Meanwhile, the Greenway has also been using its platform to support its usual partners, even though they’re not on-site.įrom her driver’s seat, Brady says it looks like the Greenway Conservancy really understands the challenges she’s facing. This year’s fee structure is still being negotiated, but the conservancy has sent out surveys that have informed their decisions, and have kept communication lines open with business owners, Brady says. But they haven’t paid any fees yet, says Becca Brady, co-owner of the Providence-based food truck, Hometown Poké. Vendors had signed on for the 2020 season before the pandemic set in their season technically began on April 1. Despite that reality, the non-profit is working with the slimmed-down fleet of food trucks to lessen fees this year, operators say. According to Lake, the conservancy is expecting a budget shortfall due to a COVID-related decline in philanthropy, as well as a loss of income from food trucks and beer gardens that use its parkland. “I cannot emerge from this without the Greenway coming out strong,” Shemtov says.įood truck owners who vend in Boston believe the Greenway will continue to be an important partner for them throughout this socially distanced season. That said, his company is willing to give things a try again in June to support the Greenway. “Until companies start bringing back all their employees to their, there is no food truck scene in downtown Boston,” he says. Food truck entrepreneurs have to think creatively, because this summer will be anything but normal, Shemtov says. The chef has even answered the call from local residents who have hired his trucks to offer contactless pickup in their neighborhoods. Mighty Squirrel Brewery in Waltham has had food trucks park on its lot this spring, to offer takeout food options alongside its curbside beer pickup, Shemtov says. The Chubby Chickpea and Shemtov’s new food truck concept, Arabé, have visited a commissary kitchen in Canton, as well as Shemtov’s Sharon restaurant, Simcha. As a result, food truck operators are improvising: Bonetown Burgers has kept its gears in motion with a few spring appearances at its commissary kitchen in Malden, Cambriello says. In addition, food festivals have mostly been cancelled for 2020, weekday lunch shifts aren’t what they used to be, and food-truck appearances at brewery taprooms don’t compare to yesteryear, according to Dianne Cambriello, co-owner of Daddy’s Bonetown Burgers. “It was brutal,” says Chickpea owner Avi Shemtov, noting that sales were about 5 percent of a typical sunny spring Friday. The Chubby Chickpea tried out a Friday lunch shift on the Greenway in mid-May, offering online preorders and contactless pickup from their truck parked at Dewey Square. (If you’re wondering about the Greenway’s beer and wine gardens: Lake says the conservancy is awaiting further guidance from city and state officials before making decisions about those.)įood truck operators are looking forward to a return to a somewhat normal vending schedule, but they also agree that success of the program will ultimately depend on whether customers come out. Schedule changes will be updated in real time on the Greenway’s social media channels. But the Greenway Food Truck Program will return in a limited capacity, bringing favorites like Bon Me, Daddy’s Bonetown Burgers, the Chubby Chickpea, and others back to the one-and-a-half-mile park during lunchtime shifts every weekday. It’s subject to change, notes Rachel Lake, the marketing and community affairs manager for the non-profit Greenway Conservancy. That said, here’s a glimmer of good news: Beginning June 1, food truck season will return to the Rose Kennedy Greenway.Ĭheck out the new, weekly schedule below. Traditional dining areas remain closed until at least the second week of June, though new conversations are happening right now to make it easier for restaurants to offer outdoor dining once the on-premise dining ban lifts.īut how are food trucks faring through all of this? Despite being vehicles (literally) for takeout, and though they operate in the relative safety of the outdoors, navigating the pandemic shutdown hasn’t been easy for Boston’s top food truck operators. When it comes to restaurants, the summer of social distancing has pushed off patio season as we know it. Photo courtesy of the Greenway Conservancy The scene won’t look exactly the same as this 2017 photo, but the Greenway Food Truck Program will soon return for a socially distanced season.