The food truck boom in Guadalajara shows no sign of slowing down.
This week, Parque Metropolitano Director Manuel Corona announced that the popular Zapopan green space is to set aside 3.5 hectares to house up to 20 food trucks in an area adjacent to Avenida Tchaikovsky that was previously used for sports.
Food truck businesses will be charged between 25,000 and 30,000 pesos a month to rent a 20x50 meter space in the zone, to be known as Metro Park, Corona said.
The leader of the Metropolitano Park’s citizen advocacy group (Comité Pro Defensa del Parque Metropolitano), Hector Fabio Rizo, has rejected the plan, saying the area should revert to its original use, as an (American) football playing field. For many years the field was used for training and games by the local Titanes team.
Although Rizo says food trucks are poorly regulated by local authorities, Zapopan city hall sees the activity as a viable means of increasing income and has been busy issuing permits for several parks across the metro-area municipality.
In September, around 20 trucks were installed at El Camionero Park across from the Andares Mall at the intersection of Paseo de los Virreyes and Empresarios. Here, each truck owner pays 12,000 pesos a month.
Another recently opened park is South Truck Central at Lopez Mateos Sur 9140, just after Plaza El Palomar. The new park has a liquor license, features live music on weekends and hosts 17 businesses.
Food Truck Park Guadalajara, on Niños Heroes at the corner of Chapultepec, was the city’s first park and is considered a pioneer in Latin America. Up to 1,500 customers visit the space on weekends, says Lia Alvarez, the park’s manager. Trucks serve up a variety of culinary offerings, including hamburgers, lonches, sushi, fish and meat tacos, pizzas, sandwiches, seafood, ribs, wings and Indian food.