This Fresno mall’s farmers market is gone, but now food trucks are taking its place
Life is returning to Fresno’s Manchester Center parking lot on Fridays with the debut of a food truck event March 5.
Fresno Street Eats is organizing the weekly event, and will have five food trucks on the corner of Shields and Blackstone avenues from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
This Friday’s attendees: cheesesteak truck Real Philly, Brickology Pizza, Rubia’s Churros, Taqueria Jaliscience and baked potato truck Get Baked.
Food 4 Thought will be selling fruits and vegetables, and Manchester businesses are invited to sell in the parking lot too.
The regular event is a return of sorts to the days when the corner was bustling on Fridays.
A large farmers market used to operate in that spot, featuring some food trucks. It shut down at the beginning of the pandemic. It reopened a few months later, but just didn’t take off as hoped and closed again, an organizer of the event told The Bee last year.
Fresno Street Eats’ goal is to connect people with good food, said President Mike Osegueda.
“But we also want to act as a small-business incubator, creating new opportunities for our network of food trucks and vendors during uncertain times,” he said in a news release. “Reviving places like Manchester is essential to making Fresno a better place.”
Like Street Eats events at Sierra Vista Mall and other locations, social distancing guidelines will be followed and customers are asked to wear masks.
Mayor Jerry Dyer and Fresno City Council vice president Nelson Esparza will have a ceremonial “first bite” at 1 p.m. Friday.
Customers can keep tabs on which trucks will be participating by following Fresno Street Eats’ Instagram and Facebook pages.
This story was originally published March 4, 2021 at 11:26 AM.
