In The News

Mercyhurst Rolls Out Culinary Cab Food Truck
Erie Times News

BY ERICA ERWIN, Erie Times-News 

Don't have time for a sit-down restaurant?

Hail a hot dog.

Mercyhurst University's food service company, Parkhurst Dining Services, is rolling out the Culinary Cab, a mobile restaurant of sorts that will offer a variety of fare to the campus community and, periodically, to downtown Erie.

Food trucks are "a hot idea on college campuses throughout the United States," said Kim Novak, Parkhurst's general manager. "There's not a lot of them, but in the coming years you're going to see them all over the place. We want to be cutting edge here at Mercyhurst."

Starting in August, the Culinary Cab will be open for business on Mercyhurst's main East 38th Street campus on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m., offering a rotating menu that on any particular night might include Smith's hot dogs, a pulled pork sandwich ("curbed" with coleslaw and chips), fresh chopped salad or a Hot Street Walking Taco.

"We want to provide them great food on the street corner, make them feel this is fun, this is exciting," Novak said.

The cab will also venture to Mercyhurst's North East campus and to downtown Erie, though there is no schedule for when or where, Novak said.

"We want to reinforce that we are here to be friends with everyone else, all the other food businesses downtown," Novak said. "We have no intention of taking anybody's business. We want to enhance the city."

The cab will broadcast its location on Twitter at www. twitter.com/theculinarycab and on the Mercyhurst University Dining Services Facebook page.

Parkhurst started testing the concept Friday with a lunchtime stop at Eighth and State streets. Another downtown lunchtime stop is planned for Wednesday. The location has not been set, Novak said.

Food trucks have become increasingly popular in larger cities, selling a variety of cuisine and prompting the creation of "food truck tracker" websites. One such site, www.findla foodtrucks.com, posted 294 active trucks in the Los Angeles area on Monday afternoon. The trend is starting to catch on here.

Ye Ole Sweet Shoppe, a popular downtown Erie bakery, recently bought a van -- called Street Sweets -- from which to sell prepackaged goods and, eventually, a wider variety of offerings. Like the Culinary Cab, it promotes its locations through social media.

Barbara Chaffee, president of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, said the organization has talked about food trucks during brainstorming sessions about what the community needs.

Chaffee said she'd love to see more of them around the region. Food trucks create an urban feeling of excitement, she said.

"Anything that generates excitement about food and gets people to reach out and eat more, that's a good thing," Chaffee said.

ERICA ERWIN can be reached at 870-1846 or by e-mail. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNerwin.

Mercyhurst Rolls Out Culinary Cab Food Truck
Erie Times News

BY ERICA ERWIN, Erie Times-News 

Don't have time for a sit-down restaurant?

Hail a hot dog.

Mercyhurst University's food service company, Parkhurst Dining Services, is rolling out the Culinary Cab, a mobile restaurant of sorts that will offer a variety of fare to the campus community and, periodically, to downtown Erie.

Food trucks are "a hot idea on college campuses throughout the United States," said Kim Novak, Parkhurst's general manager. "There's not a lot of them, but in the coming years you're going to see them all over the place. We want to be cutting edge here at Mercyhurst."

Starting in August, the Culinary Cab will be open for business on Mercyhurst's main East 38th Street campus on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m., offering a rotating menu that on any particular night might include Smith's hot dogs, a pulled pork sandwich ("curbed" with coleslaw and chips), fresh chopped salad or a Hot Street Walking Taco.

"We want to provide them great food on the street corner, make them feel this is fun, this is exciting," Novak said.

The cab will also venture to Mercyhurst's North East campus and to downtown Erie, though there is no schedule for when or where, Novak said.

"We want to reinforce that we are here to be friends with everyone else, all the other food businesses downtown," Novak said. "We have no intention of taking anybody's business. We want to enhance the city."

The cab will broadcast its location on Twitter at www. twitter.com/theculinarycab and on the Mercyhurst University Dining Services Facebook page.

Parkhurst started testing the concept Friday with a lunchtime stop at Eighth and State streets. Another downtown lunchtime stop is planned for Wednesday. The location has not been set, Novak said.

Food trucks have become increasingly popular in larger cities, selling a variety of cuisine and prompting the creation of "food truck tracker" websites. One such site, www.findla foodtrucks.com, posted 294 active trucks in the Los Angeles area on Monday afternoon. The trend is starting to catch on here.

Ye Ole Sweet Shoppe, a popular downtown Erie bakery, recently bought a van -- called Street Sweets -- from which to sell prepackaged goods and, eventually, a wider variety of offerings. Like the Culinary Cab, it promotes its locations through social media.

Barbara Chaffee, president of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, said the organization has talked about food trucks during brainstorming sessions about what the community needs.

Chaffee said she'd love to see more of them around the region. Food trucks create an urban feeling of excitement, she said.

"Anything that generates excitement about food and gets people to reach out and eat more, that's a good thing," Chaffee said.

ERICA ERWIN can be reached at 870-1846 or by e-mail. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNerwin.