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Food truck pilot program unveiled at Sea-Tac Airport cellphone lot

By KIRO 7 News Staff
By KIRO 7 News Staff

SEA-TAC, Wash. — The Port of Seattle, partnering with the Washington State Food Truck Association, unveiled a new three-month pilot food truck program in the cellphone lot at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Monday.

“It’s a great way to take a bite out of your wait and enjoy some great food options you might not be aware of,” said Port of Seattle Commissioner Stephanie Bowman of the twice a day, seven days a week service. “This is another opportunity to grow local, small business activity at the airport and improve the experience for users of the cellphone lot.”

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Officials say the food truck service will not take away from the 180 parking spaces in the cellphone lot, located on S. 170th Street off the Airport Expressway exit between Air Cargo Road and International Blvd.

A rotating schedule will allow the opportunity for a wide variety of vendors, including local establishments such as The Grilled Cheese Experience, Ezell's Express II, Boss Mama's Kitchen, and The People's Burger.

Lori Johnson, the Director of the state food truck association, cited the success of other food truck programs at similar airports as a primary reason for launching the pilot program.  “I don’t see why we can’t build on the successes of other food truck programs at similar airports. Local food trucks offer a unique experience and are most often operated by small business owners passionate about sharing their culinary art with people in their community. Food trucks have really captured the public’s attention, largely due to the quality of their food and to the creativity they bring to their menu. Some of my personal favorites include the BBQ Bomb from the Grilled Cheese Experience, The People’s Jalapeno Burger with its famous truck sauce, the life-changing fried chicken from Ezells Express and the peanut butter burger from Boss Mama’s Kitchen," Johnson said.

Services at the cellphone lot will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. daily. A schedule of vendors can be found at BestFoodTrucks.com

The Port of Seattle will evaluate the success of the pilot program to determine if there is enough demand to expand the program to other areas of the Port in the future.

Here is a list of potential vendors you could see in the cellphone lot per the Port of Seattle:

  • The Grilled Cheese Experience – owner is Mark Amatangelo, a chef from Louisiana, started the "original grilled cheese food truck" in Seattle in 2013.  Amatangelo now has two trucks and opened his first brick and mortar store in May in the South Lake Union neighborhood.
  • Ezells Express II -- owned by Michaya Pollard, a relative of the original Ezell Stephens. Pollard is a native of Seattle and they are known for making "life-changing" fried chicken.
  • Boss Mama's Kitchen -- owned by Jen Gustin who grew up in the Puyallup area and worked for Comcast for over 17 years with the dream of owning her own business. Gestin opened up her food truck just a year ago and is very quickly becoming the best-known food truck in Pierce County.
  • The People's Burger -- Owned by Farshid Varamini. Often found just outside of the Safeco field on game days.
  • Romin Rome - Delfino's authentic Chicago-style pizza, owned by Jay Cascio, who has owned a brick and mortar store for 20 years and believes strongly in supporting our local community by training several U.W. students, partnering with schools and charity organizations, and fielding a baseball team every year.

Cox Media Group

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