GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Riverside Park in Grand Rapids will come alive this Friday with live music, merchant vendors, and dozens of food trucks for Food Truck Friday. The summer-long event was founded Alan Tomlinson, owner of the Underground Cookie Club, nine years ago. He said there are a couple of new additions to the festival this year.
"Food Truck Fridays kicks off on May 16, coming up quick. It's five to nine at Riverside Park. We're on the north end of the park. We go for 12 weeks," said Tomlinson at the Underground Cookie Club in Kentwood Monday. "We have a lot of new things that we've added to just make the experience of Food Truck Fridays that much better."
One of those changes is the inception of Tomlinson's new nonprofit, Heart of Food.
"The goal of Heart of Food is to help strengthen the mobile food community here in Grand Rapids. And with that nonprofit, we created an app, and the app is free for the public to download on it has information about events that we're partnered with, so like Food Truck Fridays. It'll have the lineup every week," Tomlinson said.
He said the app will also include a directory of different food trucks partnered with the nonprofit.
"We also have, this year, voting for your favorite food truck on the app only, so you'll be able to vote. We have 10 different categories, including Best Overall. You can pick your favorite food truck, vote for them every 24 hours," added Tomlinson.
Tomlinson said that's not the only change now available with the app.
"A few of our members, we have a feature that's a punch card system... You can open up the app, and there's several trucks that have a punch card system. So, every time you visit, you can scan, purchase, and then after 10 purchases, you can get a free item."
"Food Truck Fridays is one of the busiest events of the week. Like, on average, you literally, as fast as you can go, is what you're serving. So, I'm expecting somewhere between three and 5000 people at Riverside Park on Friday night," said founder of food truck Patty Matters, Lauren D'Angelo.
D'Angelo opened Patty Matters nearly a decade ago and has been a part of Food Truck Fridays since it started.
"We specialize in burgers, sliders, fries, focus on a variety of protein choices for your burger patties. So we offer beef, turkey, black bean, right now. I have Italian sausage, crab and beyond patties. So, pretty much every dietary restriction we've got covered," said D'Angelo.
She said the food truck community has grown rapidly over the past several years.
"Business is interesting this year. So, there's been a rapid influx in food trucks. So in turn, all of us are getting less scheduling at places because we're splitting it up between everybody. But since last year, I think it's an extra like 40 trucks," D'Angelo said.
It's why she said it's so important to shop local.
"Support local. Support the food truck scene. Everybody wants to be out there doing this, and there are a lot of people that want to open up food trucks. Just work at it. It'll happen," added D'Angelo.
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