Food trucks from around Southeast roll into town for Food-o-Rama

Food trucks will line up along River Street at Coolidge Park on Saturday when the first Food-o-Rama food truck festival comes to Chattanooga. The event is coordinated by Jim Shumake of Atlanta, who also produced the food truck festival in Atlanta's Grant Park, shown here.
Food trucks will line up along River Street at Coolidge Park on Saturday when the first Food-o-Rama food truck festival comes to Chattanooga. The event is coordinated by Jim Shumake of Atlanta, who also produced the food truck festival in Atlanta's Grant Park, shown here.

If you go

› What: Food-o-Rama› When: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday.› Where: Coolidge Park, 150 River St.› Admission: Wristbands required for ages 10 and older, $5 in advance, $10 at gate; food purchases are additional charge› For tickets: www.freshtix.com/events/food-0-rama-coolidge-park-chattanooga

Participating trucks

* Angelfire 7 BBQ* Bitler Bistro* Cape Piers* Catty Wampus* Deep South Biscuit* Filipino* Holy Crepes* Mac the Cheese* Mix’d Up Burgers* Muenster Cheese* Roti Rolls* Tasting Maine* Tex’s Tacos* The Pup Truck* Tracy’s Tasties* Viet Nomie’s

Want to sink your teeth into an authentic Maine lobster roll without ever leaving town?

Head to Coolidge Park on Saturday, then follow the lighthouse beacon leading to Tasting Maine food truck, one of 16 mobile eateries coming to Chattanooga for the first Food-o-Rama.

The event is a food truck festival that brings top-rated food trucks from around the Southeast to one location, then pairs them with live music, kids area and merchandise from nonfood businesses.

The event was created by Atlanta resident Jim Shumake, a restaurant manager and former food truck owner. He now coordinates nine truck festivals around the country each year and says each draws between 5,000 to 7,000 visitors. This will be his inaugural festival in Chattanooga.

"The premise of Food-o-Rama is to bring food trucks not normally found in a city to expose people to new foods," explains Shumake. "The goal is to revitalize interest in food trucks."

Of the 16 trucks that will be parked along River Street on Saturday, half are from Atlanta. Bitler Bistro food truck, operated by Jason Bitler of Dayton, Tenn., is the only local participant. Visitors to Chattanooga Market on Sunday at First Tennessee Pavilion are already familiar with his locally grown, fresh fare, but Bitler says he sees this event "as a huge opportunity" to increase his customer base.

"We expect to serve a minimum of 300 people," the truck operator says. "We do only fresh ingredients, no sodas; we don't deep-fry foods; instead of potato chips, we have potato salad.

"Saturday, we will have Greek chicken pitas, braised pork tacos, Caprese subs made with Dayton Mountain tomatoes," he says naming some of the meals on his wheels.

Shumake says the operators of Tasting Maine are former residents of Kennebunkport, Maine, that are now living in Atlanta. But they still buy their lobsters in Maine, then ship them south to make lobster mac and cheese or lobster rolls.

"It's an experience," Shumake says. "They have an operational lighthouse on the back of their truck. You are getting Maine from the food to their accents."

Tex's Tacos - which dubs itself the "Antonio Banderas of food trucks because it's nothing short of suave" -was named by Atlanta magazine as one of the eight great new food trucks in the ATL.

Deep South Biscuit makes gourmet biscuit sandwiches. And, if you like cheesecake, truck on over to Tracy's Tasties, where she'll have cheesecake push-pops.

Shumake says Friends of the Festival, which runs Riverbend, has helped book music for Food-o-Rama. There also vendors and activities for children, including a free obstacle course.

A $10 wristband at the gate gets you into the event; food purchases are on top of that. A percentage of the wristband sales will be donated to Second Helpings, a nonprofit that picks up donated leftover food at area restaurants and delivers it to agencies that house clients.

Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.

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