Food truck surge as applications triple through coronavirus pandemic

Brisbane suburbs are leading a renaissance of the food truck, with applications from hopeful vendors tripling and putting Brisbane on track to overtake street food capitals like New York or Prague.

Brisbane’s diverse pop-up food vendors could be on track to overtake street food meccas like New York or Prague, with the COVID-19 pandemic putting the industry into top gear.

New data from Brisbane City Council has shown food truck applications between January and October this year have tripled to 64, of which 46 are new.

The figure is a massive surge on the 20 food truck submissions made over the same period of 2019.

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It comes as residents look for more relaxed places to eat and drink amid COVID-19 restrictions which limit crowd numbers in indoor dining venues and force patrons into cumbersome sign-in routines.

Lankan Streetz co-owners Sandunie Witharana and Kush Hewavitharana founded their business in July amid “overwhelming demand”, and said Brisbane was fast embracing the phenomenon as it became more cosmopolitan.

Kush Hewavitharana with Sandy Witharana and their Famous Grilled kottu roti and fun falooda. Picture: Steve Pohlner

“I think people see us as an opportunity to go out and get something fun,” Mr Hewavitharana said.

“Because of that demand, we are now exploring the outer suburbs as well,” he said.

Their food truck, which specialises in Sri Lankan street food and sets up most frequently in the Botanic Gardens, has been a big change of pace for the former commercial banker.

“My passion is … introducing this kind of food into the Australian market,” Mr Hewavitharana said.

He said the pandemic, when Brisbane City Council waived business fees and residents rediscovered the city’s vast parks, offered a perfect opportunity to establish a mobile food business.

“We found that a lot more people were enjoying the parks … where they can go for a run, go for a walk,” Mr Hewavitharana said.

“That’s when they venture out to a food truck.”

Councillor Kim Marx said food trucks helped activate Brisbane’s streets.

“(During the pandemic) has actually been the best time for this kind of business, just purely because of incentives from the government,” he said.

Council’s city standards, community, health and safety committee chair Kim Marx said the surge in applications had “activated our city”.

“Our food trucks are an important part of our community and bring so much vibrance and diversity to our city and we will continue to support these operators,” Cr Marx said.

David Mason, who has operated Kraut N’ About for five years and recently opened Alpine Dessert Haus, said the early days of the pandemic were hard but was expecting a surge next year.

“We were down 97 per cent during the first wave,” Mr Mason said.

“I think we’re going to get super busy into next year,” he said.

Mr Mason said he was forced to reorientate his business after wedding bookings crashed during the pandemic.

“We really concentrate on the weddings and events, but we have done some (suburban events).”

“Food vans diversified and went on the street more.”