GRAY, La. (AP) — There’s a new food truck park in town.
985 Eats Food Truck Park is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays at 302 Trinity Lane in Gray, off La. 24 northbound near U.S. 90. It’s not far from the UPS building and the Terrebonne Animal Shelter.
Park founders Judith and Mike Lewis, also of Big Mike’s BBQ restaurants in Houma and Thibodaux, said it’s something they’ve been talking about for some time.
Judith Lewis said they wanted to give the community and young entrepreneurs an opportunity to test the food business while not having a lot of overhead. And the location in Gray provides another place to eat for people working at nearby businesses.
“We’re known for our cuisine here in Louisiana, and it’s a shame that there’s not a lot of outlets for people who have the passion and love for food to be able to express their creativity and want to work and provide for themselves,” she said.
Lewis hopes residents will be receptive to the variety that the food truck park can bring.
“We want to bring more of this in. The community wants more of this type of business. It’s fresh, it’s new. It’s innovative,” Lewis said. “We definitely want people to be excited about it.”
The park is under a soft opening, with more vendors expected to join soon. Two trucks sell their wares at the park now: Body by Thomas and Jones Specialty Foods.
Body by Thomas owner Thomas Nguyen said his goal is to spread the news about eating healthy. His popular items include grilled shrimp, veggies and jasmine rice, as well as Vietnamese eggrolls.
“Health is wealth,” Nguyen said. “And I want to make it easy and accessible for people.”
Jones Specialty Foods owner Stephen “Mike” Jones Sr. said he was first cooking out of his home during the pandemic and the food truck came around in June. His first big event was serving more than 600 plates of jambalaya covered by donations after Hurricane Ida.
During winter break, his son has helped him out at the truck as well.
“It feels great to see someone walk away from the window with their food, get a good review and have repeat customers,” Jones said.
His offerings include pulled pork, cheese-cover “loaded” fries, fried chicken, red beans and rice and more. Everything is made fresh.
“It’s been an awesome journey,” Jones said. “I get to see people eating together and talk with people.”
Visit 985 Eats Food Truck Park, Jones Specialty Foods and Body by Thomas on their Facebook pages.