The City of Denton recently lifted the ordinance that kept mobile food vendors from staying in any given location for more than 15 minutes. It was the single-most rule that had been keeping food trucks/trailers/etc... out of Denton during what is arguably their heyday. We were late enough on the whole cupcake thing. Do we really wanna miss out on this, too? The lifting of the 15 minute rule is a temporary measure during the indefinite amount of time it will take the city to draw up a new ordinance. In the interim, the city will hopefully see many interesting Denton-based trucks pop-up and bring an even bigger draw to town. Hopefully, that will cause the powers that be to be a little nicer to vendors when they actually get to rewriting the ordinance.
It’s now been about two months since this happened, and we’ve still yet to see many trucks out and about (UNT campus, withstanding). This is soon about to change. Many people are putting the finishing touches on their businesses and should be hitting the streets very soon.
We worked together with Denton Food Trucks, to highlight a few of our future lunch providers. First up, a truck centered around the most delicious sandwich known to man, the Vietnamese bahn mi. The Pickled Carrot have been operating out of the Denton Community Market for some Saturdays this summer, selling their sandwiches, Vietnamese iced coffee, and cucumber limeaid to the masses. We can’t wait to be able to purchase one any day of the week. Below is an interview with The Pickled Carrot. Read it and get hungry.
What sets your food/service apart from other trucks?
As we grow, one of our main goals is to be a strong supporter of the Denton Community. We will source as many of our vegetables as we can from local farmers. We have current UNT students working on our images and logos for our concept. We would also like to be part of charities and fundraisers around Denton. So that is kind of our vision which will set us apart from the others.
What’s the foremost menu item you will be recommending people order the most?
Grilled pork sandwich and a cup of our fresh squeezed cucumber limeade.
What are some of your favorite food truck grub?
We enjoy Ssahm BBQ's Korean tacos. Angry Friar has good fish and chips. And the double Decker? AWESOME! Visually, its my favorite. Reminds of my trip to London. Haha.
What are you planning for your operating hours to be?
Once we go mobile, our plans are to open from 10AM-2PM/5PM-9PM on weekdays and extend the hours on the weekends for the bar/nightlife crowd. Hours of operation, however, are subject to change depending on many variables.
What are you hoping for in the city ordinance changes regarding food trucks?
After reviewing the proposed ordinance, we are fairly happy with it. We would like to see less restrictions on places we can and cannot set up to serve food.
Do you have any locations in mind?
Denton is our location! We want the fans to choose where we will be on certain days, but we also plan on being near UNT and TWU as well as Fry St. and the Square.
What are you hoping for in the ordinance changes?
We are hoping for changes that will make serving the community easier and more efficient.
Next up, Shiitake Swerve, the truck that will have Dentonites on ‘shrooms.