Central Florida's food-truck craze hits Mount Dora

By Ludmilla Lelis, Orlando Sentinel

July 23, 2012

The sidewalks are crowded during the Maitland Food Truck Pod at Lake Lily Park in Maitland on Tuesday, October 4, 2011. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) (Stephen M. Dowell, Orlando Sentinel / Jul 23, 2012)

MOUNT DORA ? Food-truck fans, take note: the craze arrives here Thursday.

Mount Dora will host its first food-truck event from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., with the mobile food vendors at the parking lot on Alexander Street and West Fourth Avenue.

Alexander will be closed to traffic between Fourth and Fifth avenues.

"We want to try it downtown and see what happens," said Cathy Hoechst, president of the Mount Dora Chamber of Commerce. "We hope it will bring people to Mount Dora and bring locals out to try something new."

Food-truck events have been popping up throughout Central Florida and have built a loyal following.

The Mount Dora event will be the second for Lake County, the first being in Clermont.

Clermont holds a Family Food Truck event the first Friday of the month, from 5:30 to 9 p.m., on Minneola Street between Seventh and Eighth streets. The next event is Aug. 3.

Variety of cuisines

However, the Mount Dora event will be a first for the cities of the Golden Triangle.

Hoping to bring the trucks to Mount Dora, Hoechst visited several events, researching the different entrepreneurs.

She was surprised by the variety of foods and cuisines, the affordability and the number of families that frequented the events.

For Mount Dora's test run, the food trucks will come monthly through October. Future dates are Aug. 23, Sept. 27 and Oct. 25. Hours are 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The event will take a hiatus during November and December because of the holidays.

High expectations

Results from this initial run will help plan for food-truck events in 2013, Hoechst said.

Expectations for the event are starting to build, though. The City Council embraced the idea last month when asked to approve the street closure and fee waiver.

And several residents are already planning to attend, Hoechst said.

"People are already excited about it," she said.

llelis@tribune.com or 352-742-5927

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/orlandosentinel/news/local/lake/~3/QTs4YggguzY/story01.htm

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