By Gil Corsey  |  WBRD.com
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — It’s a food revolution in what’s already a “foodie” city.
Food trucks are introducing new flavors, excitement and risk to Louisville’s cuisine scene.
It’s the lunch rush at the corner of 5th Street and Market Street and Gia Burklow can’t stop for a second, which is good news, considering Zoom Zoom Yum, her food truck, launched three weeks ago
It’s Louisville’s first Turkish food truck.
“I mean, my dream was to obviously open a restaurant,” Burklow said. “But the industry is really risky…so I thought this would be a great idea to get it out there and introduce some of the main dishes.”
Burklow has joined a food truck revolution, introducing new cuisine to the market. Downtown Louisville looks like a four-wheeled smorgasbord, to customers’ delight.
“When you work downtown, you go to so many similar restaurants over and over again, so with food trucks that vary throughout the week, it kind of mixes things up,” explained Chase Stewart, a food truck customer.
Across town at Blankenbaker Parkway and Plantside Drive, former bar and restaurant owners Phillip Goldsborough and Rick Torres cashed out big business for Longshot Lobsta.
“I would say about a third of the people I talk to everyday had never had a lobster roll,” said Goldsborough. “And they ask and they confuse it with either sushi or a spring roll.”
A lobster roll is like chicken salad from the sea, common in the New England area.
“We run into a lot of people who have traveled up east and they say, ‘Awww, man are these as good as the ones up there,'” Torres said.
The food truck business is booming across the country. Analysts say food truck sales topped $1.2 billion last year, up 12 percent in five years.
“It’s authentic — what I would get if I went to Turkey,” Burklow said.
With the barbecue and burger markets covered, these owners say they must tackle new flavors for an edge.
“It’s really risky, but it’s also exciting because if people really like it, then I got something,” Burklow said.
These businesses are hoping to savor the sweet taste of success.
According to industry reports, the average cost to start a food truck is $85,000.
Louisville actually has a food truck association showcasing the new and different four-wheeled flavors in the market. Click HERE to visit it.
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