When Steve Paradis, the owner of Fresh Start Growers Supply downtown, went to Portland, Ore., he went to a food truck lot where about eight food trucks were doing a great business, serving up ready-to-eat gourmet dishes. A big advocate of healthy food, Paradis brought the idea back with him to Louisville.
And Saturday, at his store at Baxter and Jefferson downtown, he’ll host a parking lot party featuring at least four food trucks and the music of local favorite Leigh Ann Yost. It’s from 11 – 3.
“What’s easier than driving a truck into a food desert and serving good food,” he said.
One of the trucks, Morels, serves up vegan dishes. Lil Cheezers features a grilled cheese bar.
So why aren’t there more mobile food operations in town? Paradis investigated and found that the laws in Portland were more friendly to the truck operators than they are here. He contacted the Mayor’s Office, and says some progress is being made on changing the regulations to make it easier to operate the trucks.
“Here they’re treated like outlaws, but they should be treated like heroes,” he says.
Considering the city’s struggles, as highlighted in the New York Times recently, to bring healthy food to its inner city food deserts, it seems that making it easier for food trucks to operate would be a no-brainer. Paradis calls the current laws archaic, and believes an atmosphere that encourages the operation of food trucks would bring more of them to the area.
He says the stand-alone, drive-up restaurants are easy to install and often serve high-quality food, including a wide range of menu items. The Food Truckus Ruckus is Saturday from 11 – 3 at the downtown Fresh Start office.
