Food Truck Fridays have officially arrived at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids and for many local food truck operators, it's the big kickoff to the summer season. Over the past several years, the number of food trucks in Grand Rapids has skyrocketed, making these events a significant opportunity for vendors.
The sound of sizzling food and excited chatter filled the air as Rock Dandeneau, the owner of the "Pressed in Time" food truck, prepared for a busy day.
"This weekend is the kickoff," said Dandeneau. "You get as many people out [in] these trucks that are small businesses, can up their sales and start out with a little bit of profit, so they can start buying food, keep people staffed, even pay their own mortgages and so forth."
His truck is known for its unique Mexican-American fusion dishes, and he's gearing up to serve between three to six hundred hungry customers.
"Like carnitas on mac bowls. We have fresh sirloin steak that we infuse with chipotle pepper and serve it with avocado bomb and a wrap," Dandeneau said. "We do many different things, and the idea of our truck is to give somebody an affordable item anytime we're out, no matter where we're at in food truck."
Dandeneau is one of the original food truck operators in the area and has witnessed the remarkable growth of the industry in Grand Rapids.
"We've watched from six trucks about 10, 12 years ago to 122 today in Grand Rapids that is licensed," he remarked. "It's very important for us to keep the culture going and to help new food truck owners succeed in their entrepreneurship."
Gilma Delacruz, owner of the "El Caribe" food truck, has also noticed the changes.
"Trying to get out there, expose ourselves more, doing more marketing, definitely looking at ways that we can get connected to different clienteles as well," she said. "We just ask the community to continue to support food truck season so that we continue to grow here in Grand Rapids."
Delacruz is hoping to serve at least three hundred people with her Caribbean cuisine at this year's event.
"We've been open for seven years now, and we have a fusion between all the Caribbean islands, like Cuban, Puerto Rican, mainly Dominican, is from where I am," said Delacruz.
For many vendors, Food Truck Fridays are a staple in the community.
"It revitalized this community," said Dandeneau. "It made this park, which was already coming up to be a really clean park, kind of used again."
As these food truck operators share their passion for food with West Michigan, their focus remains on providing the best customer service they can.
"We are just taking it customer by customer," Delacruz commented. "That every customer leaves happy and that [they're] making that happy dance with our food."
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