Food Truck Fridays kicks off in Lincolnshire

It was overcast and unseasonably cold, but Lincolnshire resident Richard Pegg wasn't about to miss the first Food Truck Fridays gathering of the 2019 season.

"I've done it every summer since it started," Pegg said as he enjoyed chicken skewers from a truck called Grill Chasers. "It's a running joke in my family. It's on the calendar."

Six mobile kitchens set up in a parking lot at the Lincolnshire Corporate Center, 300 Knightsbridge Parkway, on Friday for the much-anticipated event. They'll converge again every other Friday through August.

Sponsored by the village, Food Truck Fridays began in 2013 as a one-day event during the annual Taste of Lincolnshire celebration. It expanded to a larger schedule and moved to the corporate center in 2015.

Regulars, such as Grill Chasers, Happy Lobster Truck and Toasty Cheese, returned Friday. Newcomers included Culinary Gangster and Killer Zombie Dogz. Some vendors haven't yet been announced.

"We try to keep it interesting and have an element of surprise," said Tonya Zozulya, the village's planning and development manager.

Van Vlissingen & Co., the Lincolnshire company that owns and manages properties in the corporate center, provides the space at no cost to the village.

Tanner McKerlie, a retirement consultant at nearby Aon, purchased a hamburger and sriracha cheese fries from Culinary Gangster.

"It's a good opportunity to get everybody out of the office, go for a walk, get some good food and just hang out," he said.

The series is expanding this year to include entertainment offerings.

A vintage car display is scheduled for May 31, courtesy of a Lincolnshire business called the Black Dog Speed Shop. Music from Northbrook's Bach to Rock music school is set for June 14, and a Pilates demonstration from Lincolnshire's Move Studio is planned for June 28. A musician named Cole Brandt will perform July 26.

Admission is free. Some seating and tables are available, but many people bring their own blankets or chairs.