Downtown working folk and resident urbanites can rejoice. On Feb. 11, a mobile food court is slotted to open in the neighborhood. The lot will boast three to four trucks daily and "ample parking," according to organizers.

"The lot will be on Alameda and Traction," said Matt Geller, Vice President of SoCal Mobile Food Vendors Association.

Geller was also the brains behind the Santa Monica mobile food truck lot, which was shut down within a day due to zoning issues. He's still working with the Santa Monica local government to get the Westside lot's business rolling again.

He's optimistic that the fate of the Downtown LA installment won't follow that of Santa Monica because he has the support of the Los Angeles Police Department and local businesses.

"Things get out of control with the food trucks parked on the streets Downtown, especially on the nights of the Artwalk. There are just so many people that congest the streets while they're waiting for trucks. It's really in the LAPD's best interest, and they're behind having more control with the lots."

Geller plans to do both lunch and dinner on the opening day, which happens to coincide with Artwalk. "We're doing a test run," he says. "If it goes over well, and people swarm to it like they did Santa Monica, then we'll do it every day."

-- Krista Simmons

Photo: Coolhaus truck Credit: Stefano Paltera / For The Times