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Let freedom ring! Food trucks help Americans enjoy the Fourth of July

From coast to coast, food trucks will be on hand at local celebrations lasting between one and three days. The holiday offers a chance to promote the brand and offer special holiday treats.

Image courtesy of iStock

July 3, 2019 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

The Fourth of July, honoring the nation's independence, offers Americans a wealth of outdoor festivities that include tens of thousands of food trucks. From coast to coast, food trucks will be on hand at local celebrations lasting between one and three days.

Aioli Gourmet Burgers & Catering in Phoenix, which operates seven food trucks, a brick-and-mortar restaurant and a catering business, will be at two Mesa events on Thursday, said Kyle Hollenbeck, co-founder. One Aioli truck will be at the Eastmark 4th of July Event while a Modern Tortilla truck will be at Bashas grocery store giving away free tacos with Cazadores tequila samples. 

Aioli Gourmet Burgers & Catering will offer a chili cheeseburger. Photo courtesy of Aioli.

"They've always been very successful for us, especially because summer time is our slow time," Hollenbeck told Food Truck Operator.

An occasion for specials

Hollenbeck has two specials for the holiday: a firecracker shake, which consists of blue raspberry, orange, cherry and vanilla ice cream garnished with pop rocks; and a chili cheeseburger, which consists of a Kobe beef patty, white lightning chili, shredded cheddar cheese, chili aioli, raw white onions and scallions. 

Wing It On Franchising LLC, which specializes in wings, will be offering a Fourth of July weekend special at two breweries, Reverie Brewing in Newtown, Connecticut and Two Roads Brewing in Stratford, Connecticut, said Matt Ensero, CEO and co-founder.

"One of our most popular wing flavors is our 'Red White n' Blues.' On the menu we describe it as 'our store-made blue cheese and medium buffalo sauces blended together in a patriotic display of deliciousness!' We will be giving out free samples of these Red White n' Blues wings all weekend in honor of the Fourth of July," Ensero said.

Supporting community spirit

Cousins Subs Traveling Sub Shop based in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin will once again be participating in the Menomonee Falls Fourth of July Festival, said Justin McCoy, vice president of marketing. "It's our home town and people know us," he said. The company launched its food truck two years ago, offering deli-fresh classics, along with grilled-to-order chicken and steak sub sandwiches, in the greater Milwaukee area.

Lance and Beth Smith, who operate three food trucks in Arizona, will be participating in two Fourth of July events this year. Their Wandering Donkey food truck will be serving at the Fountain Hills fireworks celebration while the Grilled Addiction truck will be at the Surprise event. The Smiths have served the Fountain Hills event for four years while this marks the first year for Surprise.

The Fountain Hills event, which charges food trucks $400 to participate, draws thousands of people and is one of the best events of the year, Lance Hill said. Surprise charges $150. "We see it (the fees) as reasonable based on the revenue," he said. The trucks will be serving their regular menus at these events.

A welcome opportunity

Marcus Crawford, owner of Bro-Ritos Food Truck, is expecting between 2,000 and 3,000 people at the first fireworks event in West Orange, New Jersey on Thursday. "We're expecting it to be a little better since they're doing fireworks this year," he said of the event, which will be at the city's high school. Bro-Ritos will be offering its regular chicken and burritos menu at the event, which he expects will feature six to eight food trucks.

Dogs on the Curb will participate for the first time in the McLean Independence Day Celebration at the McLean Community Center in McLean, Virginia in the greater Washington, D.C. area, said truck owner Jamal Kelly, who is now in his fourth year as a food truck owner. He will be assisted by two employees and is expecting the celebration, which features entertainment and fireworks, to draw 3,000 people. He will be offering a special meal of a hot dog, chips and a beverage for $5, along with his standard menu, which consists of a variety of specialty hot dogs that come with condiments, fries or tater tots and a beverage for $12.

Billy Lavelle, owner of Bus Boy Mobile Cuisine in Carson City, Nevada, is looking forward to a 3-day festival beginning Thursday at Mills Park, a public park, where he will be featuring beer battered asparagus and gluten-free asparagus. Lavelle is especially looking forward to the event since he will be able to open the second floor of his double decker bus to guests. There is a $400 participation fee.

"Holidays do well," Lavelle said, since holiday festivals are more likely to allow him to open the upstairs, with its higher ticket dinners such as beef wellington, cowboy steak, salmon, salmon wellington, versus the ground floor, street-side menu which offers frankfurters, grilled Italian sausage, sliders, fish and chips, chicken strips and French fries. "We are creating more events to allow the upstairs to be open," he said.

Crepes Bonaparte, a Fullerton, California truck that specializes in French crepes, will be at the City of Cerritos Let Freedom Ring Celebration Event on Thursday, said truck owner Christian Murcia. Murcia is expecting about 1,000 attendees, based on previous years. He will have four people working the truck, and will be offering his regular fare.  

A Jimboy's Tacos franchisee will have a food trailer participating in the Folsom Pro Rodeo in Folsom, California, near Sacramento, Thursday through Saturday. It is a multi-faceted entertainment event now in its 59th year, according to Julianne Wieland, marketing coordinator for the Sacramento based restaurant chain. The trailer will be at an opening concert on Wednesday and throughout the rodeo, Wieland said, serving a limited menu, including ground beef tacos, ground beef burritos, bean/ground beef combo burritos, bean tacos, bean burritos and ground beef nachos.

Seoul Taco, a St. Louis, Missouri based fast casual and food truck chain serving "Korean Mexican fusion," will have a tent at Grant Park in Chicago for the annual Taste of Chicago, which has grown to be one of the largest tourist attractions in Illinois, according to Seoul Taco owner David Choi. Choi, who will be serving tacos, will be rotating eight to 10 workers at the festival, which is no longer held over the Fourth of July, but from July 10-14. Last year was the first time food trucks were added to the event, Choi said.

Some exceptions

Not all food trucks are planning to participate in holiday activities.

"That week was always our slowest week of the summer, so we thought it best to give everyone a break," said Keith Hill, co-owner of I Love Bacon, Huntsville, Alabama, who operates two trucks and a brick-and-mortar restaurant. 

"There is one decent-sized one (July Fourth event) about 30 minutes from us and we did it once," Hill said. "For the most part, it was a $2 hot dog crowd and not really our demographic. We're somewhat close to the beach, so most folks with disposable income vacate to the beach and that leaves us needing to sell $10 sandwiches to a crowd on a budget."

Whether they are serving or being served, the food truck community is looking forward to the July Fourth weekend.

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.