Weekend food trucks have returned to West Campus, with a first appearance by Humble Pig this past Sunday.
After finalizing logistics and negotiating with Parking and Transportation Services, many of Duke’s favorite food trucks will now be available on rotating Sundays beginning at 1 p.m. Complications with parking and Duke Police prevented the food trucks from having weekend hours earlier in the semester.
“We wanted them from day one,” said Brian Taylor, a junior and co-chair of the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee. “It was just working out the logistics and getting approval.”
Due to additional construction and the lack of parking spots, the hours have shifted from last year when food trucks were on campus for brunch on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Taylor said.
“We’re going to run the few vendors this semester and then see the numbers,” Taylor said. “If they’re not performing well or if there’s no demand, then we won’t continue. But if there is a demand, then we’ll definitely bring them back.”
DUSDAC is open to further expanding the weekend hours if there is a high demand, Taylor said.
“We would love to add hours and also have them there for Sunday brunch,” he said. “We’ll keep talking to see if we can make it work.”
As of now, however, there are no plans to introduce new food trucks into the rotation, said Robert Coffey, director of dining services.
Last year, Duke Dining experimented with having food trucks on Telecom Drive during lunch hours, but the options were cut following low interest and fire hazards.
The first food trucks were added to the Merchants-on-Points program in 2011, and have significantly increased in options since. With the closure of the West Union and several campus eateries, an increasing number of students have turned to food trucks.
Monday through Thursday, there are three food trucks on campus for dinner hours, with two near the West Campus bus stop and one in the Wannamaker Fire Lane.
The current rotation of food trucks includes Humble Pig, Captain Ponchos and Deli-licious. Coffey wrote in an email Monday that the new hours will officially be added to the schedule if all goes well.
“Humble Pig had a very good day so we are off to a great start,” Coffey wrote.
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