NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — As more development comes to Nashville, food truck operators are feeling the squeeze; to that end, one group of East Nashvillians have offered a new space for food truckers to operate.

The PickUp Food Truck Park, located on Brick Church Pike next to Peace Love and Paws doggie day care center, held a soft grand opening over the weekend to test the waters of demand.

According to co-founder Laurie Holloway, the space is owned by friends of theirs who wanted to do something for the thriving food truck community in Nashville.

"They're having trouble finding places to park," Holloway told News 2. "Nashville is growing like crazy, development is everywhere."

While many food trucks previously had multiple parking options around town, more development has seen the shrinking of available spaces.

According to Holloway, since one of the co-owners of The PickUp owned the land next to Peace Love and Paws, they decided to use it to their advantage.

"We took that land and cleared it off, put gravel in and thought this would be a good spot," she said.

The PickUp is located right next to the new East Bank Development area, less than 2 miles from Nissan Stadium, and with an anticipated 1,000 housing units planned for the area, Holloway said having the food truck park nearby will offer a place for the soon-to-be residents a place to eat.

Now that the first weekend is under their belt, organizers have a good idea of how to improve and make the space all that it can be.

"Everyone, from vendors to customers, was so kind as we handled the little stuff that pops up at a soft opening," the park said in a social media post following the weekend.

But any issues the park experienced during the first weekend were important, Holloway said, as knowing what needs to improve will only help them provide a better experience for both vendors and customers.

"Any issues or concerns are what we need to learn to make it be perfect," she told News 2.

As vendors were leaving the first couple of days, Holloway said she touched base with how they could improve traffic flow, parking layouts and more.

"We're not food truck park executives; we're just people that live locally, so we're learning from them," Holloway added.

The success of the first weekend is encouraging for Holloway, and she said they already have ideas on how to tune things up.

"We've had a really good response from the food trucks who are just looking for some place to stay," Holloway said.

Going forward, The PickUp will be open weekly Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7p.m. Some things the East Nashville community can look forward to are special holiday- and sports-themed events, as well as cooler weather amenities as the temperature dips later in the year.

Currently, the park is offering free vendor space through September, and their calendar is open for truck spots through October. Food trucks that want to try out the new space are encouraged to contact the park to book their space early to take advantage of rental deals happening now. Interested food truckers can email the park at [email protected].

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/middle-tn-neighborhood-news/the-pickup-food-truck-park-east-nashville/