STILLWATER, Okla. — The gourmet food truck craze will roll into the parking lot of Consumer’s IGA, 909 W. Sixth Ave., Monday when Cafe Bella transitions from a brick and mortar restaurant to one with wheels.

Cafe Bella owners Diana Ward and Ali Zarrabi said they had contemplated the food-truck concept for several years before circumstances — the sale of the downtown Stillwater building in which their restaurant was located — turned thought into action.

“We go to Austin, Texas, a lot. Austin has become a mecca for food trucks. In such a way that even the city of Austin has given an area downtown to all the food trucks,” Zarrabi said  “Famous chiefs and famous restaurants have converted from brick and mortar to food trucks.”

The gourmet food truck craze started on the East and West Coasts. Kogi’s restaurant chef Roy Choi is largely credited with starting the craze in Los Angeles when he rolled out the Kogi truck that served short-rib tacos, kimchi dogs and other Asian fusion specialties.

Today, food truck operators dish up everything from cupcakes to sushi in parking spots, parking lots or parks across the United States.

In the past two years, a food cart dished up street tacos in downtown Stillwater and a food trailer is featuring Indian fare, but Cafe Bella on Wheels is a retrofitted food-vendors truck that will serve the Mediterranean cuisine that made Cafe Bella unique, Zarrabi said.

“The food truck will have its advantages because we can take the food truck to fairgrounds or various events to cater,” Ward said.

Mobility is a big advantage, especially with social network outlets — Facebook and Twitter, Zarrabi  said.

“We can go from point A to point B depending on the demand,” he said. “You do have the flexibility of moving from one spot to another and providing the same quality food that our customers have been used to for the last 10 years.”

Zarrabi and Ward have downsized the Cafe Bella menu to work in the smaller confines of a food truck kitchen. The focus is on their Mediterranean menu — the recipes that made Cafe Bella unique, Ward said.

“We had to trim it down because of the space,” Zarrabi said. “We had to adjust. Diana and I looked at the menu and picked out the ones we were famous for.”



Permits, inspections needed

In order to sell food from a cart, trailer or food truck in Stillwater, the owner/operator will need to purchase an itinerant merchant’s license. The annual license costs $75 for Stillwater residents and $250 for nonresidents, Deputy City Clerk Cindy Pollard said. An inspector from the city’s Developmental Services department will go to the property to make sure it can accommodate the truck and customers.

Payne County Health Specialist George Neurohr said food trucks must meet the same health requirements as a brick and mortar restaurant. “The only difference is they move,” he said. “All the health, hygiene and safety issues are the same for a mobile food establishment.’

Mobile food services are inspected seasonally, but are re-inspected by other health department’s if and when the food trucks move into another health department’s jurisdiction, Neurohr said.

 

Exposure fuels a boom

The food truck craze is expanding across the United States. Chicago recently changed its ordinances to make it easier for food trucks to operate there. Oklahoma City holds a street fair and food truck party on the fourth Friday of every month at the corner of Hudson and Eighth Street.

The boom made it impossible to find a ready-to-use food truck. A quick search of the internet shows they can go for $35,000 to $100,000 depending on size and condition.

It took awhile, but Ward said they found a truck in Catoosa that has been used to deliver snacks items to grocery stores.

Ward and Zarrabi used the internet and food truck chat sites to facilitate the conversion to a food truck.

“It’s been a challenge,” Zarrabi said. “It’s been a new adventure.”

“We are going to be one of the first ones (in Stillwater). I hope there will be more once everybody gets the hang of it,” Ward said.

“It’s always good to be pioneers,” Zarrabi said.