New use for vacant Haywood Street lot: A food truck park

ASHEVILLE - On a frigid January day, Jennifer Pauer sat in her '85 Westfalia Volkswagen bus, steaming milk for hot chocolate.

It was so cold that small white icebergs floated in the Homestead Creamery milk she was using. "This is brutal," she said, grinning.

On Wednesday, Pauer's truck, Nuwati Coffee, hung with festive lights and equipped with a gleaming espresso machine, was one of the first to try out the 68 Haywood Street Food Truck Court.

This idea of filling empty space with food is a city of Asheville pilot program, and an effort to bring life to the lot sometimes derisively dubbed the "Pit of Despair."

For the next year, up to four food trucks at once may set up in the lot across from the U.S. Cellular Center from 7 a.m.-10 p.m. for a relatively cheap $50 application fee and approval from the city.

"I think the location is awesome," Pauer said. "It's just a matter of getting the food trucks to commit to being out here."

On that frigid day, another food truck scheduled to show had not. And Pauer had only sold six cups of coffee by 11:15 a.m. "But I wouldn't change setting up today for anything."

She thinks business should pick up, and the city is hoping for similar enthusiasm from other food truck owners.

The parcel at 68 Haywood St., and another at 33 Page Ave., has been city-owned since 2001, pegged for a variety of purposes including a hotel.

Once home to a pigeon-plagued parking garage, the Haywood lot languished as a graveled mini-desert after the deck was torn down.

That is until a "Community Visioning Process," facilitated by the Asheville Design Center between the summer of 2016 and the following spring, addressed potential uses for the space until something more permanent could be agreed upon and built.

Temporary uses suggested for the lot included open-air markets, interactive public art and a performance space, according to Asheville downtown development specialist Dana Frankel.

In July, 68 Haywood was opened for temporary uses, a change marked by the sudden appearance of brightly colored metal chairs and sunflower-studded planters. Shortly after, "American Idol" held tryouts in the space under temporary shades.

A few months earlier, a community garden space was approved for 33 Page Ave., its new purpose heralded by planter boxes and marigolds, tended by Elder & Sage community gardening group.

Read more: Near 'Pit of Despair,' seniors plant 'Garden of Hope.'

Update: Asheville's 'Pit of Despair' gets new name, for now

The long-term planning process continues for the Haywood Street and Page Avenue properties, Frankel noted. A report presented by city staff to City Council in May estimated the space will host temporary programs for three years.

Though it's possible food trucks could stay beyond this year, city staff would have to go back to City Council for authorization to extend the program, Frankel noted.

This shot at the lot, no matter how short, marks a boon for the food-truck community, said Kyle James, one of the owners of the Bun Intended food truck, which serves authentic Thai food with the help of a chef from Thailand named Shorty.

Read more: Asheville author, food truck owner's travel book becomes best-seller

"We're excited about the opportunity," he said. "It's not new to anyone that Asheville's growing at a rapid pace, and the brick-and-mortar restaurant and breweries are adapting as well, as they should."

It's time for the food truck community to do that as well, and a stable environment could help.

In cities where food trucks thrive, like Portland and Austin, legions of trucks can often be found in vast — at least relative to the space afforded local vendors — food truck parks.

But with finite space for trucks to vend, often single slots at breweries, it can be tough for diners to sample a variety of options.

A Portland-sized fleet of trucks is perhaps impractical for a city of Asheville's size, but James thinks his mobile brethren can be part of the same conversation as local breweries and James Beard Award-winning chefs.

"We hope to be an asset to the city," he said. "If we do it the right way and are organized, I think (this food truck lot) is something that will attract tourists."

It will also give food trucks more of a distinct identity, rather than second-tier status to the breweries where they park, he said. "We're usually an add-on piece to a bigger show. This will give us an opportunity to be the star."

Food trucks are also well-equipped to feed a late-night crowd, offering an after-hours presence for US Cellular Center revelers, as well as a temporary stop for tourists to relax on their itinerary. And it's obviously a good way for the city to activate an otherwise empty space, he noted.

Still, the trucks hold their own as destinations in their own right, James said.

"These are restaurants on wheels. These are real chefs in Asheville, not people cooking their way to better jobs. These are chefs dedicated to their crafts. We have something special here in Asheville."

Across the street from the park, Roman's Deli owner Roman Braverman already does a brisk lunch business. And in September, he started opening until 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays to feed a later Cellular Center crowd, a move he said has been well-received.

On Haywood Street for the past eight years, Roman's draws a steady crowd with its burgers, sandwiches, soups and salads. So it's unsurprising Braverman said he's mostly unconcerned by the food trucks' presence.

"I'm not sure that's a great spot for a food truck scene, in my opinion," he said, noting the lack of foot traffic in that area. He's even had to install larger signs to help people locate his well-established business, he said. "This is like the opposite of Biltmore Avenue, in my opinion."

At the same time, he said, he imagined he may lose some business to the trucks, particularly if lines are long at his restaurant.

"We usually have a line through the door for three to four hours straight, every day of the Craft Fair," he said. "On those days, if the lot is full of trucks, they're going to get some business — and I'm the first guy who doesn't stand in lines."

Sitting across the street in her lone Volkswagen, Pauer was optimistic, even though last week her water tank started to freeze, which could have ruined her espresso machine.

Having a food truck is not without its difficulties, she said. But she loves being mobile and setting up at events and spaces just like the one at 68 Haywood St.

"This is awesome, and having a permanent location and a place that can support the unique business of mobile food vending is fantastic," she said. "It's bringing an economy to Asheville that would not otherwise exist. There are a lot of folks like me who can't afford to set up a brick and mortar place ... and this gives everyone an opportunity."

Check the lot's schedule at the 68 Haywood St. Food Truck Court Facebook page.