Valley View Center Finds Room For Food Trucks
Food trucks are pretty much the dining trend in North America, and with summer on the way they’re showing up in force. This would seem to be a market that doesn’t mesh with shopping centers, but one Texas mall found a way around that problem.
Valley View Center in Dallas invited food trucks into its lots on Fridays and Saturdays throughout spring, rotating them in groups of 5-10. Every weekend, shoppers lined up to check out the new options. The city doesn’t yet have its own food truck park, but with the Valley View Center offering this novel dining experience and shopping to boot, it’s hard to imagine locals felt that lack too keenly.
The initiative capped off with the TX Food Truck Fest a few weeks back. By all accounts it was a blast— entertainment, bands, arts and craft vendors, bounce houses, free parking and more. With over 20 trucks with cuisines from around the world, shoppers had a chance to take in serious gastronomic delights. And 15% of the $5 admission fee went to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. For shoppers who wanted to earn the calories, a Dash & Dine 5K ran loops around the mall, raising money for the charity and ending in the midst of food truck madness.
