By Garret Ellison | MLive.com
GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The food truck fleet is on its way downtown.
Grand Rapids Art Museum managers expect to feature of rotation of food trucks on the Wege Plaza next to Rosa Parks Circle this summer, starting with the first confirmed truck, A Moveable Feast, which soft-opened downtown this past week.
“Hopefully, food trucks will be a staple at the museum from now on,” said Wendy St. John, food and beverage manager at the GRAM, which received city approval to host food trucks downtown late last summer.
St. John said the museum this summer is hoping to maximize usage of its permit, which allows for two food trucks on the plaza every day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. during the week and until 11 p.m. on the weekends.
The GRAM is currently the only private landowner downtown approved to host food trucks under zoning rules passed by the city in 2012. The museum’s permit allows for year-round truck hosting, but harsh weather has kept trucks away from downtown since the end of ArtPrize last year, she said.
St. John is reviewing about eight truck applications. “We’re definitely interested in taking more,” she said. “We feel like a rotation will be nice for the pedestrians and business crowd.”
Brennan Summers, owner of A Movable Feast, is eager to set up downtown.
Summers, who left his job in sales at Marriott International in Minneapolis, Minn., last year to pursue the food truck venture, plans to park on the plaza three to four days a week starting Tuesday, April 29, weather permitting.
He and his wife are Brighton natives with family in West Michigan.
“We both really liked Grand Rapids,” he said. “There’s a shortage of food trucks here. We’re hoping to do something about that.”
Summers bought the truck in October. If the vehicle itself seems familiar, that’s because it is. Summers bought it from Molly Crist, who operated the vehicle for several years as the Silver Spork.
The truck may have a new owner and paint job, but its purpose remains unchanged.
Summers’ menu include a curried chicken salad wrap, southwestern fish tacos with red cabbage slaw and chipotle aioli, a vegetarian-friendly quinoa burger with cucumbers and tarragon aioli, and the bacon jam grilled cheese.
Breakfast hours and menu items are in the works, he said. The truck is starting to fill up the summer calendar with weddings and street parties.
“We will be using very high-quality ingredients, with an emphasis on those that are locally sourced and responsibly raised,” he said. “We try to be very creative with our items, but we also want them to be approachable.”
http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2014/04/food_trucks_to_be_a_staple_in.html
