Food trucks’ now and then
In 2010, the then-mayor of Boston began supporting the revolutionary concept of food trucks. The first-ever Boston Food Truck Festival at SoWa and the Food Truck Challenge were launched to support new food scenes on the streets. Back then, Boston had less than 20 food trucks. What has changed during these years of innovation and regulations? How are some of these first-generation food trucks doing?
The City of Boston started licensing food trucks in 2011, after seeing the success and popularity of food trucks in cities like Austin, Washington D.C., and Texas. According to a Boston Magazine’s 2012 article, then-Mayor Thomas Menino visited the City Hall Plaza and talked to several food truck owners. In 2010, Boston held its first Food Truck Challenge, looking for trucks with healthy menu options. Owners of 30 trucks produced 60-second promotional videos. Seven judges and the public, after two rounds of voting, chose Bon Me, Momogoose, and Clover as the winners. Each was awarded permits and low-interest loans to grow their businesses.
Although food trucks gained media attention, owners had to overcome challenges regarding the complex and vague start-up requirements and regulations. Parking concerns and complaints from restaurant owners were the main problems. In 2011, Boston had 11 food truck spots, where owners could only park their trucks for a few hours in a day. According to Boston Magazine’s 2012 article, at first, the city wanted to use trucks as vehicles to bring more healthy food to poor neighborhoods. However, as tight regulations already put pressure on owners, it was hard to encourage them to park in areas where spots are less profitable.
Among these food truck pioneers, some succeeded, while others closed their businesses.
Clover Food Lab
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Ayr Muir, always interested in food trucks when he studied at MIT, founded Clover Food Lab in 2008 to make fresh, local, and clean-flavored fast food. All ingredients were seasonal without preservatives. Either soup in winter or salads in summer were all just made, so the menu was constantly changing based on availability. Ayr started the truck to test the idea of serving fresh vegetables to carnivores. The truck served $5 sandwiches and $3 french fries with rosemary sprigs and salt sprinkled over them.
In 2014, Ayr closed all trucks to focus only on the restaurants to drive the sales and bottom line for Clover.
Staff Meal
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A staff meal is what restaurant employees eat during their dinner rush. Same as the term’s philosophy, the Staff Meal team said on its website that “we like to think we’ve made some pretty tasty staff meals over the years and we’d like to share those meals with everyone.”
Having grown up helping his father cook, Adam Gendreau started the Staff Meal food truck with his colleague Patrick Gilmartin after both felt tired working in a restaurant. Adam actively supported the food truck movement and voiced his opinions about the city’s disturbing regulations. He went into a debate with the Andelman brothers of the Phantom Gourmet restaurant when a restaurant owner accused food trucks of stealing his business on the Phantom Gourmet Radio Show.
In an interview, Adam talked about the challenges of running a food truck, saying owners had to work five times as hard to make five times less money in fall and winter months. In 2012, after six months of operation, Adam, annoyed by the inconvenience and regulations, issued a plea to the city for more sites for vendors.
Staff Meal specialized in tacos, with fillings like shrimp and foie gras or house-made chorizo. Adam and Patrick went crazy creating special cuisines, including the aforementioned chicken skin taco, pig’s feet bibimbap, and Chinese sausage taco stuffed with fermented bean aioli. They changed their menu very often.
In 2012, Staff Meal announced their plans to take the truck off the streets in winter and go with a “pop-up” restaurant concept. Later, they decided to forever quit the food truck industry and return to the restaurant world.
The Cupcakory
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Known as the first cupcake truck in Boston, The Cupcakory was famous for its salted caramel cupcakes. It had some vegan and gluten-free options as well. Dianne tried to offer five to six repeating flavors each day, including a seasonal pick and sometimes new recommendations. Each cupcake was $3.
In an interview, Diane mentioned that she chose to serve cupcakes because they appealed to a wide variety of people who could easily try different flavors at minimal costs. Diane wanted to use less sugar, and most of her ingredients were locally sourced and organic.
After six years of operation, Diane sold the truck for unknown reasons.
Roxy’s Grilled Cheese
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James DiSabatino, after graduating from Emerson College and touring with his brother’s punk band around the US and Europe, knew how to live off of a few bucks. Roxy's Grilled Cheese focused solely on grilled cheese sandwiches when it started.
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The truck offered a three cheese blend on organic bread. Customers could choose items such as hot honey bacon, barbeque braised short rib, peppered turkey, ham and cheese, and more.
In 2018, Roxy’s closed one of its brick-and-mortar locations in Lynnfield because it couldn’t make a profit. The truck now has two restaurants and is working its way to build its restaurant business.
Momogoose
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In 2012, Boston added six new food truck locations, including Boston’s Back Bay, Chinatown, Financial District, and South End neighborhoods.
The same year in October, Dewey Square welcomed 14 trucks from both New York and Boston, seven from each city, to compete against each other. Former Boston City Councilor Michael Ross, an advocate for food truck businesses, was one of the judges. Participants were mainly Asian American food trucks, including Bon Me, which serves Vietnamese cuisine, and Mei Mei Street Kitchen, a Chinese American food truck. While Bon Me now has six trucks, Mei Mei Street Kitchen no longer serves people on the streets starting last year. It only uses the truck for private events.
After nine years, Boston is still exploring proper regulations, while food truck owners continue to ask for more communication with city officials.
In a 2011 Boston Globe article, the writer, when reviewing the Bon Me food truck, says that “perhaps Boston just isn’t a food truck sort of town. Perhaps the suit-and-tie crowd might be more comfortable with familiar food choices just steps away in Faneuil Hall, than with Vietnamese-inspired lunches.”
Today, Bon Me has six food trucks and five restaurants in Boston.
Where’s the future for food trucks? More than 50 food trucks on the streets can tell us the answers.
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| Bon Me at Dewey Square |
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