Todd Hubler
Food carts have been thriving downtown, and now other neighborhoods in Madison are seeing an influx of mobile eateries. Office parks in particular have been attracting more food cart vendors during lunchtime hours. Weekly cart dinner nights will return to residential neighborhoods this summer. And increasingly, food carts are showing up at pubs and festivals, and at fundraising events.
Warren Hansen, street vending coordinator for the city of Madison, says food carts are filling a void in areas where dining options are limited. At University Research Park on the city’s west side, several food carts are open three days a week to serve the lunch crowd. “Research Park added several picnic tables and benches. Now that there are leaves on the trees again, there’s shade. So it’s a really nice environment for lunch,” says Hansen.
On the far east side, a similar setup has emerged at the American Center Business Park, where Alliant Energy, American Family Insurance and many other companies are located. Typically, two or three vendors are there mid-day, but more are expected now that UW-Madison is out for the semester.
A few weeks ago, Promega Corp. started hosting food cart days at two of its locations in Fitchburg. On Tuesdays, Porktropolis, Taqueria Sabor Queretano and Jakarta Cafe have been coming to Promega’s Kepler Center on Nobel Drive. On Wednesdays, Porktropolis, Buzzy’s Lake House, Ribmasters and Bubbles Doubles have been serving lunch at Promega headquarters on East Cheryl Parkway.
Most days, at least one food cart vends in front of the biotech company Covance near the Madison College-Truax campus. Food carts are also popping up during the lunch hour a few days a week on Deming Way at Excelsior Drive, University Avenue at Whitney Way and off Rimrock Road at Badger Road.
Unfortunately, often the only way to know where a cart might show up on a particular day is to check its Facebook page.
Hansen says there is also talk of food carts regularly serving lunch at the Village on Park mall and a yet-to-be determined location on Science Drive. There are no longer food carts heading out to the Epic campus in Verona, however.
Let’s Eat Out, a membership organization for food carts, is once again organizing weekly dinners across Madison, Mondays through Thursdays, 5-7:30 p.m., June 13-Aug. 4. On Mondays carts are on the north side on the 1400 block of Wheeler Road, Franklin Elementary School, off Park Street on Hughes Place and at Sandburg Elementary. Tuesdays they’re at Vilas Park, the 400 block of Midvale Boulevard, East Madison Baptist Church on Milwaukee Street, and Fireman’s Park in DeForest. Wednesdays head to Allied Drive, Country Grove, Shorewood Hills and John Muir Elementary. Thursdays are Atwood Avenue at Jackson Street, Meadowood Park, Nakoma Park and the City Church at 4909 E. Buckeye Rd. A rotating cast of food carts are assigned to the sites by Let’s Eat Out organizer Christine Ameigh, often on the day of vending, so again, it’s not always easy to know in advance who’s going to be where.
Food carts have also become a popular addition to fundraising events. Let’s Eat Out schedules carts to vend, and donates 15% of sales for schools and other nonprofits hosting benefit lunches and dinners. “It’s definitely taken off. We have 23 fundraisers lined up just this month,” says Ameigh.
On a more ad hoc basis, vendors have increasingly been teaming up with taverns for pop-up dinners, showing up at night or for special events. Set schedules for these events can also be hard to come by. El Grito typically serves tacos on Thursday nights outside of the Robin Room; Melted will be slinging grilled cheese sandwiches at Gib’s Bar on Wednesday nights once a month. The Malt House has been hosting carts most Friday nights (check its Facebook page).
Fair warning: Most food cart events are “weather-permitting.” David Rodriguez, owner of the Melted food cart, says customers tend to dry up during a downpour: “We go to work for the same reason you do — to make money.”
