Six new food trucks open in Fresno. Where to find them and why the culture is booming
One industry that’s weathering the pandemic? Food trucks.
With no indoor dining to worry about, food trucks are continuing to sell their street food around Fresno. And a slew of new food trucks and trailers are joining their ranks.
Since we’re still in a coronavirus pandemic, most food truck events don’t have tables and chairs, meaning you need to get your food to go. Most also practice social distancing and ask that you wear a mask and stand 6 feet apart in line.
“Food truck culture is just exploding,” said Mark Cooley, whose family owns five trucks and just opened one serving root beer floats.
“Even two years ago we wouldn’t have been able to have a trailer just dedicated to root beer because there wasn’t enough events,” he said.
Many of the events are hosted by Fresno Street Eats. You can see which trucks will be there by following its Facebook or Instagram accounts.
Some other recent food truck developments? More trucks are using microphones to call out order numbers, putting an end to that “what did they say?” confusion.
The Real Philly food truck also uses self-service tablets where customers order and pay for their food – something we may see more of in the future.
But let’s get back to the food. Here’s a rundown of some new trucks in Fresno and what kind of meals they’re selling.
New food trucks
Get Baked 559. The “baked” refers to the potatoes. This food truck serves giant baked potatoes and fries smothered in all sorts of toppings.
There are surf and turf potatoes, fajita potatoes and a vegetarian option. There are also fries topped with bacon and cheese, or Hot Cheetos and cheddar.
A few other extras round out the menu, like a Korean corn dog with beef sausage, mozzarella cheese and crunchy coating.
Where to find: Often part of Fresno Street Eats events, follow them on Instagram and Facebook to see where they’ll be.
Real Philly. This food truck specializes in authentic Philadelphia cheesesteaks and is run by two men from Philadelphia.
Hugo Lovera and Pavel Vanbekov ran a string of self-serve candy stores in malls before COVID-19 squashed that. Previously, they worked shoulder-to-shoulder in Philadelphia kitchens and decided to go back to that, this time selling cheesesteaks from a truck in Fresno.
The truck’s menu has two main cheesesteak options: Steak or chicken. All the rest is customizable, including toppings like cheese, grilled onions and more.
“What we bring to Fresno is an authentic little piece of Philadelphia,“ Lovera said.
The partners opened their first truck in August and a second one in January. The second truck has a glass front so customers can watch them work
Where to find: They’re regularly at Manchester Center on Fridays, Sierra Vista Mall on Saturdays and Pardini’s on Shaw Avenue on Sundays. Follow them on Facebook or Instagram.
Ruta Cayejera. This is a Mexican breakfast food trailer whose owner is part of the family that runs Cuca’s Mexican restaurants.
Tephanie Mata and her husband Alex make food that’s Mexican, but with a twist.
So the menu features her recipe for beans and potatoes with various toppings. One dish has a sweet potato hash with homemade chorizo. Another has longaniza (a Mexican sausage that’s not as spicy as chorizo) with grilled onions and two sunnyside up eggs.
The vegetarian option is mini tostadas with ranchera sauce, eggs, cheese and salsa.
As for the name, Ruta Cayejera, it stems from the words for route and street in Spanish, which they hope will be interpreted as a place to stop.
Where to find: Ruta Cayajera’s regular gig is outside Fulton Street Coffee in downtown Fresno from 9 a.m. to about noon Sundays. Follow its Facebook and Instagram accounts to find other locations.
Hella Vegan. This is a vegan sandwich truck where everything is vegan, including the mayo, the cheese and the “egg” salad.
The business offers a “saucy” and a spicy sandwich made with the Impossible burger patty.
There are other options, including a vegan egg salad. That’s made with tofu and spices, including black Himalayan salt, that make it taste like actual egg salad, said owner Allison Brevil.
The tuna salad is made with chickpeas.
Brevil used to sell vegan-themed T-shirts and other clothing at vegan festivals around the state through All Love Co. When coronavirus ended those events, she decided to open Hella Vegan.
Where to find: This truck just debuted in January, so doesn’t have a regular schedule yet. The owner regularly updates its Instagram account.
Vornita’s. This food trailer started with chicken, pork and vegetable egg rolls, but quickly got creative. An experiment with putting tri-tip and mac ‘n cheese in an egg roll sparked the rest of the menu.
“If we can roll that, why don’t we try to roll other things?” said owner Israel Martinez.
So now the menu features egg rolls with Spam and pineapple, chorizo, hot Cheetos and cream cheese, spicy shrimp garlic ramen, a pho egg roll and the latest: an egg roll with havarti cheese and pickles.
The food is a fusion of Asian and Mexican food because Martinez is Mexican and is wife is Asian. The name Vornita’s stems from Martinez’ wife’s name, Vorn Sok. They added Spanish suffix “ita” on the end, as in margarita or bonita, he said.
Nickel’s Floats. This a food truck dedicated to root beer floats.
The floats are served in glass quart jars with Thrifty ice cream. You can get a traditional root beer float. Or a purple cow or an orange cow – floats with grape or orange soda – or a sarsaparilla float.
The first float costs $12, but you can bring the jar back for $5 refill floats.
Nickel is what owner Nicole Myers’ great grandfather used to call her.
Nickel’s Floats is part of the five Yosemite Concessions food trucks run by the same family. Mark and Lorri Cooley started the business years ago and each of their three children now has a truck. The other two kids run Yosemite Lemonade and YOCO Lemonade.
You can also get refills in the quart jars from the lemonade stands.
Where to find: Follow Nickel’s on Instagram or at Fresno Street Eats events like Wednesday evenings at Shaw and McCall avenues, or Saturdays at Sierra Vista Mall.
This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 11:28 AM.
