nathan Flynt, chef and owner of Famous Naters, said having a food truck allows him to do just that. “It was time for me to move out on my own and do my own thing,” he said, “and I decided I would throw my hat in the [food truck] ring.”

He appreciates the mobility of the truck, but also appreciates the stability of having regular haunts such as Fresh on Fridays and, now, Street Food Tuesdays. “I am looking to partner with anyone who can help grow the business,” he said. “And food trucks are so new in Chattanooga that having [regular spot gatherings] really helps expand the knowledge of what’s going on.”

Flynt said there is a collegial atmosphere among Chattanooga’s food truckers. He said he’s enjoyed fare from Good Dog Go and Southern Burger Co., among others.

“We just love the variety and the heart people put into this. These are very, very, very hard-working people who put a lot of pride into the food they serve,” he said, “it is absolutely supportive. Every time I have some of their fare, it makes me want to rise to another level and meet them where they are. We all eat at each other’s places. The more the merrier.”

http://timesfreepress.com/news/2011/aug/20/hit-the-road-for-street-food-tuesdays/