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According to Food Truck Nation, a project of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the food truck industry has been on a steady rise with an estimated $2.7 billion in revenue in 2017 and a 300 percent revenue increase in the last three years.<\/p>\n
Locally, several food trucks have sprung up in recent years, serving everything from tacos to gourmet grilled cheese.<\/p>\n
Another trend in the community has been the transition local eateries have taken from doing business out of a truck to a traditional brick and mortar location. Two restaurants opened in Elizabethtown in 2018 that once were operated chiefly out of food trucks: Deez Butts BBQ in September and Dewster\u2019s Home\u00admade Ice Cream in October.<\/p>\n
Deez Butts and Dew\u00adster\u2019s both began in 2015 and got their start setting up at local festivals and events. Business owners from both eateries indicated the experience and clientele gained during their food truck days were beneficial when transitioning to brick and mortar locations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe built a really good clientele, so when we did open the store, we had a following,\u201d said Dewey Cruz, who co-founded Dewster\u2019s with his wife, Kelly.<\/p>\n
David Pritchard, co-founder of Deez Butts, said operating from a food truck is a great way for any aspiring restaurant owner to test the waters of the food industry without making as large of an investment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you can\u2019t make it on a food truck, there\u2019s absolutely no way you\u2019re going to make it in the restaurant world,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a great indicator because you\u2019re not even touching the tip of the iceberg. If you have a line of 10 people waiting outside of your food trailer and that overwhelms you, then I don\u2019t know what to tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since moving his business to the site of the former Jerry\u2019s Restaurant on East Dixie Avenue in Eliza\u00adbethtown, Pritchard said he has enjoyed having a large space to prepare food, having an area for customers to relax and having a physical location to further the Deez Butts brand.<\/p>\n
For the Cruzes, having a brick and mortar location means an escape from the limitations of the weather, a facility to create ice cream and the addition of a bakery.<\/p>\n
Both eateries set up shop in locations significant to the history of Elizabethtown commerce. Before Deez Butts opened, their building housed Jerry\u2019s for five decades before it closed in 2014.<\/p>\n
Pritchard said he hopes Deez Butts\u2019 presence in the south end of Elizabethtown will inspire revitalization similar to what has transpired in downtown Elizabethtown in recent years. He said with Elizabethtown Mayor Jeff Gregory\u2019s interest in developing a south end development task force and with the area\u2019s proximity to the interstate, he hopes to see a commercial boom in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think with the right vision and the right people at the helm, we can really grow E\u2019town to a nicer place down here,\u201d he said. \u201cWith the interstate traffic you\u2019re getting down here, there\u2019s no reason why businesses shouldn\u2019t spring back up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dewster\u2019s\u2019 location on North Mulberry Street also has a great deal of history. According to Kelly Cruze, its building previously housed a Jiffy Burger restaurant, an attorney\u2019s office and, most recently, Boot Country. She said the building also was the home of a restaurant owned by Claudia Sanders, the wife of Colonel Harland Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame.<\/p>\n
While some local food truck operators have moved to brick and mortar locations, others enjoy the freedom afforded by mobile food service. George Willis, owner of local food truck Papa George\u2019s Chicago Style Hot Dogs, said he has no interest in opening a brick and mortar version of his business.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like the freedom of not being tied to a specific location,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A veteran of the food industry and native of Chicago who has years of experience working in brick and mortar restaurants, Willis opened his food truck business in 2013. He said he chooses to continue the mobile approach because he enjoys setting his own hours and he doesn\u2019t want to worry about expenses such as insurance and utility costs that come with commercial properties.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a mobile food vendor, if it\u2019s not happening that day, I can just pack up and go home or move to another location,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Though the owners of Deez Butts and Dewster\u2019s are set on building their businesses through brick and mortar locations, they both expressed an interest in using their food trucks in the future.<\/p>\n
Dewey Cruze said with the abundance of events and community support for local food trucks, there is no reason to stop using the mobile method in conjunction with the new store.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very lucky living in this area because we have some really good festivals,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to travel very far to do a good job.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n