By John D. Gonzalez
WKTV Contributing Writer
Variety. Aromas. Excitement.
Food trucks and festivals make the perfect match, just like mustard on a hot dog. (Let’s not talk about ketchup.)
Food truck owners in 2022 are more than county fair concessionaires, offering fries, hot dogs and cotton candy. Today foodies will find gourmet pretzels, mouthwatering BBQ, burritos, pizza, and on and on.
What’s not to love?
“People like variety. People love to meet and greet and grab a bite to eat,” said Steven McGhee of the Kool Breze food truck with a menu of slushies, soft serve ice cream and a variety of decadent desserts.
Kool Breze is part of the kick off to Food Truck season in West Michigan, which begins with tonight’s first of Food Truck Fridays at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids. The series will continue every Friday night through Sept. 2.
See WKTV’s list below of local Food Truck events. Know more? Email me: michigangonzo@gmail.com.
On Sunday, the Grand Rapids Food Truck Association (GRFTA) partnered with Downtown Grand Rapids, GR8 Food Trucks and others to put together Roll’N Out Food Truck Festival, a fourth-year event making its debut at Calder Plaza. It runs from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday, May 22.
It will be a grand celebration, said organizers, because food trucks are so much fun.
“ Food trucks are a culture,” said Rock Dandeneau, owner of Pressed In Time Food Truck and president of GRFTA.
“Many large cities have grown the street food scene into a start or incubator for brick and mortar. It is a way to test out foods and concepts. It also is a great way to start a small business and understand the logistics of running a business.”
Overall, he said “food trucks are artistic in nature from its concept, menu offerings and even art designs on the trucks.”
GRFTA, which formed in 2016, is a great resource for those who want to get into the business or just find out where to find food trucks all over the area.
“(We) formed to improve business conditions for food trucks, promote the economic contributions of the food truck industry to the region,” said Lauren D’Angelo, Vice President, GRFTA.
“We also try to provide educational resources to food trucks and we provide a mechanism of education and exchange information between food truck owners.”
In fact, they have worked with MSU extension to put together a food truck startup course, which is now available online.
Each Food Truck has a story, too.
Take Saladino Smoke, a BBQ food truck owned by Mike and Katie Saladino, for example.
In order to spend more time with their two boys (Joey and Anthony) during those busy school years, they started cooking for their teammates and families before games and matches.
“One thing led to another and we ended up running the high school concession stands for a number of years,” they said.
It became a full time job for the family.
“We both lost our jobs during the pandemic and thankfully our food truck business saved us,” Katie said.
They BBQ the “old school way” – low and slow with traditional wood fired pits and grills, using oak, cherry, apple and mesquite woods.
”We are family driven and committed to delivering the best quality, fun filled event for you,” they said.
Some popular food truck gatherings:
Food Truck Friday, May 20 (thru Sept. 2), Riverside Park in Grand Rapids; https://www.facebook.com/GR8FoodTruckFridays/
It’s the 6th season of Food Truck Fridays at Riverside Park, north of downtown Grand Rapids. You can see the event from the road. It is located by the Guild St. entrance. This grassroots event has continued to thrive year after year. It offers a great blend of fan favorites as well as plenty of new food trucks for everyone to try. Organizers also have increased the amount of offerings to help with lines and will have a larger footprint to provide more social distancing.
New features include a Frequent Fridays Card that will offer you the chance to win prizes based on how many FTF you frequent.
Roll’N Out Food Truck Festival, May 22 (11am-8pm) Calder Plaza in Grand Rapids; https://www.facebook.com/events/1124456104989269
The Grand Rapids Food Truck Association (GRFTA), will host the 4th annual Roll’N Out Food Truck Fest on Sunday, May 22nd on Ottawa Avenue and Calder Plaza. Up to 38 food trucks and trailers will participate, making the event one of Grand Rapids’ largest food truck rallys.
In addition to the food trucks lining both sides of Ottawa Avenue , the 4th annual Roll’N Out Food Truck Fest will feature:
• Picnic space in Calder Plaza (bring a blanket to enjoy food truck fare and music!)
• Food Truck Certificate Giveaways leading up to the event.
• Entertainment from the Calder Plaza stage.
• Community Partner areas providing complimentary family-friendly activities.
• Live entertainment throughout the day!
Lovies Food Truck at Horrocks, May 28; Horrocks Market Tavern in Kentwood;
Live, Laugh, Lovies! Grand Rapids Diner on wheels will be parking in the Beer Garden at Horrocks.
Food Truck Summer Series, June 1; 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Viewing Park at G.R. Ford Airport;
June’s featured trucks are Bigfoot Burger, Kool Breze, El Jalapeno, Kosher Falafel and Saladino Smoke. Expect tasty food and airplane viewing.
Kentwood Food Truck Festival, June 4 and Sept. 17; 11am-8pm, Kentwood City Hall;
Back for its 5th year, located on the campus of Kentwood City Hall and the Kent District Library – Richard L. Root/Kentwood Branch. Kentwood’s Food Truck Festival is one of West Michigan’s largest food truck events. It features 20-30 different food trucks and live music all day, as well as a beer tent featuring many local favorites.
Food Truck Frenzy! June 9, July 14, Aug. 11, Sept. 8, Sparta’s Town Square in Sparta;
Thursdays on the Square is hosting Food Truck Frenzy. The Facebook page plans to update the food trucks coming, their menus and other details like live bands and more.
Bridge Street Market; Fridays, June 10-Sept. 2, 11 a.m.- 2 p.m.
Food trucks take over the West Side with the help of Stockbridge Business Association and the Bridge St. Market. The corner lot of Bridge St and Stocking/Lexington Ave will play host to four food trucks every Friday beginning June 10.
John D. Gonzalez is a digital journalist with 30-plus years of experience as a food, travel, craft beer and arts & entertainment reporter based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also co-hosts the radio show and Podcast “Behind the Mitten,” which airs at 6 p.m. Sundays on WOOD-AM and FM. Follow him on his journey to discover what’s next. You can find him on Twitter as @MichiganGonzo, on Instagram @MichiganGonzo and Facebook at @GRGonzo. He also relaunched his YouTube Channel. Email him story ideas and tips at michigangonzo@gmail.com.
