BEAUMONT, Texas — Plans are in the works to transform a vacant Beaumont lot into the city's first food truck park.
Area community members could soon have a new place to take their families for dinner. Beaumont native De’John Handy is planning to bring all Southeast Texans food truck favorites together in one spot.
Handy said food truck parks are common in other cities.
“We have visited multiple other food truck parks, and it was crazy that they didn't have one out here,” Handy said.
Handy wants to open the park on Willow Street and plans to call it the Handy-Simien Food Truck Park. Organizers believe Beaumont residents will love the new addition to the city and hope the park will bring the community together.
“Uh, I love food, so I like going to food truck parks,” Handy said. “So, I know other people would like that same thing. That's just the mindset of it, bringing stuff other people would enjoy, and that the community can come together on.”
Area food truck owners believe the park will bring new jobs, opportunities and plenty of variety to Beaumont.
“If Beaumont grows and actually expands and lets people have different opportunities, it could create more jobs for people, and give people different opportunities to try different food,” Joshua Gilliam, owner of Team Gilliam Food Truck, said.
Organizers hope to have a soft opening in March of 2022.
“Small businesses, they are able to show other people the types of food they do have, and I think, me personally, food truck food is a lot better than restaurant food, because it's cooked and prepped every day on sight,” Gilliam said. “It's cooked to order. Nothing is sitting out, and when you order with us it's a lot of fresh food.”