6 minute read
Food Trucks Keep Truckin'
BY SONORA BIRNIE
As March arrives and Idaho begins to thaw, Treasure Valley residents can smell the promise of warmer weather and outdoor events in the delicious aromas wafting from a thriving food truck scene.
In Boise, local food trucks have been gaining loyal customers and cuisine credibility for about a decade. One food-on-wheels expert is Sid Guarby, owner and operator of Slow River Coffee, serving walk-up customers successfully for about 13 years. Most mornings, his truck can be found at 6th & State Streets–but parking permanence wasn’t always the situation.
“The culture has changed,” Guaby says. ”People are now looking for food trucks, not just settling for food trucks. Early on, it was very hard to get people to think that they could get a quality product out of the food truck.” (Think hot dogs and cotton candy at the state fair.)
Guaby and his truck were one of the first members of the now well-established Southern Idaho Food Truck Association. He was the president for years and recalls the beginning, when there were only 12 trucks. Now, the statewide association supports over 45 trucks. According to Guaby, the mobile food truck owners can now rely on each other; understanding the success of one truck supports the growth of food truck culture as a whole.
Anny Frampton, who operates the Green Acres food park with her husband Sean, echoes that sentiment. Located next to the well-trafficked Boise Green Belt, their park operates all summer with a rotating lineup of food trucks, live music, and an on-site bar.
Green Acres officially opened for operation on May 28, 2021, and Frampton notes that one of the main goals of the park is to offer a place that supports the hometown economy. “Food trucks are literally just mobile, small businesses,“ she says. “We hosted over 51 different trucks (last year), over 120 local live music shows and events with local organizations…it’s all these local partners.”
PHOTO COURTESY GREEN ACRES
This year, the park is opening on April 22, earlier than in the past. Frampton attributes this to the community’s outpouring of love and support of Green Acres in bringing together some of the best things about Idaho: passionate chefs, dedicated musicians, and fun-loving, hungry people. “I think it’s… just one of those places that people appreciate,” Frampton says. “They get to… check out different local businesses and support the local economy versus just going to a box chain.” An added bonus–dogs are also invited!
So what is it about food-on-wheels from a sliding window that captivates Idahoan’s hearts and tastebuds? Mark Turnbow, the owner of the event-based food truck MELT, offers an answer.
“A good food truck creates a sort of buzz and excitement,” says Turnbow. “It adds to the festive sense of community out on the street that enhances an outdoor event.“
Turnbow also runs an organization called Boise Food Trucks, which connects trucks with customers and would-be clients. “I felt like the food truck and trailer owners were one big family,” he says. “I wanted to create a free site that customers could reach out to for their event and I could connect them to the particular cuisine or food style they were looking for.”
Not every food truck project has prospered. Brian Ramos recently faced disappointment after his much-anticipated Cart Life site, on State Street, hit a roadblock. The conceptual food truck pod planned to host permanent trucks and had gathered support and excitement with a wide social media following. “I would get emails like every other day, wanting to know when it’s opening,” Ramos says. “Our Facebook page had a ton of likes and our Instagram was over 500 followers. We had a web page and had people sending us emails… we even had trucks lined up.”
Despite permits being ready and Boiseans looking forward to a new mobile chow-down locale, the project shuttered before it opened due to a conflict with the property owners. Still, Ramos maintains his avid love for food trucks. “They’re making this food because they love it, and they want you to love it. The food is always better when you’re helping a family versus helping the corporation get their stock price up,” he says.
Owners and patrons have proved equally devoted. The past year brought many business obstacles, including employee shortages. During a time of need, Rhi Hoisington, the owner of Mad Mac food truck and restaurants, had to temporarily close their brickand-mortar storefront. Hoisington knew she could rely on her truck to save them. “We stayed in business because our regular customers made it a commitment to constantly come to us once a week,” she remembers. “If they were going to go out they would message us and ask, ‘Where’s the food truck?’ A lot of people didn’t want to go to sit-down restaurants or far from home. It became something that felt safer for them, which also helped our food trucks to stay in business.”
Larger cities like Austin, Texas, and Bend, Oregon, are often touted as food truck utopias, but nothing beats the special sauce that Idaho trucks are dishing out. As Hoisington puts it, that’s one of the great things about Boise. All of the area’s different cultures come together in a delicious way, from daily truck pop-ups, to the Green Belt, to festivals like Treefort.
In its tenth year, Treefort will again feature the legendary relationship between great food and music on the streets of Boise. David Roberts organizes the food trucks and ever-popular Alefort. Here’s his tasty and definitive Treefort truck food guide. Step right up and ENJOY!
