On a typical weekend, hundreds of drunk college students stop by the Big Cheeze, parked outside of Kilroy’s on Kirkwood, for a post-drinking recovery snack, said Chad Sutor, the food truck’s owner.
Business for food trucks will pick up even more during Little 500, said Juan Palacios, owner of Juancho’s Munchies. Palacios said he plans to open the food truck Wednesday through Saturday for Little 500 week rather than the typical Thursday through Saturday.
However, the food trucks cannot rely on the late-night bar scene to sustain their business, Sutor said.
This is why Food Truck Friday was created, he said.
Food Truck Friday is a platform to connect local Bloomington people with the street food scene, Sutor said.
“People think the only way to have a successful food truck is to do the late-night, college-bar scene,” Sutor said. “We’re trying to create a scene that’s more local and has a platform to it.”
The first Food Truck Friday sold out, as 1,500 hungry hoosiers gathered in a circle in the parking lot outside Smith’s Shoe Center, located at 1917 S. Walnut St.
Food Truck Friday happens weekly 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every Friday at Smith’s Shoe Center.
This is the second year for the program, which moved from the Chocolate Moose to Smith’s Shoe Center this year to accommodate the growing number of food trucks and attendees, Sutor said.
The organizers are Juancho’s Munchies, the Big Cheeze, Great White Smoke and Gypsy Moon, Palacios said.
Sutor said the Big Cheeze was the first food truck in Bloomington, so he had to create his own opportunities, including starting Food Truck Friday.
The goal is to organize the food-truck industry in Bloomington, which is continuing to grow and has 12 food trucks now, Sutor said.
“We’ve been around the longest, and we use what we know to help other food trucks,” Sutor said. “It’s a cooperative business environment, unlike other industries.”
Angel Magno, owner of La Poblana, said his food truck started as a dream. He said he is happy to be serving authentic poblano cuisine out of his food truck, such as tacos, burritos and tortas.
Palacios said he works festivals, fairs and private events to keep Juancho’s Munchies open during the summer.
Juancho’s Munchies serves Venezuelan food, such as arepas and pastelitos.
He started in the food-truck business when he came to the United States 12 years ago from Venezuela, Palacios said.
“I just wanted to try my cuisine to see if it was worth it, and it was,” Palacios said.
Palacios said he is a pioneer in Bloomington because he is the only person serving Venezualan food.
His main goal is to open a restaurant in downtown Bloomington, Palacios said. If all goes well, the restaurant will open in August, he said.
Sutor said he would like to grow the Big Cheeze by doing more business at IU.
The Big Cheeze catered the Kelley School of Business Master’s of Business Administration direct-admit program recently, and Sutor said he hopes to do similar events in the future.
“Hopefully one day IU will let us park on campus,” Sutor said.
Until then, Sutor hopes to continue to build the food-truck community in Bloomington.
“Here you have to focus on how it works and grow from that,” Sutor said. “We’re trying to open up opportunities not just for us, but other food trucks as well.”
