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How food trucks innovate for Valentine’s Day

Food Truck Operator reached out to food trucks nationwide to find out what specials they hope people will use to delight their spouse or significant other.

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February 13, 2019 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

Valentine's Day is that one day of the year to delight your significant other with a special surprise. Some food truck owners see it as an opportunity to allow customers to enjoy a special dessert or an unusual meal. 

Food Truck Operator reached out to food trucks nationwide to find out what specials they are offering and what, if any, special events they plan to attend.

The Mexican Lady in San Angelo, Texas, will offer its first Valentine's Day promotion — the chance for a customer to win a free heart-shaped taco platter with 25 "oversize street tacos," accompanied with grilled onions, red and green salsa, chips and lime slices.

The Mexican Lady will offer a 25-taco platter. Photo courtesy of The Mexican Lady

Customers can enter a drawing for the platter, which sells for $49.99, by sharing The Mexican Lady's Facebook post and tagging two or three friends.

If picking up the platter isn't an option for the winner, The Mexican Lady will deliver it for a $3 charge. 

"We're always trying to reinvent ourselves and try something new," Jorge Torres, operations manager of the family-owned food truck and restaurant, told Food Truck Operator. 

Swampy's BBQ Sauce & Eatery in Kennewick, Washington, plans to do a pre-order couples' special: smoked filet mignon or half a chicken with smoked potato and green beans; or smoked mac and cheese with pomegranate salad and red onion poppy seed vinaigrette, according to owner Ron Swanby.

From the truck's new home at a Wine Village, Swanby also expects to offer dessert from another truck that serves gourmet cupcakes.

Crepes Bona Parte in Fullerton, California, is celebrating Valentine's Day through the entire month of February with its Sweetheart Crepe, according to co-owner Danielle Murcia.

The made-to-order crepe comes stuffed with cheesecake chunks and fresh strawberries, and is topped with whipped cream and raspberry sauce.

The February Crepe of the Month sells for $8.

Bro-Ritos, which specializes in tacos and chicken dishes in northern New Jersey, plans to offer a burritos-and-tacos couples' special, according to co-owner Marcus Crawford.

Couples will be able to get two burritos and tacos for the price of one.

Crepes Bona Parte is offering its Sweetheart Crepe.

How big is Valentine's Day?

Some food truck owners said that unless they have the opportunity to participate in a Valentine's Day event, the holiday does not generate special interest for food trucks. Most customers are simply looking to treat their partner to the sort of romantic experience they are more likely to find at a sit-down restaurant.

Marilyn Parava, co-owner of 13th Taco Food Truck in Raleigh, North Carolina, said customers are looking for something more elaborate than a takeout meal. Parava tried a Valentine's Day special two years ago, but did not get a good response. The food truck advertised a surf-and-turf special on social media and parked the truck at a brewery, but only one couple came specifically for the special.

"We don't do anything for Valentine's Day anymore," Parava said. "Most people want to wine and dine at a restaurant on Valentine's Day." Parava's brick-and-mortar restaurant will be offering the surf-and-turf special for Valentine's Day.

Arthur Blume, who owns Jam Ice Cream in Rolesville, North Carolina, agreed that Valentine's Day is not a food truck type of holiday. The only holiday that typically benefits food trucks is the Fourth of July, he said, since that's a festival-oriented holiday. Blume also thinks holidays are probably good for food trucks in tourist areas.

Special events planned

Blume's truck will, however, be one of several food trucks participating in a Valentine's Day Food Truck Rodeo at Longleaf School of the Arts, a charter high school in Raleigh, North Carolina. This marks the first such Valentine's Day event for the school, which has been hosting food trucks in its parking lot for the last year, Blume said. The event will be a sit-down dinner.

In San Antonio, the city's Downtown Food Trucks program is sponsoring a Lunch Break event on Houston Street from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Valentine's Day. Besides food trucks, the event will include free activities, music and a complimentary soda.

Jose Benitez, who operates Curb Food Truck, thinks he will have a special sandwich and dessert for the event, which is the first of its kind.

"We're excited to see what happens," said Benitez, who has catered Valentine's Day private events in the past.

The Lone Star Food Truck in San Antonio will offer its usual fare of burgers, cheese steaks, comfort food and vegan food at the Lunch Break, according to Alejandro Ruiz, owner of the 4-year-old food truck.

About Elliot Maras

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Elliot Maras is the editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. He brings three decades covering unattended retail and commercial foodservice.