Buffalo’s food truck phenomenon is expanding to a well-known downtown venue.Workers with limited lunch-time options were presented with new choices as the city unveiled Food Truck Thursdays in Niagara Square. The pilot program features four local vendors from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursdays each week throughout the summer.
Thai Me Up Food Truck was one of the vendors at the inaugural Thursday, this week. Owner Kim Suphankomut says the afternoon lunch crowd will provide different challenges than what he sees during Larkin Square’s popular food truck Tuesdays at dinner time.
"Lunch, it's a quick service you have the grab and go, people don't have much time to hang out,” said Suphankomut. “Larkin is easy, because sometimes you have 20 to 30 people lined up and you have to wait, 20, 30 minutes to get in line and get the food.”
City officials point out there are 58,000 workers in the central business district. One of them is Betty Lopez, who works in the Rath Building. She normally packs her own lunch, but said she would check out Food Truck Thursdays in hopes of finding an interesting meal. She also hopes the program might extend beyond the warmer season.
“Once the market is gone and nothing’s down here, we need to get out, even if it’s a little cooler," said Lopez. "Something to intrigue us would be great.”
Other participating vendors include House of Munch, Mineo & Sapio, The Flaming Fish, Tomaso’s, Big Suzie’s Little Bakery, Greek on the Street, and Swingin’ Dogs. The schedule for the food trucks in Niagara Square can be found online at the City of Buffalo’s official website.