Food Trucks Take Over Tallahassee

Tallahassee food trucks have taken over the city with a wide variety of food from local vendors, chefs and musicians since 2011.

A typical Thursday night while traveling down N. Monroe St., in Tallahassee may seem hectic to some, but to others it is something that is looked forward to each and every week.

Food trucks have been traced back to the early 1900’s in Los Angeles from citizens being on the prowl looking for unique eats during strange hours of the night.

The Tallahassee Food Truck Association conducts weekly meetings for officers and members. Any food truck member can attend the meeting, however, to join the team you must submit an application.  In addition, a monthly rent must be paid to participants who are selling on Thursdays.

“Once the application is accepted and reviewed, annual dues are to be paid on time,” Beverly Rich, Vice President, Chef and Co-owner of Valhall Grill food truck,  said.

Rich stated that dues are allocated to the maintenance of the website and other costs.

Tiffany West is junior at Florida State University. She enjoys going to the food trucks at Lake Ella.

“My Thursday nights have become routine,” West said. “After a long day of classes I go to Lake Ella to unwind and have delicious food awaiting me at my fingertips.”

Contrary to what some may believe, TFTA does not seek out potential food trucks to be present. Companies do make the first initial contact and from there magic is made.

“Being stationed at Lake Ella was quite convenient for the trucks,” Leona Bullard, resident of Tallahassee, said. There is so much foot traffic there so it only seemed right for them to move there as oppose to being next to Burger King on Tharpe St.

Every Thursday is different as far as what trucks are present. Eighteen trucks in total are apart of the team. Flavors range from Puerto Rican mojo pulled pork quesadillas to all-american classics such as brick oven pizza. There are two dessert trucks with an array of flavors that will satisfy that sweet tooth.

TFTA created an app called Tallahassee Streetfood which customers can download on their smartphone device. The app allows food truck patrons to know where to meet their favorite truck during the day and night.