Food Truck Fridays return to Puyallup this summer

Puyallup will host its second rendition of Food Truck Fridays this summer, now with two trucks parked outside Pioneer Park Pavilion, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

The program starts June 4 with Sabrina’s Street Melts, an Edgewood-based truck serving “old-school sandwich melts” on hoagie rolls, sourdough, brioche and Texas toast.

Owner Sabrina McNall debuted her business in October but had heard about the Puyallup initiative. She looks forward to kicking off this season and returning for an encore July 9.

“People are wanting to gather together, and outside the best place — and it’s summertime,” she said, adding, “The park is beautiful.”

Puyallup has taken steps since 2018 to ease the permitting process for mobile foodservice, which had previously prevented food trucks from regularly serving within city limits. Residents would see them at special events but never just on the street for a quick bite near the office, for instance.

Last year, with the help of the Washington State Food Truck Association, the city launched a food truck pilot program that simplified the permitting process and hastened the turnaround for approval to operate. The number of approved trucks has blossomed from just five to more than 20, serving everything from hot dogs, burgers and scallops to scones, bubble tea and ice cream.

Having a regular event attracts customers eager to support local business and enjoy the neighborhood, according to Puyallup’s economic development manager Meredith Neal — especially after a year of being bottled up.

“Like many other businesses, food truck owners have needed to find new ways to operate during COVID,” said Neal, noting that without fairs and other seasonal events, they were left without a typical source of revenue.

They also discovered that many food trucks actually had more availability in 2020 — perhaps, posited Neal, because it morphed from supplementing a restaurant career to a full-time gig.

“Many neighborhood homeowners associations and apartment complex managers started inviting food trucks to visit them during closures last year to rebuild community morale,” she added.

For food truck owners like McNall, the reliability makes it easier to schedule other events and cuts the burden of scrambling to find somewhere with an unknown customer base.

She sold her Sumner restaurant of a similar name, Sabrina’s Lunch in a Box, a few years ago to return to a 9-to-5 job, but quickly realized, “It really wasn’t my style.” Initially intending to jump into mobile catering, she ended up buying a food truck. Recurring events at places like Knutson Farms in Sumner — for their first-ever pumpkin patch and the annual “Spring Bloom” tulip festival — made all the difference in the truck’s first eight months in business.

“Without them, we wouldn’t have had such a great start,” she said.

She also appreciates any chance to serve alongside other trucks: “Everyone in the food truck world has been very cordial, and everyone looks out for each other.”

Right now, most everyone is booked solid through the end of July, continued McNall, and it’s all about referrals — ensuring everywhere that wants a food truck can get one.

Returning to Food Truck Fridays is Pierce County stalwart Boss Mama’s Kitchen, but otherwise fresh faces at this weekly event include Puyallup’s own Fat Zach’s Pizza, newcomer Tacoma Wiener Company, Velvet’s Big Easy and from King County, Dick’s Drive-In.

Every week, snag a cold treat from Kona Ice of Olalla, a local shaved ice franchise.

Says McNall, 2021 is the beginning of the “food truck revolution.”

PUYALLUP FOOD TRUCK FRIDAYS

▪ Where: 328 S. Meridian, Puyallup, outside Pioneer Park Pavilion, streetfoodfinder.com/Puyallup

▪ When: Fridays, June 4 to Aug. 27, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

▪ What to know: follow along on Street Food Finder; many trucks offer online pre-orders

SCHEDULE

▪ Kona Ice of Olalla: June 4, 11, 18, 25; July 9, 16, 23, 30; Aug. 6, 13, 20, 27; facebook.com/konaiceofolalla

▪ Sabrina’s Street Melts: June 4, July 9; sabrinasstreetmelts.com

▪ Boss Mama’s Kitchen: June 11, July 23; bossmamaskitchen.com

▪ Fat Zach’s Pizza: June 18, July 30; fatzachspizza.com/fzfoodtruck

▪ Tacoma Wiener Company: June 25; tacomawienercompany.com

▪ Dick’s Drive-In FoodTruck: July 16; ddir.com/foodtruck

▪ Velvet’s Big Easy: Aug. 6, 20; velvetsbigeasy.com

This story was originally published June 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM.