Food Trucks Steer Their Way Through Community Discussion

VENERABLE TRUCKS CARVING NEW NICHE IN AREA FOOD SCENE
 

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Food trucks are nothing new. For years, people have been using food trucks in the United States and even around the world. They have been helping serve construction sites, factories and other blue-collar workers. The rise in popularity and affordability in these restaurants on wheels has made them more sought out and even somewhat “chic.” The Food Network has helped promote the growing fascination for food trucks with TV shows like The Great Food Truck Race, Food Truck Nation, and Food Truck Face Off.

Lines of customers wait patiently for their food and select a standing meal over the comfort of sitting while eating. Nevertheless, there are still people who are concerned with the cleanliness of them. The old nicknames of “roach coaches” and “gut trucks” haven’t helped either. However, just like with any sit-down restaurant, food trucks must follow strict state and local health code laws, as well as follow ordinances from each of the towns they want to serve in.

Wisconsin Food Code Laws as well as local city ordinances must be met for each individual food truck. By doing a quick online search, one can see that food truck owners in Green Bay must acquire a license and renew that license yearly, have a mobile service base to store and prepare food and all supplies, and all food must be inspected by the Brown County Health Department. Of course, there are many more regulations and laws concerning the cleanliness and health codes for these trucks.

Pat Joyce is a Green Bay food truck owner. His Pay It Forward Ethiopia food truck differs from many in his area because it is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, but Pat still understands what it’s like to operate a food truck business.

Pat and his adopted son Teffie (from Ethiopia) use traditional spices brought in from Ethiopia, and combine them together for an Ethiopian fusion menu. And although Pat jokes that maybe the residents of Green Bay aren’t ready for true Ethiopian-style food, he believes that in time more people in the area may become keen on the idea of trying true authentic-styled Ethiopian food.

“It doesn’t have to be a competition… food trucks should be embraced because they are different.” — Pat Joyce, Food Truck Owner

Pat and his crew not only help support the communities in Ethiopia, but also in Green Bay as well. He says he supports local shops by buying their meats and produce from their own community stores. The staff of Pay It Forward Ethiopia believe there is a great opportunity for food trucks and classic “brick and mortar” places to come together, but, as with any business, there is always the worry of competition.

Green Bay city ordinances state that no food truck may be allowed to conduct business “within 150 feet of a public entrance of any business which is a licensed or permitted restaurant by the Brown County Health Department, during the hours the particular business is open for sale, unless written permission is granted by the business.”

However, these ordinances change from city to city. In areas like Door County where the competition is close and businesses run for a seasonal period, the concern of more competition plays a bigger factor than that of Green Bay or even Appleton.

“It doesn’t have to be a competition … food trucks should be embraced because they are different. The experience you get eating at a food truck and the experience you get eating at a nice sit-down restaurant is completely different,” says Pat. “Festivals and events that food trucks typically attend, a brick and mortar couldn’t physically be at anyways.”

Food truck owner and restaurant owner Brian Miller actually feels that his food truck generates more business than his storefront on Broadway Street in downtown Green Bay.

“Food trucks are becoming more and more popular in Northeast Wisconsin. I was a member of the Fox Valley Food Truck Rally Association last year and they have a great following,” he said. “The diversity in the different types of food in my opinion is amazing to have everything in one area.

The members we have vary from BBQ, smoked brisket, mini doughnuts, Ethiopian style, Caribbean style, Mexican and hopefully growing.I think food trucks are successful and popular because customers have a huge variety of foods to choose from depending the mood they are in all in one centralized area. You cannot go to one restaurant and have this kind of variety,” says Brian said. After this 2018 summer season, Brian will be closing his storefront to focus solely on his food truck.

“The biggest challenge trucks face is meeting health department code requirements, but in my experience Brown County and the State of Wisconsin have been easy to work with,” he said. “The other challenge I would say is permits and knowing what city, village or municipality you are operating in and what permits they require. Some of the city fees can be very high … however, there are businesses that welcome food truck rallies or like the fact that trucks are selling on their property even if they already serve food. I think it might help them promote the area or their business. That could change as food trucks become more popular in the area and they start seeing a loss in sales volume.”

Maybe there is a place for compromise, but who is to say? Food truck owners like Pat don’t want to upset local area restaurants but still feel it’s important that they’re represented, but who will be the one person to speak for the many?

A nonprofit Green Bay Food Truck Coalition is currently working towards making that happen. With the Coalition, they will have one person to be able to speak on behalf of the many.

The other big challenge that many food trucks face is that they travel. In one respect, that’s what makes them so unique and fun, but in the other it makes it slightly more difficult to let customers know where they will be. The Food Truck Armada, a new website application, is helping foodies access where their favorite food trucks will be, with quick access to their favorite food truck’s websites.

Local Green Bay resident Lloyd Graft and his business partner, Matt Ertl, have designed this comprehensive application to allow food truck owners to keep track of all of their events, as well as serve the community. “Food trucks bring something new every day, the quality of food is great. Each food truck is providing something different to their community,” says Lloyd. “The competition in the market makes it better for the foodies as well.” “It’s a chance to meet with new people, for the food truck owners and those using the application. It’s a software to meet the needs of many,” said Matt, who currently lives in Madison.

The Food Truck Armada currently has seven trucks on its site. Any user can log in to foodtruckarmada.com and access this program. It displays on browsers as well as phones. Although it currently is only servicing the Green Bay area food truck owners, Lloyd and Matt hope to be reaching more of the Northeast Wisconsin area soon.

“Food trucks in our area are community-based; they are out there in our community making connections,” says Lloyd.