Even the vehicles have past lives as linen trucks, mini school buses and mobile mammogram vehicles.
The pandemic has cancelled most festivals this year, taking a chunk out of the revenue for many food truck businesses.
Consider a food truck for a takeout option or a fun addition to a neighborhood gathering or catered office lunch.
Dayton.com and the Dayton Daily News have been profiling area food trucks this year, here are 10 you should get to know.
T’s Heavenly Taste
Credit: LISA POWELL / STAFF
Credit: LISA POWELL / STAFF
Terri Gates’s mother inspired her to start her own food truck
“She would always tell me to go for your dreams. The name originated because it made me think of how she always says, ‘it tastes like heaven in your mouth’ when something tastes really good.”
Terri and her husband, Dennis Spinks, created a menu that includes a pulled pork grilled cheese sandwich loaded with onion rings and platters of loaded fries, sliced daily and topped with pulled pork, steak and shrimp or grilled hot buffalo chicken.
Follow T’s Heavenly Taste on Facebook and Instagram for upcoming events.
The Pizza Bandit
The owners of the Pizza Bandit food truck believe “pizza is the original ‘family style’ meal.”
With that in mind, the New York style pizza truck makes and sells 18-inch cheese or pepperoni pies cut into six gigantic slices and served with a choice of dips.
Each week they also come up with a creative pizza. Past concoctions have included a crab cake pizza, taco pizza and a special Father’s Day Pizza made with pulled pork, baked beans, coleslaw and barbecue sauce.
The Pizza Bandit can be found at the Yellow Cab Food Hub, 700 E. Fourth St. in Dayton.
Website: iampizzabandit.com ; email: iamthepizzabandit.com ; Phone: (937) 476-1895 Facebook: @iamthepizzabandit/ Instagram: @iamthepizzabandit
Billie Gold Bubble Tea
This food truck is all about fun and refreshing flavors.
Nicole Cornett serves up bubble tea, a drink made with a fruit or milk tea base that comes in a variety of flavors.
At the bottom of each colorful glass are boba — tapioca pearls or flavored jellies that burst with extra flavor when sucked through an extra-wide straw.
Among her popular drinks are the Gold Coast, a strawberry black tea with popping passion fruit boba and Gold Star, a pineapple coconut yum-yum drink with mango jellies.
Follow Billie Gold Bubble Tea on Facebook and Instagram.
Dayton Urban BBQ
“Make food not war” is the attitude Scott Green takes when he starts up the Dayton Urban BBQ food truck.
Green, who served in the United States Marine Corp from 2001-2005, is known for smoked ribs, pulled pork and wraps you can barely get your hands around.
A popular dish is “The Boss,” a pulled pork sandwich loaded with their own recipe for coleslaw.
Dayton Urban BBQ is often at the Dayton Street Eats parking lot, 5993 Bigger Road in Kettering.
Follow them on the Dayton Urban BBQ Facebook page. People can call 937-405-8892 or Dayton Street Eats at 937-522-0730.
Family Bean Coffee Truck
Rhonda Hart, Tara Heid and Courtney Smiddy — a pair of sisters and their mom — run the Family Bean gourmet coffee truck.
The trio whips up coffee drink concoctions with caramel, chocolate and hazelnut, cold brews, frappes, smoothies and more.
They have nine signature drinks that offer a variety of flavors for coffee lovers including caramel, chocolate and lavender.
Smoothies, frappes, chai tea, matcha, iced raspberry tea also make the list and coming soon for the fall will be pumpkin pie and campfire mocha lattes.
Follow The Family Bean Coffee Truck on Facebook or Instagram.
Momma’z Boyz
Credit: Lisa Powell
Credit: Lisa Powell
Josh Chavez and Matt Black dreamed of starting their own business.
That dream turned into the Momma’z Boyz food truck with “a menu that blends a love of family cooking with a twist on classic food truck fare.”
Nachos and tacos are among the Mamma’z Boyz “Phat Boy Specials” but they also make sweet and savory crepes including The Elvis, made with peanut butter, banana and honey and The Ole Hammy, made with pan-seared ham, cheddar cheese, fried eggs and lime cream sauce.
“Every dish that we serve is created with the flavor profile in mind,” the duo said. “Each one is meticulously put together to ensure flavor explosion.”
Follow them on Facebook at Momma’z Boyz or their website, mommazboyzft.com.
Underdogs Mobile
Sometimes there’s nothing more satisfying than hotdogs and tater tots. Scott Whitfield, the owner of Underdogs Mobile, excels at both.
The mobile food trailer has a menu of all-beef specialty hot dogs including the Chicago Dog AKA the Clark & Addison. It is served with a dill pickle spear, tomato, relish, onion, mustard, poppy seeds, celery salt and sport pepper.
Tater tots can be ordered plain or loaded with a variety of concoctions.
The food truck can be found on social media at @UnderdogsMobile and they have a page on the Dayton Food Truck Association webpage.
El Meson
Credit: Lisa Powell
Credit: Lisa Powell
El Meson, the popular West Carrollton restaurant, has served up dishes from countries in Central and South America and beyond for three generations.
But they also have a fleet of food trucks packed with food also inspired by those countries.
The six trucks are managed by Marie Castro who can customize menus for individual events.
The signature dish is their Cuban sandwich, a version of a typical south Florida and Cuban sandwich.
They also serve, burrito bowls, quesadillas, nachos, empanadas and more.
For more information there is a link on the El Meson website and to book a food truck.
Soca Food Truck
Credit: Lisa Powell / Staff
Credit: Lisa Powell / Staff
Soca Food Truck dishes up Caribbean comfort food at its best.
Shafton Greene and his brother, Ricardo Modeste, were born in Trinidad and Tobago and have incorporated their heritage into the food.
On the menu is Roti, a Trinidad version of flatbread filled with curried potatoes and chickpeas and choice of curried chicken, beef or goat.
Don’t miss out on Doubles, discs of flatbread made with turmeric, fried and top with curried chickpeas with shaved cucumber and shadobeni sauce (made with cilantro) tamarind sauce and Scotch Bonnet pepper sauce on the side.
“Our passion is cooking for others to taste our culture,” said Greene.
Soca Food Truck can be found on Instagram, Facebook or by phone, Shafton (937-838-1902) or Ricardo (937-239-6713).
Purely Sweet Bakery
Credit: LISA POWELL / STAFF
Credit: LISA POWELL / STAFF
Let’s not forget dessert.
Purely Sweet Bakery is dedicated to making scrumptious gluten free baked goods and many of the products are also vegan, paleo or keto.
Dawn Vaflor started her specialty baking business in 2013 and put her “treat truck” on the road two years ago.
It’s packed with cakes, cupcakes, peanut butter cookies, blueberry muffins and much more.
If you think gluten free can’t be delicious, Vaflor will prove you wrong.
Purely Sweet Bakery can be found on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Products can be found in Dorothy Lane Markets, Jungle Jim’s, and local coffee houses including the Coffee Hub in Beavercreek and Xenia.
If you are a Dayton area food truck and would like to be considered for a profile, please email Lisa Powell at lisa.powell@coxinc.com.
About the Author