Politics & Government
Planning Commission Greenlights Weekly Gourmet Food Truck Events
Up to 10 different gourmet food trucks will soon start gathering for a weekly event in the Serra Center parking lot on Wednesday nights, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce and Food Truck Mafia.
Milpitas will soon be grabbing its own slice of a burgeoning trend of the modern food service industry - gourmet food truck gathering events.
Wednesday night, the Milpitas Planning Commission approved a proposal for weekly food truck events, presented by the in partnership with the Bay Area company Food Truck Mafia, on Wednesday nights in the Serra Center parking lot.
Members of Grill Stars, April Bibbins and Viet Nguyen of , and Food Truck Mafia's Phil Woodman, who were all present to weigh in on the matter at the meeting, said the business is really taking off.
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“We have about 35 trucks and are growing. Sometimes we have a waiting list," Woodman said, and added that this would allow for the rotation of trucks to provide a greater variety of offerings.
Rotating between the company's 35 trucks will mean the people of Milpitas will be exposed to a wealth of different cultures and foods at the weekly events, such as burgers, breakfast items, chili, BBQ, desserts, sandwiches, shrimp, Mexican, Asian, Indian and more. In order to keep the events more mellow and safe, no alcoholic beverages will be served.
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The events will take up about 68 parking spaces in two rows near
Notices were sent out to nearby property owners and businesses. Serra Center owners and tenants were notified, and voiced their approval for the events.
Planning Commission Chairman Sudhir Mandel said, “I think this is a great idea."
Planning Commissioner Steve Tao expressed concern about restroom access, since the trucks lack such facilities. City Planner Janice Spuller responded that nearby restaurant Yo Pho had offered the use of its restroom facilities, and Big Lots' were a possibility as well.
A motion to approve the new weekly food truck events was unanimously approved by all planning commissioners. Special conditions of the approval included the agreement to work with City staff on the placement of safety barricades at all events, the agreement to perform six-month and 12-month Planning Commission reviews, and the confirmation of access to restrooms during all events.
The first Wednesday night event will most likely be on Nov. 30, Woodman said. The hours of the events each week will be 4-9 p.m.
