While food trucks are generally shunned from setting up in Buffalo business districts, there is one event that is welcoming them into the fold. Taste of Buffalo apparently understands the importance of these types of mobile operations, and are reaching out to the food truck industry to apply to be vendors in this year’s event. This will open the playing field for a couple of days and will give the food trucks the opportunity to work alongside the ‘brick and mortars’ even if it is just for one weekend.
The invitation should also be looked at as a great marketing opportunity for the food trucks. I believe that some day the restaurants will begin to understand that customers flock to hip destinations… and food trucks are hip. Maybe it’s time that they look at ways of capitalizing on the growing food truck crowds. “Buffalo and Western New York is home to hundreds of fantastic restaurants and this year we are encouraging food truck owners to also apply as their offerings are quickly becoming a new culinary attraction not only in our community, but nationwide,” said Jen Mitri, Taste restaurant chair. “If Buffalo’s food trucks meet the application requirements, it will give festival-goers an opportunity to sample the great food that city residents and workers have been talking about for the past year.”
Obviously the organizers at Taste of Buffalo realize that without the presence of the food trucks at the event, then it can not be representational of all aspects of our culinary culture.
*Food truck applications and additional rules and criteria can be found at www.tasteofbuffalo.com. The deadline for submissions is January 31, 2012.