Gyros, tacos, grilled cheese and barbeque are just a few of the options offered at Food Truck Friday, which began its season last week.
Ice cream store the Chocolate Moose is the host of the weekly event, a gathering of local food trucks and vendors that takes place every Friday until the end of October.
New vendors this year are 812 BBQ and Kebab on Wheels. Other food trucks include the Chocolate Moose, the Big Cheeze, La Poblana Taco Truck, Red Frazier Bison Cuisine, the Gyro Truck and more.
The food trucks set up in the in the parking lot of the First United Methodist Church in Bloomington from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Every month, Food Truck Friday raises money for a different cause. This month, it is fundraising for First United Methodist Church’s Wednesday food pantry.
Food Truck Friday used to be located at the original Chocolate Moose at 401 S. Walnut St., but the building was demolished to make room for a four-story building. The Chocolate Moose plans to open on the first floor of the new building, which is now under construction.
In fall 2016, it moved Food Truck Friday to the current location.
Food Truck Friday started with three trucks and one food cart, Chocolate Moose general manager Jordan Davis said. Now, the event features 12 vendors.
“It was super small, and since then we’ve just grown exponentially,” Davis said. “It’s been crazy.”
The new location makes the event more visible to the public, he said. There are still many students who do not know about the event, and he hopes more people will attend.
“Moving a block and a half north has made a world of difference just from the visibility standpoint of people knowing what is going on,” Davis said.
Lucy Wortham, 28, said she has been going to Food Truck Friday for about three years.
She said her favorite food truck at the event is Juancho’s Munchies, which serves Venezuelan cuisine.
She tried an arepa, which is a flatbread pocket with savory fillings like meat, cheese and avocado.
“The arepas are so good,” she said. “They’re like a combination between a pita sandwich and a tamale.”
Wortham said she likes the new location, since the space is bigger and allows for more vendors in one location.
There are still plenty of vendors she has not tried yet, she said.
“It’s always a struggle: Do I go with the place that I know that I like, or try something new?” Wortham said.
Margaret Easches, 27, said it was her first time at Food Truck Friday. She is from St. Louis, and she spent the weekend visiting friends in Bloomington.
She said food truck events in St. Louis are busier and less frequent than Bloomington’s Food Truck Friday.
She said she prefers the atmosphere at the Bloomington event.
“This is, like, really good food and really relaxed,” she said.
Craig Duke, who is a Ph.D. student in music theory at IU, said he has been to Food Truck Friday before, but the recent opening was his first time trying Döner Kebab, which sells European-style gyros.
He said the truck’s chicken gyro was the best gyro he had ever had.
Davis said Food Truck Friday brings the community together with a large variety of good food.
“It’s just like a giant outdoor food court, except the food is all just a step up,” he said.
