Food trucks, vendors ready to go for Perry’s Friday night Grub Crawl

Perry is holding its first Grub Crawl, featuring more than a dozen food trucks and vendors spread out among various parks and public places throughout the city Friday.

The event grew out of the popular Food Truck Friday events held periodically from April through September in downtown Perry that have ceased indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Anya Turpin, the city’s special events manager.

By spacing the food trucks out across town, participants can safely practice social distancing outside while enjoying all sorts of food options, Turpin said. Masks are strongly encouraged, but not required, she said.

“We’re just going to try and see how it goes,” Turpin said. “We don’t know which locations are going to be more popular than others and which ones might present problems that we’re not seeing.

“But hopefully, it will go well, and if it does, it’s something that we can do more than once so we can keep doing this until we are able to have those mass gatherings of ... people downtown in the same area again,” she said.

The city typically marks off its downtown area for pedestrian traffic only for a Food Truck Friday event.

Grub Crawl info

The Grub Crawl is 4 to 8:30 p.m.

Locations include Perry City Hall, Houston County Public Library Perry Branch, Perry Arts Center, Rozar Park, Davis Farms Fire Station, Barbara Calhoun Park, Legacy Park, Rotary Centennial Park, Creekwood Park and Splashpad and the Perry Welcome Center.

What would have made an additional food truck site for the Grub Crawl — A.D. Redmond Park on James Street —was flooded Thursday when the remnants of what was once Hurricane Sally swamped the area. While the water has receded, the ground is too saturated for vehicles to park there, Turpin said.

Click here for an interactive map of vendors and locations.

The new event also gives the city a chance to show off its parks and other public spaces, Turpin said.

“This is specifically a COVID-19 adaptation of our Food Truck Food Friday event,” Turpin said. “Now if the public enjoys it and it’s a success, and the city likes the way that it went, then in the back of my mind, I don’t see the reason why we couldn’t do it again in the normal year.

“Because our Food Truck Friday season only runs certain months out of the year, and because this one doesn’t put as much pressure on our staff; we don’t have to shut down roads, it could become a Food Truck Friday addition,” she said.

Downtown restaurants are also participating in the Grub Crawl by hosting live music or featuring specialty items on the menu, Turpin said. Most restaurants offer both inside and outdoor seating, she said.

“Our ice cream truck downtown, they’re doing something called the creepy caller sundae. It’s got like cute little gummy worms and fun stuff in it,” Turpin said. “One of our coffee shops is actually changing their entire menu for the night.

“They’re actually going to be offering Mexican street tacos and street food and have like a flower truck on site. So, they’re really trying to get creative,” she said.

Downtown restaurants participating include Bodega Brew, Clover Wine Merchant, Hazard’s On The Green, Morning By Morning Coffee Company, Schultze’s Old Fashioned Soda Shop, The Casserole Shop, and The Swanson.

“The Swanson is going to have a bar in the lawn where people can come and enjoy the restaurant district where you can have open-container within the downtown area,” Turpin said.