Food Truck Boom: City has experienced a proliferation of mobile eateries in past 5 years
Sulie Villanueva said it's a full-time venture for the family, working up to 80 hours per week, especially during the spring and summer months.
'During our busy season, it's like having a newborn sometimes,' she said. '…Usually we might sleep four or five hours because we have to prep; you never know what you're going to run out of for the next day. So you have to cook it all again and be organized.'
Although the Owensboro City Commission approved the food truck ordinance in 2014, the Villanuevas were among the first to take the streets as a local mobile eatery.
According to city records, there were only a combined nine food trucks and trailers licensed to operate within city limits on Dec. 31, 2020. A year later that number grew to 17 and by 2023 there were 37 food trucks and trailers licensed to sell.
In 2024, the number jumped to 62 and as of April 22, there are currently 64 licensed food trucks and trailers.
For the first four years of the food truck ordinance, all mobile eateries were prohibited from operating within 100 feet of brick-and-mortar restaurants, which greatly restricted their ability to park downtown.
In 2018, the city amended the ordinance to allow vendors with a drivable food truck to park anywhere without the 100 feet restriction, but maintained the prohibition for food trailers.
'All of the ones you've seen proliferation of are the trailers,' said Tim Ross, the city's director of public events. 'So they still can't park on city streets on a Tuesday afternoon.'
Despite that restriction, the competition is growing, motivating mobile eatery owners to not only put in more hours but also consider how to separate themselves from the plethora of choices.
'You have to have the passion and the heart to stand behind your product,' said Sulie Villanueva, adding that cost and quality factor into attracting customers. '…We were one of the first trucks starting out but we can't be everywhere at one time.'
Two months ago Jerome Hernandez and his family entered into the food truck fray with Mangkok Filipino Cuisine, which is a food trailer.
Hernandez said Owensboro is home to a number of Filipino residents who he knew would appreciate his menu.
'They always ask, do we have any Filipino cuisine — there's none and not even in Evansville,' Jerome Hernandez said. 'So for me and my wife, it was our dream to have our own restaurant. So I said let's go ahead and make it into a food truck first. We started it as a dream and now we're making it happen.'
So far, the Hernandez family is only operating the food trailer on the weekends.
Jerome Hernandez said he and his wife still work other full-time jobs for health insurance purposes.
'Where we work we have good benefits and that's the only thing stopping us from doing the food full-time,' he said.
Two years ago Steve and Tina Poll started their food trailer — Torera Hibachi. Steve Poll is a former Shogun restaurant chef.
Hibachi is a Japanese term that refers to a style in which food is cooked in a large, open bowl. Torera is another Japanese term that means trailer.
The menu includes various bowls — teriyaki chicken, garlic shrimp, teriyaki steak and vegetables only. Egg rolls, spring rolls and edamame are also part of the offered fare.
The Polls helped organize what's called Street Eats and Treats, where local food trucks and trailers come together on Saturdays in a parking lot in the 2400 block of Parrish Avenue.
Tina Poll said she views all of the food truck and trailer owners as more of a community than competition.
'All of us come together and just have a good time instead of competing (against) each other,' she said. 'People are going to go eat where they want to go. And if you have several people in your family, it gives you choices.'
With the number of food trucks and trailers climbing, Ross said the city is having to limit how many of them are approved for city events.
'We've even had to turn food trucks away the last few years for the (Owensboro) Air Show or for July 4,' Ross said. 'Some of that is duplicating vendors. They don't want to have five lemonade trucks. There's just a lot more in the market than we had four and five years ago.'
Like any business, the food truck and trailer owners acknowledge there are ups and downs they each face.
Sulie Villanueva said many of the food truck and trailer owners are couples or families.
And by working with her family, Sulie Villanueva said they've managed to stick with the business, and have also added a dessert trailer called La Michoacana De Owensboro, offering various types of ice cream popular in Mexico.
'…The Lord provides for everybody, and if you work hard, we all deserve to have the fruits of our labor,' she said. 'There are good days and bad days. There might be a good day for somebody else and a bad day for us. But the Lord has always taken care of us on that. So I'm not worried about that competition in that way.'
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