Food truck vendors, 20 in all, to serve 'more variety' at Gardner festival

GARDNER — The organizers of this summer’s 5th annual Gardner Food Truck Festival are pulling out all the stops this year to make the event an even more popular attraction in the community.

“It’s going to be just like last year except bigger and better,” said Colin Smith, executive aide to Mayor Michael Nicholson and the main organizer of the event. “More food trucks are in the pipeline this time and it will be largely the same setup, with music, and beer and alcohol vendors, and of course the food trucks.”

Organizers of the event, which will take place on Saturday, July 9, at City Hall, said more than 20 trucks are expected to participate in the festival, which attracts thousands of hungry residents to the city each year. The streets around City Hall will be closed to traffic during the festival, which will run from 1 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.

Mark Gallant operates the food truck organization Woo Trucks and owns The Dogfather food truck, which will be among the vendors offering food at the event. He was also instrumental in reaching out to vendors in the region and providing festival organizers with a list of those interested in participating in the event.

“I only pick trucks that I know are going to do it right because this (food festival) is a hot and heavy event,” Gallant said. “So, I sent (Colin) a list of trucks I know can serve food quickly and efficiently. The food has to be served fast but without sacrificing quality.”

Smith said he researched each vendor by taking a look at their online reviews before booking them for the event, and added that one of his main goals is to provide the public with a wide variety of menus to choose from at the festival.

More: 15 trucks. Great food. Thousands of happy diners

“The main feedback we got from last year is that people wanted more trucks and more variety, and I think we’re on our way to accomplishing both of those things this year,” Smith said. “People said that maybe we were lacking in Asian food options last year, so I think we’re going to have a few more of those this year.”

Gallant said the vendors who participated in last year’s festival were thrilled by the overwhelming response from the community.

“Gardner is one of the best organized food truck events because the trucks are assigned spaces ahead of time, so there are no real surprises, and when the trucks show up they know where to go and there are people there to direct them,” Gallant said. “And there is plenty of room because they’re spreading the trucks all the way down the block, which keeps congestion to a minimum.”

Among the trucks expected to return to this year’s festival are the Gonzalez Food Truck, Kona Ice of Shrewsbury, Trolley Dog, Birds Nest Italian Street Food, Grill Daddy, Big T’s Jerky House, Get Baked Potato Company, Travelin’ Bones, Shiskaberrys of New England and Clyde’s Cupcakes.

Food truck festivals are becoming increasingly popular across the region, Gallant said, because they provide a wide variety of food in a single location.

“You can’t go anywhere else on the planet and get 20 different cuisines in one place,” he said. “If you go with your family and you want hot dogs and your kids want hamburgers and somebody else wants Hunan food, you can get it all in one place and it’s all top-notch.”

“There is not a food truck in my group that is not booked every Saturday between May 1 and Sept. 30,” Gallant said.

The original festival was held in 2017 and was an immediate success, according to Smith, who said the event is a great opportunity for the community to gather for a large social event.

“It’s rare to get an event so large with so many people from such a wide geographic area coming into Gardner,” he said. “Of course, it’s about the food and the beer and the music, but I also think it’s just a great chance to get out and socialize in the summer weather.”

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Gardner Food Truck Festival planned for July 9