Brownsville and Food Trucks
By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon
Before 2008, the only mobile food trucks seen across the country were usually parked outside a construction site. Food trucks were rarely seen outside areas that served hordes of hungry laborers looking for an alternative to whatever had been packed in their aluminum lunch pail. Over the last ten years, food trucks have been popping up all over the United States. Texas is no exception to the food truck phenomenon. Major urban areas like Austin, Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio have several food trucks offering everything from burgers and barbecue to Asian cuisine and vegan fare. The Rio Grande Valley has not been left behind. Over the last few years, several food trucks have begun serving in McAllen, Harlingen, and Brownsville.
Food trucks offer those wanting to open up a restaurant a low-cost alternative. Traditional brick and mortar restaurants often times come with huge startup costs. Operating a food truck allows chefs the opportunity to offer the community a taste of what a traditional restaurant might be able to offer at a fraction of the startup costs. Often times a popular food truck with a large clientele will eventually lead to the construction of a permanent restaurant location. In order to operate a food truck in the State of Texas, state regulations need to be followed and certifications need to be obtained. The food trucks need to comply with certain regulations as far as the kitchen, sink, and refrigeration systems are concerned. Once you've crossed all your "T's" and dotted all your "I's," you're good to start cooking up your menu items.
However, before you can start serving customers, you need to be aware of the different regulations city governments have put in place regarding food trucks. Cities like Houston tightly regulate food trucks. Food trucks can't park on the side of the road. They cannot park within 100 feet of restaurants. They cannot park within 60 feet of another food truck...and the list goes on. If you want to operate a food truck in Brownsville, some similar regulations exist. Perhaps the tightest regulation Brownsville has in regards to food trucks is where the trucks can operate. It would make sense the point of having a mobile food truck is to be able to move around the city — the customers don't have to come to you. You can go wherever the customers are. City leaders don't see it the same way. Brownsville food trucks have a very limited area where they are allowed to operate. Their area of operation is so limited they have been corralled into a food truck park.
The first of these parks opened in 2017. The Broken Sprocket is a food truck park located at 6305 Paredes Line Road (almost across the street from the failed Titan Tire plant). The Broken Sprocket is a very nice food truck park that incorporates karaoke and live music performed by local bands. There are approximately half a dozen food trucks offering different kinds of food. In an article originally printed in The Brownsville Herald, the owner of The Broken Sprocket, Tony Estrada, mentions the park has become a popular hangout for the local neighborhood as well as those looking to take a break from their journey on the bike trail. For more information on The Broken Sprocket's goings on, visit their Facebook page.
A second food truck park opened around the holidays in 2018. El Patio Food Truck Plaza is located at 835 N. Expressway, just south of West Price Road. Property owner Mike Cancino has several food trucks on his property, including Yummy Burger and Taqueria Don Raul. El Patio is a family-friendly environment. The owners often host events designed to bring the entire family out for an evening of fun. They recently hosted an "outdoor movie night." Other events they've hosted include a classic car show and a haunted house. To get a full schedule of their upcoming events, you can also visit their Facebook page.
The Beacon reached out to The Broken Sprocket and to El Patio, but unfortunately they did not reply to our messages and emails. We wanted to ask them their opinion on city regulations forcing them to set up shop in designated food truck parks. I'm sure this is a decent business model, but I'm wondering if some people who are interested in starting up a food truck business have been discouraged because they wouldn't be able to move around from place to place.
If I were a food truck operator, it would make sense that I would want to maximize my customer base as much as possible. If I offered breakfast, I would want to set up close to a school where people would want coffee or something to start their day. I could then use Facebook or other social media outlets to let my customers know where I would be setting up for lunchtime. I would probably want to set up somewhere like the courthouse or somewhere that has people who wouldn't be able to go too far from their workplace during the lunch hour. Finally, I would probably want to set up somewhere near downtown during the evening hours to get traffic from the crowd having a good time at the Half Moon or the Library.
The simple fact is we live in an "on demand" world. Gone are the days where customers went out of their way to get what they are looking for. Nowadays people want everything delivered to them. With all these food delivery services taking flight, it stands to reason some food truck operators would like the freedom to operate outside the food truck parks.
Before 2008, the only mobile food trucks seen across the country were usually parked outside a construction site. Food trucks were rarely seen outside areas that served hordes of hungry laborers looking for an alternative to whatever had been packed in their aluminum lunch pail. Over the last ten years, food trucks have been popping up all over the United States. Texas is no exception to the food truck phenomenon. Major urban areas like Austin, Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio have several food trucks offering everything from burgers and barbecue to Asian cuisine and vegan fare. The Rio Grande Valley has not been left behind. Over the last few years, several food trucks have begun serving in McAllen, Harlingen, and Brownsville.
Food trucks offer those wanting to open up a restaurant a low-cost alternative. Traditional brick and mortar restaurants often times come with huge startup costs. Operating a food truck allows chefs the opportunity to offer the community a taste of what a traditional restaurant might be able to offer at a fraction of the startup costs. Often times a popular food truck with a large clientele will eventually lead to the construction of a permanent restaurant location. In order to operate a food truck in the State of Texas, state regulations need to be followed and certifications need to be obtained. The food trucks need to comply with certain regulations as far as the kitchen, sink, and refrigeration systems are concerned. Once you've crossed all your "T's" and dotted all your "I's," you're good to start cooking up your menu items.
However, before you can start serving customers, you need to be aware of the different regulations city governments have put in place regarding food trucks. Cities like Houston tightly regulate food trucks. Food trucks can't park on the side of the road. They cannot park within 100 feet of restaurants. They cannot park within 60 feet of another food truck...and the list goes on. If you want to operate a food truck in Brownsville, some similar regulations exist. Perhaps the tightest regulation Brownsville has in regards to food trucks is where the trucks can operate. It would make sense the point of having a mobile food truck is to be able to move around the city — the customers don't have to come to you. You can go wherever the customers are. City leaders don't see it the same way. Brownsville food trucks have a very limited area where they are allowed to operate. Their area of operation is so limited they have been corralled into a food truck park.
The first of these parks opened in 2017. The Broken Sprocket is a food truck park located at 6305 Paredes Line Road (almost across the street from the failed Titan Tire plant). The Broken Sprocket is a very nice food truck park that incorporates karaoke and live music performed by local bands. There are approximately half a dozen food trucks offering different kinds of food. In an article originally printed in The Brownsville Herald, the owner of The Broken Sprocket, Tony Estrada, mentions the park has become a popular hangout for the local neighborhood as well as those looking to take a break from their journey on the bike trail. For more information on The Broken Sprocket's goings on, visit their Facebook page.
A second food truck park opened around the holidays in 2018. El Patio Food Truck Plaza is located at 835 N. Expressway, just south of West Price Road. Property owner Mike Cancino has several food trucks on his property, including Yummy Burger and Taqueria Don Raul. El Patio is a family-friendly environment. The owners often host events designed to bring the entire family out for an evening of fun. They recently hosted an "outdoor movie night." Other events they've hosted include a classic car show and a haunted house. To get a full schedule of their upcoming events, you can also visit their Facebook page.
The Beacon reached out to The Broken Sprocket and to El Patio, but unfortunately they did not reply to our messages and emails. We wanted to ask them their opinion on city regulations forcing them to set up shop in designated food truck parks. I'm sure this is a decent business model, but I'm wondering if some people who are interested in starting up a food truck business have been discouraged because they wouldn't be able to move around from place to place.
If I were a food truck operator, it would make sense that I would want to maximize my customer base as much as possible. If I offered breakfast, I would want to set up close to a school where people would want coffee or something to start their day. I could then use Facebook or other social media outlets to let my customers know where I would be setting up for lunchtime. I would probably want to set up somewhere like the courthouse or somewhere that has people who wouldn't be able to go too far from their workplace during the lunch hour. Finally, I would probably want to set up somewhere near downtown during the evening hours to get traffic from the crowd having a good time at the Half Moon or the Library.
The simple fact is we live in an "on demand" world. Gone are the days where customers went out of their way to get what they are looking for. Nowadays people want everything delivered to them. With all these food delivery services taking flight, it stands to reason some food truck operators would like the freedom to operate outside the food truck parks.
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