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NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Last year, the Metro Public Works started a pilot program that designated zones for mobile food vendor parking. One of those zones has drivers upset their parking spaces are gone.

Reedy Reynolds came to the Birch Building on 2nd Avenue North Thursday and had a hard time finding street parking.

He had to get out of his car to see a sign posted on all the parking meters close to the courthouse.

“I wanted to see what the time limits were, to see if I could get in here, but it’s 10 to 2, so I can’t park,” Reedy said.

Many people have complained about the mobile food vendor parking on that street, because they have never seen a food truck park there.

“Not one. What does that say,” Reedy asked.

The designated zones are part of a pilot program to help find places for food trucks to park.

“We tried to find locations that worked for everybody,” said Jenna Smith from Metro Public Works.

This is a pilot program that the department is constantly evaluating.

“Because we understand, this is not what we want, that there’s an empty spot and no one’s there because the food trucks aren’t there and somebody wants to park there,” Smith said.

The people who drive Nashville’s food trucks also understand the concerns people have raised about parking.

“Right away, when food trucks hit the scene, people were concerned about the potential issues, so we wanted to address them straight away,” according to Nashville Food Truck Association President B.J. Lofback.

The truck owners have worked closely with Metro Public Works to try and find the best approach to parking in downtown Nashville.

“And we understand people are looking for parking spots, and so are we, and how do we find that balance, well, we’re working on that right now,” Lofback said.

There are eight different sites located on downtown streets.

Changes are already planned for the zone in question on 2nd Avenue North. Public Works will reduce the number of spaces at that location next week.

“Basically reducing the size of the zone. So right now about three trucks can fit, probably one, to two trucks, depending on the size of the trucks, will be able to fit there,” Smith said.

The department is also looking into a reservation system. A vendor would call in the morning, reserve a spot and then the city would go and bag that spot. That way, only the spots actually needed would be off-limits to drivers.

There is an on-line survey you can take that will allow you to evaluate Nashville’s food truck program. Click here for the survey.

http://www.newschannel5.com/story/22275775/food-vendor-parking-cooking-up-controversy-downtown

WBIR-Morristown) A Morristown business on the cusp of celebrating its one-year anniversary is now taking steps to repair damage from flames that destroyed the food truck about a week ago.

Crazy Good Burgers & Fries used to park its food truck along the town’s main stretch, Monday through Saturday.

“It’s been great. We’ve grown, we were about to open up a second truck, we were probably about a month away,” said Corbin Trent, the owner.

Those plans were put on hold when flames sparked on Friday, May 10th.

“It got hot in there enough obviously to melt aluminum. It destroyed the air conditioners, the hoods, the electricity,” said Trent.

Now, some local customers are disappointed their favorite burger joint is temporarily closed.

“Everybody is saying, ‘Well what are we going to do for lunch?,” said Sheri Hatcher.

Trent wants that answer to be Crazy Good Burgers & Fries as soon as possible. He’s already in repair mode, replacing the ceiling and working on the electrical system. But with $15,000 to $20,000 worth of damage, he said he’s asking the community for help.

Trent used Kickstarter to upload a homemade video and launch website for a fundraising campaign.

“We had one little kitchen fire that destroyed the whole place. But that shouldn’t stop us,” said Trent in the video.

Using Facebook, Twitter, and other social media, he’s hoping customers like Hatcher will pledge donations.

“A lot of people are pledging,” said Hatcher.

“It hurt because it’s like they’re family, the way they treat us,” said Hatcher’s husband, Ron Hatcher.

The Hatchers also said customers appreciate the food truck for using local supplies and ingredients.

“Everything is local as possible. Our beef is ground everyday by a local butcher, our tomatoes, our produce all come from the area, Grainger County, Knox County,” said Trent.

As of Sunday afternoon, the fundraiser had 33 ‘backers’ and nearly $1,900 pledged. The goal is $8,000 by May 29th.

“(We’re) Getting to a quarter of the way there, but we’ve got ten days left. I think we can make it,” said Trent.

“We’ll be the first in line,” said Sheri Hatcher. “Or try to be,” said Ron Hatcher.

For more information on the fundraiser ‘Crazy Good Burgers Rebuild,’ head to http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/927932295/crazy-good-burgers-rebuild.

http://www.wbir.com/news/article/274858/2/Morristown-food-truck-launches-fundraiser-after-fire

FRANKLIN — About 25 local food trucks will line Main Street and Fourth Avenue from 4-8 p.m. Friday for the second annual Eat the Street Food Truck Festival.

The festival, a benefit for the 21st Drug Court, is free. Greez Monkeez will entertain.

The drug court’s mission is to provide the 21st Judicial District of Tennessee with a cost-effective treatment alternative to traditional sentencing for nonviolent offenders whose crimes result from drug or alcohol addiction.

Street closures will begin at 3 p.m. Main Street will be closed from the Public Square to Five Points, Fourth Avenue South to the entrance of the parking garage and Fourth Avenue North to its intersection with Bridge Street.

A ticketed afterparty, beginning at 8 p.m. at the Franklin Theatre, will include performances by singer/songwriters James Dean Hicks and Rob Crosby, a 21st Drug Court participant story, a silent auction and a showing of the movie “Flight” starring Denzel Washington.

VIP afterparty tickets are sold out. General admission tickets may be purchased for $10 online at eatthestreetfranklin.com or by calling the 21st Drug Court at 615-595-7868. A small number of tickets will be sold the day of the event beginning at 7 p.m., when doors open to the theater. The ticket price includes the program, the movie and a choice of popcorn or pizza and a drink.

For a map of vendors, the kids’ area and the stage, go to eatthestreetfranklin.com/trucks.

For more information, visit the festival’s website, like it on Facebook at facebook.com/EatTheStreetFest or follow it on Twitter at twitter.com/ETSFranklin.

Eat the Street

• 4-8 p.m. Friday
• Participating food trucks: Biscuit Love, Blue Monkey Shaved Ice, Bradley’s Curbside Creamery, Brother’s Pizza, Deg Thai, Delta Bound, Dixie Belle’s Cupcakes, Dough Works, Grilled Cheeserie, Honey’s Vintage Sweets, Hoss’ Loaded Burgers, Hot Diggity Dog, Ken’s Hot Spot, Mobile Chef, Moe Better BBQ & Fish, Puckett’s Trolley, Retro Snow, Riff’s, Smoke Et Al, Smokin’ Thighs, Tiger Meat, Waffle Boss, Wrapper’s Delight, YaYo’s O.M.G and Yiannis Gyros.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20130509/WILLIAMSON01/305090028/2023/WILLIAMSON

Eat the Street: Food Truck Festival is coming back to Downtown Franklin on Friday, May 10th from 4pm to 8pm. There will be amazing food trucks, live entertainment and kids activites! The festival will be located between public square to the end of five points and up and down 4th Avenue.

It is free to attend, but food is for purchase. With 26 food truck vendors, you can eat your heart out and participate in raising money for 21st Drug Court.

Participating Food Trucks:

1. Biscuit Love

2. Blue Monkey Shaved Ice

3. Bradley’s Curbside Creamery

4. Brother’s Pizza

5. Chapman’s Pie Wagon

6. Deg Thai

7. Delta Bound

8. Dixie Belle’s Cupcakes

9. Dough Works

10. Grilled Cheeserie

11. Honey’s Vintage Sweets

12. Hoss’ Loaded Burgers

13. Hot Diggity Dog

14. Ken’s Hot Spot

15. Mobile Chef

16. Moe Better BBQ & Fish

17. Puckett’s Trolley

18. Retro Snow

19. Riff’s

20. Smoke Et Al

21. Smokin’ Thighs

22. Tiger Meat

23. Waffle Boss

24. Wrapper’s Delight

25. YaYo’s O.M.G.

26. Yiannis Gyros

For more information and updates, you can visit the Event Website.

http://nashvilleguru.com/10278/franklin-eat-the-street-food-truck-festival

Some of Nashville’s food trucks.
(James Yates).

Gone are the days of relying on social media and individual Web sites to find your favorite food truck. In conjunction with its inaugural Nashville Street Food Month in May, the Nashville Food Truck Association is launching a mobile app that lists the schedule for food truck locations in the greater Nashville area, according to the association.

“Food trucks are alive and well in Nashville,” B.J. Lofback, association president, said in a release. “Our street food culture is growing, and we’re seeing it become an integral part of the Nashville food scene.”

Using the app (search for NFTA), diners can locate trucks by name and view various food truck locations at current and upcoming locations of the more than 30 food trucks in the association. Look for food trucks at “Food Truck Fiesta” at the kickoff of Musicians’ Corner in Centennial Park on May 4, and “Eat the Street” in downtown Franklin on May 10, among other upcoming events.

Every truck will offer a one-time $1 discount on a purchase of $10 or more to all customers who download the app and mention it at time of purchase, according to the release.

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/blog/2013/05/hungry-for-a-food-truck-look-to-your.html

Crepe A Diem is a new food truck in Nashville. / Submitted by Crepe A Diem

Nashville is spoiled with a wide variety of food trucks — so much so that one crepe maker is moving to Music City just to start her own food truck business.

Brittney Blackshear started Crepe A Diem as a catering company in Savannah, Ga., two years ago. She carried her batter, griddle and local ingredients to festivals, parties and more, but always dreamed of serving them from a truck.

“Crepe is a French street food, so I always pictured it should be served casually on the street for anybody,” said 26-year-old Blackshear.

She and others fought to have mobile eateries allowed in Savannah, but the ordinances didn’t allow it.

“There wasn’t a lot of support from other people,” Blackshear said. “I wasn’t ready to take (on the city) on my own.”

To pursue her dream and grow her business, she chose to start anew closer to her family and in a food truck-welcoming city.

“Nashville itself is a very fast-growing city in many industries,” she said. “I’m excited to get started.”

Crepe A Diem offers dessert crepes made with a simple, sweet batter and savory crepes made with buckwheat batter (or galette).

“My thing is, if I start with a good-tasting batter to begin with, and use fresh, good quality ingredients, I really don’t have to do much to it,” Blackshear said.

She plans to use local ingredients for seasonal specialties as well as the staple menu.

For savory, that menu includes a crepe with ham, Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese, honey Dijon and arugula; another with ham, Swiss cheese and a sunny side up egg, and more. Regular sweet crepes include lemon and sugar, Nutella and banana, and baked apple with salted caramel and vanilla bean whipped cream.

“The French are very simple and traditional,” Blackshear said, “and I’m trying to respect that and keep the menu simple and traditional.”

Blackshear is a former graphic design student who discovered crepes while studying abroad in France. She played with crepe-making on her own, then studied it under French chef and owner of Savannah’s Papillote, Herve Didailler.

“I learned so much from him about cooking and vending a successful business,” she said. “He would stand over my shoulder and correct me on any little drip coming off the crepes.”

Crepe-making is not only a delicious task — it’s a showy one.

“I take the rake so (the batter) goes from a puddle in the middle to spread out like a pancake,” she said. “At the festivals, I’d have people just standing around to watch me make it.”

While she has learned the art of crepe-making, she is still learning to establish her business in both the food truck world and Nashville.

“I’ve probably called over 100 people over the city,” she said. “People have been so nice and helpful. … I’m excited to jump into it.”

Blackshear plans to have the truck up and running May 1. Crepe A Diem will also be at Mayor’s Field Day May 4 at LP Field.

“It’s a dream come true. I’m so excited about bringing good food and giving it out to all these people.”

Find more details on the truck’s Facebook page and on its Twitter account @crepeadiem.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20130425/LIFE02/304250134/New-food-truck-Crepe-Diem-hit-streets-Nashville

photos By Patrick Lantrip
The Memphis Food Truck Association gathers at Shelby Farms every Sunday at noon in a Food Truck Rodeo.

If you are like most students, when you think of Shelby Farms in the spring, many things might come to mind such as kayaks, kites, wind, walking and wildlife. But would you also include gourmet cooking on your list?

While it may not be on many people’s list yet, the Memphis Food Truckers Association hopes to change that perception by presenting a Food Truck Rodeo, which is a gathering of multiple food trucks in one location, to provide quality food at affordable rates, every Sunday at noon.

“You would be surprised what can come out of a food truck,” said Derrick Clark, 41, vice president of the MFTA, while preparing a lobster roll — his signature dish.

While the concept is not new, food trucks are rapidly growing in popularity in urban centers across the country. A struggling economy has forced would-be restaurateurs to find ways to cut overhead without sacrificing the quality of their food. Thus the food truck revolution was born.

Clark, an Iraqi War veteran, came up with the idea to open his food tuck, A Square Meal on Wheels, while attendingL’Ecole Culinaire. At the cooking school, Clark was assigned a restaurant project where he was given a $300,000 imaginary budget for opening his own restaurant. Clark decided to take it to the next level by actually purchasing his own food truck and financing it within the parameters of the assignment.

Fellow classmate Roy Rachel took a page from his friend’s book and opened his own food truck, Royal Flavors, soon after graduation.

“I have no regrets, I love what I do,” Rachel said. “Going to the special events, meeting new people, I wish I could have started this five or 10 years ago, but timing is everything.”

Kim and Jeff “Pops” Toney also followed their dream and poured their life savings into their aptly named food truck, Pop’s Smokehouse. The Toneys took their show on the road, even taking top honors for best barbecue sauce in the West Memphis Fall Carnival in Arkansas and the Watermelon Carnival in Water Valley, Miss. At times, business was slow, but that all changed when they joined the MFTA.

The MFTA consists of several dozen local food trucks, and was formed to help the food truckers synchronize their whereabouts, work with the city to open up new places to operate, establish a social media presence to inform the public and organize the weekly rodeos.

“It’s great to see such positive sense of community coming together around food,” said Adam Weeks of Lynn, Ark., who bicycled to the park from Midtown with a friend via the Greenway.

Weeks was not the only patron who enjoyed the traditionally paradoxical notion of eating restaurant quality food in the park.

“I love it,” Elise Harris, 25, said. “We can come out, exercise really hard and then not feel bad about stuffing our faces.”

Clark is currently working with the Memphis Park Commission and local musicians to bring live entertainment to the event that will run every Sunday until late fall.

For additional information about upcoming events, you can visit the MFTA website at
www.memphisfoodtruckers.org.

http://www.dailyhelmsman.com/food-rodeo-bucks-traditional-dining-1.3031368#.UXHa76JmiSo

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

In 2011, the Memphis City Council passed a food truck ordinance drafted by council members Jim Strickland and Shea Flinn, which allowed self-contained mobile food preparation vehicles to operate in the city of Memphis.

A year later, attorney-turned-prominent restaurateur Taylor Berger led the organization of a food truck alliance, in addition to his duties as a partner in YoLo Frozen Yogurt & Gelato and the creation of the newly opened Chiwawa restaurant.

The alliance began to experiment with food truck rodeos in 2012, a move that was interrupted by the summer heat then resumed as the weather cooled. Now, the rodeos are coming back.

This weekend, the Memphis Food Truck Alliance will host a food truck rally as part of the “Heart of Memphis” celebration at Tiger Lane on Saturday. The following day, the Overton Park Conservancy and the alliance will present a food truck rodeo from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Overton Park.

That event will happen every Sunday this spring and summer, and trucks will be on the East Parkway side of the park.

A few weeks ago, meanwhile, another food truck rodeo presented by the alliance kicked off at Shelby Farms. Berger said that series started March 17 and is running through November on Sundays.

“We did events last year starting on Broad Avenue, and then we ended up out at Shelby Farms,” Berger said. “This is the beginning of the park rodeos for 2013.”

A so-called food truck rodeo is basically a gathering of two or more food trucks in one spot so that customers can have a choice of vendors to pick from. Berger said the Overton Park version likely will be the smaller one, with maybe two or three trucks, and the Shelby Farms version will have three or four.

The actual size will depend week-to-week on what the weather’s like and how the crowds respond. If people are showing up, he said, more trucks will come.

“Over time, the quality of the trucks has improved, so that’s made folks a lot more receptive to the idea of the rodeos,” Berger said. “We’ve also got some really interesting new concepts now, like the Stuffed Truck, the Stickem Truck and the one from Rock ‘n’ Dough Pizza.

“On the other side of things, the Mayor’s Innovation Team is working on a project to help not just food trucks but all kinds of mobile retail break down any barriers to entry that exist. They’re trying to find any rules that might need to be changed.”

Berger added that Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr.’s office is working to get better access to some of the other city parks that don’t have conservancies like Tom Lee Park and some of the smaller parks in neighborhoods.

Berger, who runs the Yolo Frozen Yogurt truck, estimates there are between six and 12 food trucks on streets on a daily basis.

“We’re still trying to help all our members get up to speed on social media,” Berger said. “The more of us using Twitter and Facebook and Foursquare, the more awareness the community is going to have of all food trucks. All the new ones coming online seem to be starting their own social media sites and then linking to our website, which we’re in the process of kind of ramping up over the next few weeks. Our goal is to try to help people find out when things are happening, where things are happening and which trucks are serving what.”

http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news/2013/mar/28/food-truck-alliance-grows-with-rodeos/