By Cassie Honeycutt, Special to Nighthawk News
Fish sizzle in the fryer. Baskets of crab cakes slide along the counter. Cheerful customers chatter and peer through the window to see a spoonful of jicama slaw being layered on the tortilla.
All eyes are on the creator, Lexi Foster, as she finishes the taco with the perfect amount of chilli-lime mayo sauce. Carefully, she hands over the work of art. Moments later, the customer praises her for the most perfect taco she ever tasted.
Welcome to the Coastal Provisions food truck — one of the many amazing food trucks that are going to be at the Soundside Live Food Truck Showdown. This event will be held at the Soundside event site in Nags Head on Sunday, June 3, from 1 to 5 p.m. The purpose is to showcase vendors who own food trucks on the Outer Banks.
“I think it is a great idea because that means all the businesses and their food trucks get to support the idea and get to sell food,” Foster said. “I guess it would be a really cool thing to go to. I definitely wanna grub at that — I grub so hard.”
While food trucks make regular appearances in some places, the Dare County Board of Commissioners only recently passed a law concerning mobile units and food stands. Right now, they are allowed to be in Hatteras and Manteo, unless the trucks are at a private event like the food truck festival.
The response to the new ordinance from the community has been overwhelming. Restaurant owners are thrilled, but also frustrated because the law only includes a small part of Dare County.
“I think it’s about time and it will open up more opportunities for people to start businesses and also encourage more visitors to the area,” local Zoe Nichols said.
The bill has been worked on for years now, with tweaks here and there. Restaurant owners have been eager to see it passed, including Sugar Creek owner Ervin Bateman.
“At the public hearing I spoke up. I didn’t go there for the intention to talk about it, but I did speak up and agreed with it,” Bateman said. “I support it 100 percent.”
Making sure the bill didn’t get tabled was a lot of work. Planning director Donna Creef worked to find a solution that benefited the county and the people. Brent Johnson, owner of Jumpmasters Trampoline Park in Manteo, kept pushing and was persistent until it was approved. Johnson wanted something different at his trampoline park.
“Around the country, food trucks and breweries have come together in a symbiotic relationship that enhances the experience for the person, group or family visiting,” Johnson said. “I thought the same concept could be used in Jumpmasters Trampoline Park to enhance the experience while in the park — a fun activity with good food.”
The impact on restaurants will differ, considering some restaurants own food trucks along with their business and others don’t. Food trucks aren’t only for a mobile restaurant. Many restaurants that do own them use them for catering.
“Our catering, we do it out of our food truck. It shows our diversity from catering options and how unique we are,“ Foster said.
The Food Truck Showdown will feature friendly competition between a number of restaurants, and this new law means that more restaurants may get into the food truck business, making for even more competition.
“I think competition is what America is built on. In the American system, everybody works hard and makes a living on free enterprise,” Bateman said. “I’m a firm believer in that.”
Food trucks can even allow someone to get involved in the food service industry on a smaller scale.
“Food trucks can be a stepping stone for an entrepreneur to get into the food service business without the large capital requirement needed to open a restaurant,” Johnson said.
Cassie Honeycutt wrote this story for her Introduction to Publications project. The freshman plans to join the Nighthawk News Magazine staff next year.
