In your zeal to share a new culinary experience with someone, have you ever said something like, “You have to try the sliders at Attack of the Tatsu. They’re the best?” Or has someone ever asked you something like, “Have you had the margherita pizza at Honey Seed? It’s the best.”
When you unearth a great dining option, you tell others about it so they can enjoy its pleasures, too. That’s why I’ve been looking forward to writing about Southside Food Truck Park. It’s the best.
You might be thinking the word “culinary” can’t possibly apply to food trucks, which are known for wholesome but simple fare such as burgers, hot dogs and pizza. Read on.
Southside Food Truck Park comes to Chattanooga courtesy of Bobby Colvin, 77, a retired Realtor who couldn’t abide the thought of twiddling his thumbs all day, every day after selling homes for 30 years. As he and I chatted about his new venture, he said, “If I don’t do something, I’ll pull a Bear Bryant. I’ll be here today and gone tomorrow.” (Bryant died less than a month after he quit coaching football.)
Precisely what Colvin would do with his time was a question mark as he stepped away from real estate last December. His moment of inspiration came as he spoke with a friend who had recently visited Florida and raved about the food truck parks there. “She said, ‘Bobby, you should open a food truck park,’” Colvin recalls. “And the more I thought about the idea, the more I liked it.”
Colvin, a lifelong entrepreneur who owned a laundry service for 25 years before he became a Realtor, says two things about launching a food truck park appealed to him: the lack of competition and the low cost of entry.
While food trucks often roll en masse into events such as the Chattanooga Market at the First Horizon Pavilion and Food Truck Friday at the Kitchen Incubator, there hasn’t been a dedicated, daily destination for mobile diners since Food Truck Alley gave it the college try in 2021 and promptly fizzled. Colvin says he liked the thought of having the only one.
Plus, Colvin already owned a property in the heart of Chattanooga’s Southside that would be perfect for an open-air dining destination: the vacant lot at 1511 Williams Street. Located across from HiFi Clyde’s just off Main Street, the property had been vacant since the building that previously sat there burned down in a fire on Thanksgiving Day in 2016.
A lifetime of running businesses has taught Colvin to proceed sensibly, so he did his due diligence before diving in. This included speaking with the owners of food truck parks around the country to learn what works, what doesn’t work, what vendors expect and what draws customers.
Only then did Colvin take his shot. And initial impressions suggest he’s hit the bullseye.
Before Colvin could lure patrons to his lot, he needed to attract vendors, he says. So, he made registration easy, he kept the cost of entry low, and he made sure his vendors would have everything they needed once their wheels were on his property.
For a flat fee of $30, a vendor can reserve one of five spaces at Southside Food Truck Park all day (11 a.m.-8 p.m.) or for part of a day. Once there, they can connect to electricity, water and Wi-Fi, all of which are included in the fee. The electricity comes from the building in the neighboring lot, where Colvin ran his laundry business.
“Vendors don’t want to have to run their generators. They’re noisy and they eat into their profits,” Colvin explains. “Bringing the power out of our laundry and putting in 50-amp boxes for food trucks to plug into was nothing.”
Vehicle parking for patrons was a necessity, Colvin says, as was a place for people to park their rumps once they have their food in hand. Colvin also wanted to provide access to a restroom. So, when he opened March 1, Southside Food Truck Park had all of the amenities of indoor dining except walls and a roof, including covered picnic tables and portable toilets.
The main attraction, however, were the food trucks, which have come in droves.
Since celebrating its grand opening March 1, Southside Food Truck Park has attracted a diverse range of vendors that actually do cater to all tastes. Are you a carnivore? Jonny Poppers sells a mean burger, while Wicked Wieners (yes, they went there) is handling the hot dogs. Are you a vegetarian? Blended Pedaler offers acai bowls and smoothies, while Chubby Vegan offers comfort food that made this meat eater do a double take.
Other categories of cuisine include pizza (Sidekick Pizzeria is a regular), Tex-Mex (I spotted Chattanooga favorite California Smothered Burrito rolling into Southside Food Truck Park one day) and Asian (MohMoh’s Asian Food has a daily presence).
Just as impressive is how far word has spread about Colvin’s enterprise. Based in Coalmont, the proprietors of Pyro Pies Wood Fired Pizza often set up at Southside Food Truck Park when they’re in the area. A recent two-day stay saw them sell an abundance of pies featuring a crust made from Italian-imported flour and a sauce built on fresh, hand-crushed tomatoes.
While Chattanooga has its own pizza trucks, the ability of Southside Food Truck Park to attract vendors from well outside the city gives locals even more options for mealtime.
If you grab lunch at Southside Food Truck Park with a co-worker or treat the family to dinner one evening, take a moment to talk with the vendors about their businesses. Food trucks have been a staple in Chattanooga for well over a decade, and the community of vendors has grown and matured and has good stories to tell.
For example, there’s something comforting about seeing a mobile version of Miss Griffin’s Foot Long Hot Dogs at Southside Food Truck Park. Miss Griffin’s has been serving truly wicked wieners out of one brick-and-mortar or another since 1939, when the original owner built a hot dog stand on the corner of Central and Main.
Then there’s the story of Da, the owner of MohMoh’s Asian Food. Da emigrated to the U.S. after growing up in Laos and managed restaurants in Cleveland and Ooltewah while raising three children on her own. Eager to spend more time with her young ones, she saved every dollar she could spare for five years and then launched MohMoh’s once she had enough money. Now Da can attend her children’s sports activities, for example, and help them with their schoolwork.
It’s a heartwarming story, although Da promises her food isn’t all that hot. On the contrary, Colvin says he has a soft spot for MohMoh’s cashew chicken, which has a mild flavor. However, he declines to name a Southside Food Truck Park favorite, as he likes to spread his business around to all the trucks.
“That’s good advice for everyone,” Colvin says with a wink.
Colvin does stress that not every truck is on-site every day. However, viewing which vendors will be serving on a given day is as easy as loading Southside Food Truck Park’s Facebook page and scrolling down to the first post of the week. (Search for “Southside Food Truck Park” at facebook.com to find it.)
Colvin says more vendors and amenities are on the way as Southside Food Truck Park gains even more traction. He expects brisket will soon be on the menu and plans to do some landscaping to “pretty up the place.”
Brisket sounds delicious. Here’s hoping whoever brings it is the best.