Having dinner on the sidewalk will never be better than it can be tonight on Broadway ave., when there will be 13 food trucks to try out in just a four-block radius.
Locals and visitors can get a taste of what the On Broadway Business Association has to offer as Heights Village hosts the final Third Thursday Food Truck Fun event of the year.
The event, held on every third Thursday between April to September from 5-9 p.m., brings local food trucks to a stretch of Broadway between Loma and Obispo avenues in Long Beach. Members of the community can stop by and take in their options before creating a meal from a myriad of different style cuisines.
The fun of of this event isn’t just the variety of options, but also the fusion style foods that food trucks are popular for. Attendees can choose from lobster rolls and New England style clam chowder from Lobsta Truck, sushi burritos from Jogasaki, Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches from Mandoline Grill or grab a roti from India Jones – just to name a few.
“Some of the trucks have been with us since the beginning [in 2012],” said Sidney Cramer, local business owner and former event organizer. “Although some trucks do change out, we try to keep things consistent so it’s easy for all of us.”
Cramer, who owns Spa Sidney, a beauty lounge and day spa on Broadway, said when the event was first held in 2012 it was met with open arms by community members and businesses located in the corridor. Even though the overall response was positive, there were some “legitimate concerns” voiced by local restaurants and retailers regarding parking limitations in the neighborhood.
“The city had a lot of restrictions with food trucks,” Cramer said. “They looked at what we were doing and changed city policy so that it’s easier for events like this to be done.”
While there are no plans to make it a year-round event, Cramer sees Food Truck Fun as a time for people to get together and get to know each other.