By Elizabeth Kalfsbeek  |  Daily Democrat
Thousands of people descended upon Woodland’s downtown for the second month in a row to get their grub on.
Woodland’s First Sunday Food Truck Mania event saw 13 food trucks – five more than in March, including four sweet and nine savory – along First Street between Bush and Main.
“The crowds were bigger and better and much more organized this month,” said Christy Hayes, owner of Kitchen428 and Mojo’s Lounge.
Hayes is also a Historic Woodland Downtown Business Association board member, and said she is excited to see the event grow. Crafters and nonprofit group booths are in the works for future months, she added.
“It creates a restaurant and food culture,” said Hayes. “People talk about the foods they tried, and they want to go out more and try different places in Woodland.
Food Truck Mania is a collaboration between the Historic Woodland Downtown Business Association, the city of Woodland, Mojo’s Lounge & Bar and SactoMoFo, or Sacramento Mobile Food Trucks. The idea is that bringing in the trucks benefits local businesses by getting more foot traffic downtown.
“As a member of the downtown subcommittee to revitalize downtown, it can’t be any better than to have a downtown full of people on a Sunday when it’s usually empty,” said Woodland City Councilman Jim Hilliard, who moonlights as a bass player for the Highway 16 band, which performed at the event. “This was great. We had a lot of fun. The food was awesome.”
On offer was a wide variety of fare, from fish and chips to gelato. Among the trucks were Krush Burger, Gyro King, Bacon Mania, Game Day Grill, Ciao Chow (southeast Asian and Italian cuisine), Drewski’s (gourmet grilled cheeses), Happy Cow (ice cream), Costa’s Finest Kettle Corn, Volks Waffle (Belgian waffles), Rudy’s Hideaway (seafood), Papa Dale’s Drivin’ Diner, Chandos (tacos) and Lucianos (gelato).
“It went really well. I think the flow was a lot better,” said Ernie Hernandez of SactoMoFo. “Lines were smoother with reasonable lengths. I think us coming downtown has helped (Woodland’s) downtown. Everyone seems to be happy with the increase in foot traffic on a Sunday.”
Food Truck Mania will take place year-round on the first Sunday of each month. The next event will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday, May 4 on First Street between Main and Bush.
Every month will have different trucks in the line-up, some may stay the same and others will rotate in and out depending on availability.
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/ci_25511498/2nd-food-truck-mania-draws-thousands-downtown
