Auburn rolls out weekly Food Truck Tuesdays at City Hall Plaza; two trucks serve lunch each week

Auburn launched a weekly “Food Truck Tuesdays” series on City Hall Plaza offering two rotating food trucks each Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. through August, city podcast hosts said.

The initiative is intended to provide a quick-service lunch option for downtown workers, health-care staff and residents while encouraging foot traffic in the downtown core. “It went great. I mean, there is definitely a demand for this quick service,” Chester Lloyd said on the Auburn on Main podcast.

Event organizers said the first Food Truck Tuesday drew steady lines and that one truck sold out of about half its menu. City staff plan to collect monthly metrics from participating vendors to gauge attendance and sales, and to decide whether to increase the number of trucks at future events. “We’ll get the metrics, once a month from these food trucks to kinda gauge how it’s going, what went well, what doesn’t, what’s a hit for the customers,” Chester Lloyd said.

Organizers described the series as both a convenience for people who lack time for a sit-down lunch and a way to bring people downtown to see recent business openings. A vegan option and a Venezuelan sandwich described on the podcast as “aparellas” (pronunciation from the recording) were among trucks scheduled in coming weeks.

The city said the trucks are sited on City Hall Plaza, and organizers recommended checking the Washington State Food Truck Association listings and the city’s online calendar for weekly vendor lineups. The city also encouraged downtown workers and residents to stop by, noting the trucks present a quick, grab-and-go option for people on tight schedules.

For now, Food Truck Tuesdays will continue through August with two trucks each week; the city will consider expanding the roster if demand grows.