Keep On Truckin’

Get in Line with Fresno Street Eats

What started as a collaborative effort with other organizations to launch large monthly events in the Fresno area morphed into more of a local popup shop, hosting 15 to 20 events a week. “COVID changed how we do everything,” says Fresno Street Eats founder Mike Osegueda. “I look at it as a Fresno
Street Eats 1.0 that began in 2019 and then a 2.0 version starting in 2020.” Before the pandemic, Fresno Street Eats was doing one or two large scale events a month with 2,000 to 3,000 people. Today, they’re doing smaller neighborhood type events 15 to 20 times a week.

“I THOUGHT OF THOSE I WAS WORKING WITH WHOSE LIVELIHOOD WAS IN THEIR FOOD TRUCK AND I KNEW WE NEEDED TO HELP THEM. WE WERE JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE THEY HAD PLACES TO GO AND STAY OPEN.”

Though Osegueda was never looking to do smaller events, he rerouted when he saw the way COVID was affecting local food truck owners. “I thought of those I was working with whose livelihood was in their food truck and I knew we needed to help them,” he says. “We were just trying to make sure they had places to go and stay open.” After two years, the idea remains the same, making sure food trucks have places to go. Fresno Street Eats, a team of nearly 10 people, watched as they strategically positioned food trucks in places where people live and work, and saw that it was helping the community in multiple ways. “The food trucks are really well accepted by families, communities and businesses. People are reaching out asking if they can come to their area.”

While the trucks are constantly changing locations, Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Co. is a big partner with Fresno Street Eats, offering a weekly spot at their brewery. Another consistent location is the Sierra Vista Mall. Up to 15 trucks can be found any given Saturday at Sierra Vista Mall for a family friendly event with games, music, vendors and a lot of good food.

“I’LL REMEMBER A NIGHT THAT ONE OF MY FOOD TRUCKS HIT THEIR FIRST $1,000 IN SALES AND HEARING THEM CELEBRATE, MUCH MORE THAN I’LL REMEMBER AN EVENT WITH 15,000 PEOPLE.”

In addition to the reoccurring pop-ups and breweries, the food trucks are going places no other food trucks have gone before, bringing trucks to people where there aren’t many options. “The goal is to spread out around town,” Osegueda says. “We currently have four or five different lunch locations daily.”

On March 26, Fresno Street Eats is joining Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Co. for the annual FresYes Fest 2022. Known as the biggest block party in downtown Fresno and expected to be bigger and better than ever, the festival will take over Fulton Street with food trucks, vendors, pop-up venues and live music.

Organizational wins are where Osegueda finds success. It’s not about numbers of eventgoers. “I’m really proud of this past year’s Taco Truck Throwdown,” he says. “We came back really strong after the pandemic and got the event back to where it was pre-pandemic.” The events he remembers most, however, are when the food trucks find success. “I’ll remember a night that one of my food trucks hit their first $1,000 in sales and hearing them celebrate, much more than I’ll remember an event with 15,000 people.”

In many ways, COVID changed the way the world gathers. Large events are becoming part of society again, but easy, accessible, outdoor options are still the preference of many. Fresno Street Eats does many catering events, which (no pun intended) caters to those looking to make people comfortable, while still offering amazing food. Last winter, the food trucks catered an Amazon Christmas party with 12 food trucks onsite offering people their choice of cuisine. A new way of gathering might take more navigating, but it also equals more (better) options for the customer.

To find where Fresno Street Eats is located each day, follow their Instagram page.