Independent Operators
An inside peek at Missouri's newest food truck garden
Frankie Martin's Garden is the newest food truck garden in Missouri and will open this spring. Brian Hardesty, restaurateur and managing partner of Frankie Martin’s Garden, shares insight on how it all came about and what was needed to make it a reality.
February 28, 2022 by Judy Mottl — Editor, RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com
The newest food truck garden coming to Missouri is Frankie Martin's Garden, which will open this spring in Cottleville at 5372 St. Charles Street.
It was developed and created by the operators of the 9 Mile Garden, a food truck park in Affton, and while it shares similar characteristics, Frankie Martin's Garden boasts unique features.
The garden is named in honor of former resident Frank J. Martin. The 2.74-acre site will house pavilions, a live music stage, a 26-foot LED wall, food truck staging, a beer pavilion, a live music stage, pickleball courts as well as a large whiskey and wine bar in Martin's preserved former home.
The garden will be open daily with food trucks from the greater St. Louis area providing lunch and dinner service. The lineup, so far, will include Angie Burger, Aristocrab Company, Beast Craft BBQ, Cluck Oink Moo, The Crooked Boot, Daddy O's Cheese Steaks, Doggie Mac's, Homestyle Grill, Lion's Choice, Mother's on Wheels, Moving Munchies, Scoops & More, SNS Goodies, Soul Burger, Supersmokers, The Sweet Side, This N' That Eatery, Truck Norris, Ukraft, Wayno's, Wok N' Roll, Zacchi, and Zia's, amongst others to be announced, according to a press release.
The food trucks will serve from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. for dinner. A Sunday brunch will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Food Truck Operator reached out to Brian Hardesty, a managing partner of the garden and a restaurateur, to get further insight on how the garden effort came about and the goals for the garden. Along with Hardesty, and Larry Chapman of Seneca Commercial Real Estate, co-owners are Jeff and David Kolb of Kolb Grading LLC, Tom Mohan of Chapman Ventures LLC, and Michael and Kate Reiter from Cottleville Ventures, LLC.
Q. So congrats on the impending opening of Frankie Martin's Garden. First big question: Who was Frankie Martin and why is the park named in his honor?
A: Frankie Martin's Garden is named after Frank J. Martin, a beloved, longtime Cottleville resident known best for his charitable nature and fun personality who passed away in March of 2020. Our vision for the garden, which lies on his previous property and farm, is to foster a place where the whole community can come together and celebrate daily.
Q. What lessons from the first effort helped in this effort and how would you compare making this garden happen to that first one?
A. We learned many lessons in building and operating 9 Mile Garden that we are excited to apply to Frankie Martin's Garden. Design wise, we knew we had done a really great job in providing an accessible and inclusive space that can easily accommodate large crowds with relatively minimal staff. The streamlined space at 9 Mile provided the starting details of design at the Cottleville space. We understood the importance of not cramming in too much into a space; allowing people the opportunity to make it their own while still providing amenities that were accessible and viewable no matter where you stood in the space. These are just a couple of examples of how we applied our experience building and operating at 9 Mile Garden to Frankie Martin's Garden. There are so many more.
Q. From the list of names involved it is a very collaborative effort. What role did you specifically play and what tips do you have for creating a successful collaboration?
A. I have the privilege of wearing many hats in this endeavor. My particular roles in the developmental collaboration consist of conceptual branding, exterior and interior design, food truck coordination and overall creative and logistical business model input. As managing partner of both gardens, I take on business operations which include event planning, staff support, catering development and hospitality partnership development.
Through the collaborative efforts between Larry Chapman of Seneca CRE, Jeff and David Kolb of Kolb Grading, Tom Mohan of Chapman Ventures and Mike and Kate Reiter of Cottleville Ventures along with myself, I've learned and would recommend listening to everyone's voice as the number one tip. It is important to listen to the team's input, needs and ideas while working to discover how to best execute those visions into one cohesive concept.
Q. Let's talk about the food truck industry from your perspective — are parks like yours the best "location" for a food truck and why and how are you enticing food trucks to participate — garden attendance is key, right?
A. Ten years ago (in St. Louis), randomly parking your food truck near the busiest foot traffic spot you could find, and legally park, was the business model for food trucks. Over time, truck owners worked to establish that these spots were where patrons could find you on a weekly basis.
However, that was and remains a big gamble. Unless you solely book your truck for special events or possibly catering/serving whole neighborhoods of people, there were no reliable, "good spots" where you can count on enough revenue to support your business.
Our goal was to remove as much of the gamble as possible from the equation, so trucks didn't have to spend as much, or any time at all thinking about where to go. Instead, truck owners can use that time to improve the overall experience for their customers. I believe that parking your truck at the Food Truck Garden is the most reliable way to plan your year as a food truck operator. Garden attendance is absolutely key. We deliver enough guests on a nightly basis that over the course of a season each truck has the potential to earn nearly $100,000 a year just by visiting us two to three days per week for eight to nine months.
Q. So what similarities will there be between 9 Mile and Frankie Martin's and what new features are at Frankie Martin's?
A. The similarities between 9 Mile and Frankie Martin's are the overall use of space. Both have 26-foot wide jumbotron style LED walls. Both have very nice live entertainment stages with large green spaces to relax. Both include accessibility for all with a focus on being very family and dog friendly. Thoughtful sound applications, plenty of diverse seating options and large beer lists can be found at both gardens!
Some new features guests can experience at Frankie Martin's Garden will be our wine and whiskey bar featuring over 230 whiskeys from around the world, and a well curated wine list. The addition of about 10 smaller pergolas and pavilions, six tournament style pickleball courts (and) golf cart parking lot will all be available to customers, along with the overall space as it is nearly one acre larger than at 9 Mile Garden.
Q. What is the benefit for the food truck operator to settle into a garden park environment?
A. The benefit to food trucks signing up with us is reliability. Along with the potential for higher sales revenue, all trucks are provided a safe space to park seven days a week for lunch and dinner. Food truck members receive constant support from the garden through marketing, special events, charitable events, community gatherings, free entertainment and access to electricity so they don't have to use their onboard generators (which can be unreliable).
Q. For the "newbie" food truck operator, what should they know ahead of time when participating in a park establishment?
A. All food trucks should be prepared for long lines of hungry customers, a fun environment in which to serve, and daily events which keep people coming back all year long.
Q. Finally, what's next? Where and when is the next garden food truck you'll be launching?
A. Next for me is the opening of Frankie Martin's Garden while overseeing the 2022 season at 9 Mile Garden. While my partners and I work behind the scenes to plan for potential new locations, the most important thing is to provide a consistently fun and memorable experience for all guests who visit these wonderful gardens and with any luck, you will see more of these announced in the future.
About Judy Mottl
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