Norfolk, Va. - When the lunch hour rolls around, the streets of downtown Norfolk are filled with people, many looking for a quick place to grab a bite to eat.
And now that food trucks are allowed to set up shop, they have a few more options.
Romy Maglalang was headed to his normal lunch spot at MacArthur Center when he saw Bobby Q’s push cart – they’ll operate from a truck once it’s ready.
“This one definitely catches my eye so I’m going to give them a try,” Maglalang says.
For many people, that’s how they’ve been finding the trucks, just spotting them as they walk down the street.
People who have tried to actually track down certain vendors say they can’t always find them.
They’re supposed to rotate through designated spots at lunch time but at other hours they can be at any available space designated for food trucks.
It can be hit or miss finding them.
Some of the vendors had lines of people forming. But on Freemason Street, there weren’t even trucks in the spots shortly after 11:00 a.m.
And over on Bank Street, Michael McKesson set up his Mister Softee Ice Cream truck, only to have someone from parking services remove the food truck bag from the meter shortly afterwards.
Apparently the spot has moved.
The City of Norfolk says that location on Bank Street is one of two that has moved, the other being north of Brambleton on Granby.
“They’re working out some kinks on little spots. Just definitely looking at which has the best foot traffic,” says Aaron Hernandez of Bobby – Q.
There are now three at Freemason Street and three near the MacArthur Memorial.
There are also a few other changes. Diesel Foods, which was still trying to get its truck ready, will start operating Monday. Also, Just Cupcakes has replaced Twisted Sisters Cupcakes.
Vendors say the best way to find them is on social media where they update their daily locations.
Both vendors and customers say, for the most part, things are going well. And as the city works out the kinks for this new program and people get accustomed to the trucks, it will get better.
