The Louisville Street Food Scene

Have you already bought the truck?

Have you already bought the truck?

No we haven't gotten it yet.

We were on the fence about whether to use a truck or a trailer. The converted step vans are the trend but the downside is if the engine dies you are out of business. With a trailer you can still get it out to sell but things don't move quite as quickly as a self contained unit.

This was another idea we had and then we saw Andrew Zimmern Tweet an article about this place http://www.theburgerbus.com/ they use a converted short bus. My wife calls it "cute"

Overall, because it's the trend we are headed in the direction of a self contained unit.

http://www.herbivoracious.com/2008/09/s ... treet.html

Having some experience serving the Baxter/Bardstown bar crowd, I would suggest that you set up and start serving very late or early (which ever way you look at it) at around midnight until 5:00am because in my experience, no one gets to thinking about food until they are good and liquored up around 3 to 4am when the bars close. Then you will get bombarded with drunks wanting to eat.

Having some experience serving the Baxter/Bardstown bar crowd, I would suggest that you set up and start serving very late or early (which ever way you look at it) at around midnight until 5:00am because in my experience, no one gets to thinking about food until they are good and liquored up around 3 to 4am when the bars close. Then you will get bombarded with drunks wanting to eat.

Yeah that was a strategy we discussed as most of the Bardstown Road area quits serving food around 10pm and the bars don't really get going until midnight or so.

Do we have one beyond some downtown hot dog carts or is it non existent?

Do you think some gourmet street food could work around here now with some increase in downtown traffic because of new venues?

It seems to work in New York, Chicago, California, etc. Why wouldn't it work around here?

Ideas? Criticism? Rants?

My wife my partner and I, since july 4th have tried to put a KILLER food truck on the streets of Louisville.The city of louisville..... now wants us to PLUMB OUR TRUCK LIKE A HOUSE. This truck was built to serve food.It meets every requirement to serve food......... MEANWHILE the hot dog vendors do not have to adhere to any of these rules.REALLY!!!!!!!!!!wear a crown and sell you hot dogs you have NO idea where they came from.We have a certified kitchen that we cook from.To serve you KILLER food PLEASE ask the new mayor how to axe like a BIG CITY??????????Sincerely,Bobby J.

They require that you have some sanitary procedures.

Its not a lot to ask

and the new hot dog carts have 4 sinks in them.

I am astounded that no one has parked a trailer downtown at the medical center complex (U of L/Jewish/Nortons/Kosairs). Talk about a missed opportunity. You have an immense captive bunch of hungry med students/nurses/doctors/admins that usually don't venture far for lunch (once you get a parking spot you don't leave) and the options down there are sandwiches (Calistoga, a couple delis) or hospital cafeterias or McDonalds in Kosairs. There are a couple lonely hot dog vendors, but a taco truck would make a freaking killing down there.

I agree the medical center qualifies as a foodie desert, although City Cafe in the Korhauser Library building is pretty tasty.

Of course everything we do in the beginning will be trial and error but one of the top ideas we have discussed is doing a hospital rotation. We have had interest from Baptist, Suburban and the downtown hospitals. I was in EMS for years and have tons of friends and family that work in all the hospitals.

One of our possibilities was picking a couple of days and sit somewhere between UofL and the Norton/Jewish area for both breakfast and lunch a couple of days, or possibly pulling a 12 hour shift and be there from 2am until 2pm. That would cover 3rd shift lunch, 1st shift breakfast and lunch. We also discussed doing a rotation where we would be at the east end hospitals on 3rd shift Tuesdays & Thursdays and the downtown hospitals on 3rd shift Mondays & Wednesdays. Or something like that, nothing is set in stone yet.

From the feedback we have received the hospitals are something we simply cannot ignore since most of the cafeterias are closed on 3rd shifts and the food is substandard anyway. So hospitals will definitely be a part of the game plan.