"My wife and I thought the idea up about a month ago," said Tom Broadwell, the big dog at Papa Tom's Gateway Dog House. "The idea was that Food Truck Friday was a wonderful success, and there's no reason we can't do something of our own like that."
Broadwell, inspired by Sauce Magazine's successful monthly round-up of food trucks in Tower Grove Park, approached the St. Louis Food Truck Association, and soon a formidable collection of area food trucks had agreed to park on the Crestwood Court parking lot for a special event this Saturday.
ArtFeast will feature Papa Tom's Gateway Dog House, Sicily Streat (formerly Mangia Mobile), Shell's Coastal Cuisine, Cha Cha Chow, Sarah's Cake Stop, Wanderlust Pizza, The Sweet Divine, Speedway Eatery, Seoul Taco, the Sausage Syndicate, and the brand new Zia's truck, all vending from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. or so.
The food trucks will surround and complement an array of art-related activities to promote the former shopping mall that's become an arts mecca. Look for a stiltwalker, kids' activities, sidewalk sales, art displays and demos, booths, a pumpkin-carving area, performances, etc., outside and within the mall space.
ArtFeast is a testing of the waters, said Broadwell. Before the next big change comes to the Crestwood mall -- be it sale, demolition, or whatever fate has in store for the huge parcel of land -- Broadwell, his vintage red pickup truck towing a hot-dog concession, and all his other food-truck buddies intend to return to the spot for similar group events in the near future, he said.
"People will go out in the winter for things like Christmas shopping," he said, "so we'll see if something like food trucks can continue to draw people out during the winter, too. We're definitely hoping to return for Thanksgiving and Christmas events. We [food-truck operators] have to continue to introduce ourselves to new communities, so the hope is that we'll do this as often as possible, just as long as we don't saturate any particular market."
Broadwell thinks an art-and-food festival is a good marriage, too.
"There are a lot of similarities between food and art," he said. "It's all about creativity."
(Editor's Note: Check out Kerman's 4-page spread on food trucks ,"The St. Louis Food Truck Guide," in the current issue of St. Louis Magazine, or click here.)
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ArtFeast
11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 22
Crestwood Court ArtSpace
Watson at South Sappington roads
crestwoodcourt.com
314-962-2395
