Pensacola's food truck scene has exploded in the past decade. It wasn't an easy fight.

It's no secret. Pensacola has come into its own as a "foodie" town.

But it’s not just the brick-and-mortars that are making this small Southern coastal city’s food scene so diverse. Dozens of local food trucks are regularly stationed outside the city’s wide variety of breweries, in open fields and packed into open-air food courts.

From El Salvadoran delicacies to traditional burger and pizza fare, the diversity of Pensacola’s food trucks span the globe. Just under 50 food trucks were registered with the Florida Department of Business and Regulation in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties 10 years ago. Now, that number has climbed to over 280.

Summer food truck bracket: Nominate your favorite food truck for the PNJ summer fun food truck bracket

And while the downtown Pensacola is now a prime destination for food trucks, only a decade ago they were mired in the opposition. So how did we get here?

Food trucks were Pensacola’s biggest food fight

While the idea of street food vending is nothing new, things really got rolling in the Pensacola circa 2013-2014.

It wasn’t quite the Wild West, but there weren’t many rules either. Tensions were high between traditional restaurant owners and food truck operators, particularly along Palafox Street where business owners were just starting to see the dividends of investing in Pensacola’s long-dormant downtown.

When Nick Zangari, owner of Badlands Roadside Bar, first opened his previous venture ? the “rock-n-jock-n-pub-grub" New York Nick’s ? 20-something years ago, many didn’t think he would survive. At the time, Palafox Street was dead when it came to commercial and foot traffic.

“I remember they made bets against us we would be gone in six months,” Zangari said. "Some came, some went. Some lasted, some didn't."

For businesses that had propped up downtown during the lean times, the idea that a food truck could park in front of their storefront and soak up their hard-won customers didn’t sit well. Since there were no clear guidelines or restrictions in place, food trucks were technically free to "do business in front of my front door," Zangari said.

Downtown restauranteurs feared customers would eat at the food truck outside, then step inside restaurants just to take advantage of restrooms and air conditioning.

To help alleviate some concerns, Pensacola’s Planning Board recommended in 2015 that food trucks be restricted from within 200 feet of any restaurants in the city. But this wasn’t entirely well-received.

Robert Frommer, an attorney with the Arlington, Virginia-based Institute for Justice, considered the idea of hindering smaller businesses from competing with brick-and-mortars to be potentially illegal.

"The government can't keep you from making an honest living just to protect your competitors," Frommer told the News Journal in a 2015 interview. "The government shouldn't be in the business of protecting restaurants from food trucks."

"I think the citizens want food trucks."

Many entrepreneurs wouldn’t venture within city limits, playing it safe by operating in county-governed areas or at special city events through a permitting process.

Randy Russell, who launched Nomadic Eats food truck in 2015, found himself straddling the Pensacola city limits line near Pensacola State College, hoping the city would craft ordinances giving him the green light to move in. He ultimately saw success by setting outside of restaurant and bar The Vault on Alcaniz Street, where owner Sam Miller doubted the food truck’s presence would hinder the restaurant's success.

“Not one cocktail is getting sold out of that food truck,” Miller said in a 2016 interview with the News Journal.

Operating on private property became the preferred way of doing business for entrepreneurs like Tacos Mexicanos founder Gabriel Hernandez, who managed to stay under the radar when he opened his traditional Mexican food trailer at East Hill’s 12th Avenue. Because he was given the blessing of Wild Lemon, an East Hill Pilates studio that agreed to rent a portion of its parking to Hernandez, he had free rein to build up his following.

By the time he got there in 2016, the community was already receptive to food trucks.

His second location would become one of the first food trucks in the city to establish a partnership with a local brewery, which he landed with Perfect Plain Brewing Co.’s founder and eventual mayor, D.C. Reeves.

“Everything was kind of growing at the same time,” Hernandez said.

While the City Council was continuing to grapple with the idea of a food truck/restaurant buffer zone, the city launched a pilot program allowing food trucks in the heart of downtown for six months. It required a $500 fee to provide parity with the $500 fee downtown restaurants pay annually to have outdoor seating on city sidewalks. Not a single food truck participated.

In 2016, the Pensacola City Council voted in favor of a first reading of an ordinance for food trucks to operate within city limits. Only a month later, those dreams would die when the ordinance failed by a single vote. The ordinance had been sponsored by then-councilman Larry Johnson, who had harsh words for the council after it failed.

“Tonight, government stepped up and told entrepreneurs that they are not welcome in Pensacola,” Johnson said.

Then-Mayor Ashton Hayward extended an olive branch by permitting food trucks to set up outside of Pensacola’s City Hall. Johnson did the same, inviting them out to serve outside of his bar, the Azalea Cocktail Lounge.

The City Hall food truck tradition continues today and serves as an incubator for entrepreneurs.

"I think the citizens want food trucks," Hayward said at the time. "Progressive, smart cities have food trucks and we want to support local businesses and entrepreneurs that are willing to take a risk."

Vote of confidence in food trucks

The impact of the invite gave food truck owners the confidence they were seeking to get started.

“You can’t really tell the story of that without (Hayward) and his action,” Hernandez said.

While the City Council has come close to passing other food truck regulations, few have ever passed.

In 2021, the city created a rule that food trucks could not sell “merchandise” in the city's public parking, a reaction to food vendors cooking on an open flame in the streets near Seville Quarter. The professional food trucks were the first to be targeted and they were kicked out from their locations in city parking spaces.

After uproar from food truck owners, the Pensacola City Council quickly passed a new ordinance to allow for food trucks to park on city streets, aside from a 15-block area in central downtown in the heart of the food and beverage district. The ordinance remains intact today.

Are food truck courts Pensacola's future?

Now that food trucks are here to stay, Pensacola’s next focus is creating the infrastructure to support them.

After being elected mayor in 2022, Reeves set out to establish clear rules for food truck businesses in Pensacola.

Since food trucks can be set up for a fraction of the price of opening a restaurant, Reeves said they become the incubators for building a culinary scene. This means on the city’s end, they must be intentional about giving the trucks opportunities to be successful.

“That dream (of opening a brick-and-mortar) is so risky and expensive, especially when you haven’t been a proven concept,” Reeves said.

In July, the city council passed a new ordinance that allows for businesses to operate as food truck courts with up to six food trucks as long as they have permanent restroom facilities, seats and tables, and connections to water and sewer systems.

“We are a supportive city to see our culinary scene grow in every aspect,” Reeves said. “I think we truly have an organic food truck community here.”

Zangari, now owner of Badlands Roadside Bar on Palafox, will tell you a decade after the fight began that there is a future for food trucks ? but it still isn’t on Palafox Street due to how dense in competition the dining scene downtown has become.

While Palafox is saturated, Zangari said he would love to see a food truck park with 10 to 20 trucks downtown, perhaps near Maritime Park, that would help make Pensacola a destination city.

“A food truck court downtown would be awesome,” Zangari said.

Opening a food truck is now easier, staying open is still tricky

Now that food trucks have more options in where they are able to set up shop, competition has grown increasingly fierce, and it requires more to set yourself apart.

Sean DeSmet, owner of 3D Eats and Tea, remembers the days when having a food truck was enough to turn someone’s head. Now, your pricing has to be right. You must know every trick of the trade to keep your truck up and running versus surrendering all of your profit to a mechanic.

Maintaining a fan base can also be difficult as social media users and self-proclaimed food critics can be relentless when it comes to leaving damning Yelp reviews.

You have to anticipate where the people are going to be, and be there to serve them, DeSmet said.

DeSmet remembers when business was slow during the pandemic, he installed speakers like an ice cream truck, projecting music as he roamed through busy residential neighborhoods.

“You can go to where the people are, you don’t have to wait for them to come to you,” DeSmet said. “To make a full-time gig of it, you have to be on the move.”

And whether you're cooking in a restaurant or on wheels, the workload of a successful business is demanding.

Russell believed at the beginning of his career that working 70-hour work weeks was normal. He ultimately made the decision to only offer tacos on weekends, a decision that lost him customers but also shaved about 15 hours off his workload.

“It was so much work for so little money,” Russell said.

Adding to the financial woes, rising costs are another issue.

“Everything is so much more now: food, labor, the economics. It’s way more difficult for a food truck to survive,” Russell said.

You have to have a small, tight-knit group of employees, according to Russell, who has maintained about six employees for the food truck’s entire duration. You have to learn everything you can - becoming a plumber, electrician and expert marketer.

But still, it’s worth it when he hears a customer say that his collard greens are better than their mother’s.

DeSmet echoed the same feeling.

“I just love to make people happy,” DeSmet said. “That first sip of tea or lemonade, that first bite of fries that are crispy and seasoned.”

Reeves said while the city can continue to work on providing opportunities for food truck owners, the entrepreneurs will ultimately determine the direction of food trucks in the Pensacola area.

“I think our job at the city is to foster the opportunities to be successful,” Reeves said. “They will lead where we will go. We, as a city, don’t want to get in anyone’s way. There has been a lot of progress made in the past 10 years.”

Nominate your favorite food truck for the PNJ summer fun food truck bracket

March Madness might be behind us, but our love of food and a little friendly competition certainly isn’t. That’s why we’re introducing a new summer fun bracket centered around our readers’ favorite food trucks.

Below, you’ll find a form where you can nominate your favorite food truck to be part of the bracket. Don’t have one? Tell us which truck you’re most excited to check out this summer. Nominations will be accepted until July 2.

Having trouble seeing the poll? Click here.

Nominate your favorite food truck

Escambia County has more than 280 food trucks and lots of competition for your loyalty. Nominate you favorite to be included in the PNJ's food truck bracket. Nominations will be accepted until July 2.

Use this QR code to participate or go to this story on pnj.com.

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This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola food trucks, food trucks courts, grow in number popularity