For vendors like Greg Young, it was a great opportunity to meet new customers and other stakeholders in the industry.
Young, owner of Snowie Dayton, told the Dayton Daily News, “I’m here to hang other foodtrucks. This is my second year in the business and I wanted to see what the neighborhood had to offer.”
Credit: Ismael David Mujahid
Credit: Ismael David Mujahid
Young’s icy treats were strategically located at an entrance and were a firm favorite with customers. After he served lines of people under a blazing sun, he was reflective about his time in the food industry.
“It’s definitely a bit more challenging than I expected it to be. Every aspect of it is exactly like running a large business. You can’t just open and expect customers to come. There’s marketing and other things you need to do to establish a presence,” Young stated.
His comments revealed another side of the event. The food truck rally isn’t just about serving quality food to customers but a space for vendors to network and learn from one another. A few feet from Young, Lumpia Queen was offering lessons of a different kind.
Jay Roberts, one of several people manning the Philippines-inspired truck, was happy to educate customers about the wonders of the southeast Asian archipelagos cuisine.
“We serve very authentic Filipino dishes. It’s kind of a mixture of Spanish and Asian influenced,” Roberts said. “The Philippines is very diverse with lots of islands. So every place makes their dishes a little different.”
Lumpia Queen made positive waves at last year’s Latin festival and was a hit at the truck rally as well. The vendor’s proud display of the Filipino tri-color certaibly helped it standout.
“We do the Lumpia and hand roll it ourselves. We also serve ground meats. One thing about Filipino food is that it’s not very fattening so it can be a healthy option too.”
For the less health conscious, foodies with a sweet tooth had a wealth of options to choose from. Everything from cinnamon rolls, funnel cakes, and Boba Tea were on hand.
“It’s a dream come true to be out here and a part of the community,” said Alisha Bergsten, owner of Bae’s Bakery, in front of over a dozen homemade savory treats.
For someone that has been baking since the age of 13, Bergsten relishes the opportunity to share her work with others. The prep to be at the rally alone was lengthy but certainly worth it for the entrepreneur.
“It took about a week to prepare,” Bergsten said. “A week to source, bake, and create flyers as well as labels.”
Among the event’s highlights, however, were the highly decorative food trucks that served Mexican cuisine. Staples like tacos, burritos, and tortas were each given a flavorful twist by their respective vendors as well.
“It’s our first time at this event,” said Ashley, a server for Dos Hermanos. “The business was started five years ago and has since grown to five trucks and a commissary location.”
It’s fair to say the growth of Dos Hermanos and vendors like it is a sign foodtrucks in the Dayton area are here to say. For the rally and it’s participants, that clearly is a boon for the growing diversity of the Miami Valley region.