Why Food Trucks Are Popping Up In This Newton Neighborhood

NEWTON, MA — When the pandemic forced people to work from home in March, it left countless businesses and industries, including food trucks, scrambling to figure out what it might mean for them.

The farmers markets, the business rush and the food truck festivals that truck owners around New England were used to depending on to survive, shriveled. Anne-Marie Aigner, founder of Food Truck Festivals of America, which helps connect food trucks to festivals was scrambling too. She had to lay off some staff and wasn't sure what would become of the industry she'd worked in for the past three decades. And then she got an idea.

Why not help connect neighborhoods like Newton's Hunnewell Hill —which has no local restaurant in walking distance — to food trucks? She set up an order ahead system so people could order ahead online, and schedule a pick up time so the food hand off could be contactless.

Neighborhood StrEATs was born.

"Our initial goal was first and foremost to keep the food truck industry alive," said Aigner, who was quick to add that the vision for the program is not to replace supports for local restaurants, but is a way to supplement it. "Even now, as restaurants start to open again, we don’t go out every night. Some nights we cook at home, once in a while we go out, we do take-out — and why not the fun of a food truck or two on your block every once in a while?"

And that idea has gone a long way for both truck owners and neighborhoods.

Mary McPartland of Frozen Hoagies said without the program her trucks would be parked and closed. That was the sentiment among many truck owners.

"It’s been a lifesaver for us," said Jerry Dente, owner of Trolley Dogs Food Truck. "Without festivals or concerts or city foot traffic, it has been very, very challenging these past few months. These neighborhood events have kept us in business."

Aigner told Patch the process of requesting a truck is simple. A neighborhood "ambassador" requests a truck (or two) to show up, and Aigner just asks that the ambassador promote the event and encourage neighbors to order food. In Newton, the ambassador helps find a parking space for the trucks.

The model has been successful in Newton's Hunnewell Hill neighborhood, where food trucks park in her driveway. The BBQ Don's owner Sebastian Difelice said he sold out of orders and pick up slots when he set up shop there.

The neighborhood was the first in Newton to request the trucks, and five months later, there are no plans to stop bringing them.

"First of all, I love having the trucks in front of my house because I get to see the whole neighborhood, Newton's Sharie Malyn, who serves as her neighborhood ambassador, said.

Malyn, a self professed food truck lover, said she got the idea in April to invite the trucks. Since then, she's been hosting them and has recently included a bit of live entertainment, volunteered by neighbors.

"It's just been kind of amazing," she told Patch one Wednesday just before people started arriving to pick up the food they'd ordered online ahead of time.

“Everyone is excited, the parents are bringing their kids with them, the kids are thrilled when they see the trucks and what kind of food they’re getting. We needed something to bring the neighborhood together – we were all so sad to be stuck inside."

Malyn said originally the food trucks were just for the families who lived in the neighborhood, as a number of people were concerned about the pandemic.

The contact-less ordering and payment model really appealed to them. People must order online and then choose a time-slot to pick up their food, wearing a mask. There are is six time slots each Wednesday and a maximum of six people can come pick up during those 15 minute slots.

She said friends from other Newton neighborhoods have asked about how it works to potentially bring a truck or two to theirs, she said.

Wednesday a desert truck called Shishkaberrys of New England and a falafel truck called The Chubby Chickpea will be popping up in Hunnewell Hill.

Trucks have popped up on Devon Road, at Temple Beth Avodah, on Fairway Drive and Randlett Park, too. To find out more about the food trucks: Check out Best Food Trucks.com

Got a tip? Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a press release you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how to post a press release, a column, event or opinion piece.