Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 2019)
LOCAL Wednesday, november 20, 2019 HermIsTonHeraLd.Com • A3 Summer food truck pod serves a success By JADE MCDOWELL neWs edITor A pilot program testing Hermiston’s appetite for food trucks is coming to an end. City planner Clint Spen- cer said there were some limitations on the opening season, particularly with electrical and wastewater accommodations, but over- all it seemed like it was a success. “From what I heard, from a business standpoint all trucks there did great in terms of sales — better than they were anticipating,” he said. This summer’s “pod” at the corner of Orchard Ave- nue and Third Street was a test performed by the city after several residents asked the city council to con- sider revising their restric- tive rules on food trucks, which at the time only allot- ted three mobile vendor licenses in the city. Spencer said he will debrief the city council in January, and they can decide from there if they want to continue hosting the food pod on Orchard Ave- nue, move it somewhere else, or close it for good. “We’ll look at, ‘Is this an appropriate location? Are there other investments to be made?’” Spencer said. For now, however, the city plans to close the pod at the end of November. “Once we start get- ting into freezing rain and snow in the parking lot it’s not really conducive to it,” Spencer said. Magui Verdugo, who opened her bright green truck Magui’s Antojitos y Raspados selling shaved ice in August, said she’ll close her truck this week, but plans to return in the spring if that’s still an option. “It’s been very good business here,” she said. Patrick Hunt of South- ern Twain BBQ was having Staff photo by Ben Lonergan The food cart pod on the corner of Orchard Avenue and Third Street in Hermiston is made up of Magui’s Antojitos y Raspados, Granny’s Tamales, Tacos Garcia and Southern Twain BBQ. a particularly busy day on Thursday, with a large spe- cial order called in and sev- eral customers lined up by noon. He was one of the orig- inal people who appeared before the city council last year, explaining to them that he lived in Hermiston but had to drive his BBQ truck to Pendleton every day because there were no more mobile vendor licenses available. “I’m ecstatic,” he said, reflecting on his experience this summer. “I’m glad to be back home.” He said there were some ways the pod could be improved next year, but that was to be expected with a pilot program. There were fewer trucks than expected because some interested vendors said they couldn’t operate without water and sewer or better electricity on site. Hunt said he was disap- pointed the city wanted to stop food trucks from park- Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Patrick Hunt scoops coleslaw on a pair of sausages at the Southern Twain BBQ food cart at the food cart pod on the corner of Orchard Avenue and Third Street in Hermiston on Thursday. ing in the lot over the win- ter, even though he under- stood the liability issue, but he hoped to see the food pod come back with either an improved Orchard Ave- nue location or to try out somewhere new. “I’ve talked to the soc- cer people, and they think it would be a great idea for us to be at the Butte,” he said. Rawli Rodriguez wasn’t making food on site this season, but on Thursday was selling tamales from a van labeled “Granny’s Tamales.” He said previ- ously people had to call and order up the tamales. “The best thing is that people have a destination now,” he said. Tacos Garcia is not tech- nically part of the food pod — the truck predates the pod and is parked on pri- vate property abutting the city parking lot. But it pro- vides another choice for cus- tomers visiting the pod, and owner Rigoberto Garcia said it hasn’t hurt his business to have some more trucks parked nearby. Monica Todd was selected by the city to run the pilot program. Like Hunt, she said there would have been more vendors on-site if they had been able to offer sewer hookups, but over- all she felt it was a success that warranted the return of a food truck pod somewhere in Hermiston next year. She said she had given Spencer some other feed- back as well, including that the city’s rule the trucks must move once a week was unpopular. “Breaking down every- thing and moving it once a week is hard on the trailers, and it’s a lot of extra work,” she said. Still, she said, the food truck pod provided a valu- able service to the commu- nity and she would be inter- ested in continuing to be involved in some capacity next year. Before deciding to imple- ment the food truck pod and increase the available licenses for trucks, the city put out a community sur- vey on the subject. Todd said everyone who participated in the survey and voiced sup- port on social media helped make the food pod happen. “People’s voices were heard,” she said. Eastern Oregon, you’re our kind of communities. Respect, responsiveness and commitment. That’s been our approach for more than 125 years, and it’s what you and your business deserve. When you partner with us for your small business lending needs, you can count on us to listen, learn and get to know you and your business so we can provide solutions specifically tailored to your needs. Others may say we are too big for you, but we aren’t. We are here for you. Just as we always have been. We’re proud to call this place home, and honored to partner with you as we all reach for the stars. Let’s create tomorrow, together. bannerbank.com Member FDIC
