Good Morning, Friends
Why I'm All About Food Pods Lately
Good morning, Friends!
I just wanted to give ya’ll a sneaky peeky insider look at why I was so obsessed with “food pods” while Dawn and I were on vacation in Portland, Oregon and Juneau Alaska.
First of all, if you’re unfamiliar with the term food pod, aka food cart pod…
Unlike other cities' mobile food trucks, most Portland carts stay put in groups dubbed “pods,” making it a snap to sample several at a time. You'll also find smaller groups and individual carts scattered around the city. Mar 18, 2021 - travelportland.com
Now, apart from the obvious reasons why I would personally be attracted to groups of food trucks / carts clustered into pods on my travels (foooooood, and lots of it) I have a particular interest in Food Pods right now, because I have been presented with an opportunity to start, curate, and operate one here in Asheville!
Y’see, unknown to me, I have a fan here in town who has been following my writing and recommendations for years, and also happens to own a piece of property just outside of downtown that they felt would be ideal for a food pod. They contacted my good friend Jason Sandford (Ashvegas.com), who put us in touch, and we have been quietly moving forward ever since.
It’s a terrific spot, with heavy traffic and high visibility. There’s room for 5 to 7 trucks / carts, plus tables and seating. There’s a bathroom already on the premisses, and a small building that can be used for a commissary. There’s plenty of parking and it’s just far enough outside of downtown that patrons don’t have to deal with all that jazz. The land is being cleared right now, and applications are being filed with the city.
I have some really fun concepts for this place, based in part on what I saw working in Portland and Juneau, and in part on what I’ve seen NOT working for “food truck lots“ here in Asheville, and partly on my own weird imagination. I’m already recruiting food makers and vendors for the pod, and (of course!) I’m working on some graphics.
I don’t really have much to show or tell you yet, except that the picture below is of the property after having been recently cleared. Maybe some of you can sleuth out where it’s located? 😉
PS - The building in the picture is not the one mentioned above, but is on an adjacent property.
Follow me for more deets about the food pod as they become available!
THE RECOMMEND
I strongly recommend the coffee and vegan muffin at Pollen Coffee and Flowers on South French Broad Ave, located right next to Little Bee Thai, which I think is cute. Little Bee… Pollen… get it? I don’t know if they did that on purpose, but I like it either way!
