Atlanta food trucks bring thousands to Centreplex

For a few hours Saturday, Macon had a vibrant food truck scene and thousands took advantage of it.

More than a dozen of Atlanta's top food trucks were set up in the Macon Coliseum parking lot for the first of what the organizer says will be an annual event.

Jim Shumake, who has operated a food truck in Atlanta, said he put the event together because he wanted to give communities outside of Atlanta a chance to try some of the food trucks there. The first stop was in Athens and that drew 4,700 people. Macon is the second event, and 4,000 had stated their intention to go on Facebook. Because people don't tend to go alone, Shumake said vendors brought enough food Saturday for 8,000, which is about the number he said near the end of the day had shown up.

Sam and Jessica Kang of Macon were among the first customers there. They shared teriyaki chicken Asian nachos from a Japanese food truck that they both enjoyed. They were just getting started.

"I'm going to try a little bit of everything, hopefully," Sam said.

Shumake said food trucks have a special lure.

"I think food trucks bring a different avenue for food lovers to experience," he said. "There's nothing like when owners of a food truck really put their heart and soul into the food and the consumer can see that firsthand."

If people had any concerns about food safety, the Macon-Bibb County Health Department was on the scene. Donna Cadwell, environmental county manager, had only one truck left to inspect when she spoke but she said she had found no issues.

Anyone at the event looking for a plain old burger or hotdog appeared to be out of luck. The trucks offered a wide range of cuisines that included Japanese, Philippine, Jamaican and fusion, among others. Many of the owners, Shumake said, are culinary school graduates and most of the trucks are award winners.

Troy and Mia Anglin, owners of One Love Jerk Grill, were among the first trucks to show up. They have been in the business for four years. Their most popular dish is jerk chicken wings, but they also had such items as goat curry that they said is popular.

Troy Anglin, who is from Montego Bay, Jamaica, said Saturday was his first trip to Macon. He said it can be difficult to make money in the food truck business but he enjoys it.

"You come do work in the morning and you do lunch or dinner, or whatever you want to do, and you are done for the rest of the day," he said.

To contact writer Wayne Crenshaw, call 256-9725.

This story was originally published October 17, 2015 at 9:21 PM with the headline "Atlanta food trucks bring thousands to Centreplex ."