Community Corner

Gourmet Food Trucks to Roll Into Town Today

If the gourmet food truck gathering is a hit, it could become a weekly thing.

Chris Pili found a way to improve upon sprinkle and frosting-covered cupcakes.

He made them come to him.

The self-proclaimed “foodie” and manager of the Los Alamitos’ Katella Avenue Starbucks turned his hankering for gourmet food into a community event that kicks off today. Eight gourmet food trucks will converge on Los Alamitos for the first in what could soon become a weekly gathering.

Find out what's happening in Los Alamitos-Seal Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“I personally follow food trucks. My friends and I are all foodies, and we’ll go all over LA and Orange County for the trucks,” said Pili. “Working here, it just seems like there is not a lot around here for families to do, so I thought this would be a great way to get the community together to have a good time, good food and good company.”

So Pili started asking around about putting together a food truck fair, and it wasn’t long before he had the support of the city and local business community. U.S. Bank on Pine Street volunteered its parking lot for the trucks, the city granted a permit, and the St Isidore Historic Plaza provided a seating area. This week’s participating trucks will be Cajun on Wheels, Fresh Fries LA, the Flip Truck, Rancho A Go Go, Swinging Kitchen, Twist Burgers, Oh for Sweet’s Sake, and My Tornado Potato.

Find out what's happening in Los Alamitos-Seal Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Los Alamitos City Manager Jeff Stewart. “I think we’re going to try to make it a weekly event.”

If the event is a hit, Pili and community leaders hope to turn it into a street fair or farmers’ market by closing off Pine Street and inviting vendors and community groups to participate.

“This inaugural event is just to get a feel for it, to see what we can do,” said Pili.

For Pili, who doesn’t profit from the event, it’s all about yummy food and good company.

He got the idea for the foodie fair while at work.

“A lot of my customers come in every day. They see each other, they talk for five or ten minutes, but they always have to go,” he said. “So I just put this together so people can have somewhere to go in the heart of the city and have a good time together.”

Tonight’s event is at the US Bank parking lot at 10942 Pine St. from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here