Food truck gathering returns

Event organizer Kathryn Walsh is rising to the pandemic-sized hurdle put in the way of her summer plans.

SANTA CRUZ >> Event organizer Kathryn Walsh is rising to the pandemic-sized hurdle put in the way of her summer plans.

Walsh, behind Brothers Promotions, will continue her monthly Food Truck Summer Series this year by relocating from the Pacific Avenue, where parts of the thoroughfare already have been co-opted by existing businesses in need of safe-distance expansion space. Instead, the events will pop up on the Westside, in a parking lot at Lighthouse Point.

“I think the location is ideal because people can come, they can get their food, they can look at everything that Santa Cruz has to offer,” Walsh said. “So, they can be eating and watching surf, if that’s what they like to do.”

Walsh said she had been on the brink of relaunching the food truck event when the coronavirus shelter-in-place order went into effect. She spent the next months doggedly asking the city when it was time to reemerge, Walsh said. Once given the green to host three events with five food trucks, musical performances and ice cream — all by locals — the next step was to come up with a plan to keep people complying with social distancing standards, she said.

“There’s going to to be hand sanitizer, I’m going to have masks on hand for people, there’s going to be signs everywhere,” Walsh said.

While the West Cliff Food Truck Summer Series does require a “public major special event” permit from Santa Cruz, city Special Events Coordinator Tracey Weiss was careful to underscore that the city is not reopening its doors to large public gatherings. In fact, Weiss said, special events remain indefinitely on hiatus, pending the go-ahead from the Santa Cruz

County Public Health Officer and guidance offered by California’s Road to Recovery plan.

“The West Cliff Food Truck Series is an outdoor dining opportunity utilizing City of Santa Cruz property to provide families another avenue to pick up food from local vendors in a beautiful environment,” Weiss said. “The series meets industry guidelines for outdoor dining and restaurants. Any permits being considered at this time are being vetted against California’s industry guidelines with a focus first on safety, and then on

promoting local vendors and economic recovery.”

Walsh said though there will be limited seating, if too many people gather or if attendees linger too long, she is prepared to gently urge people to move along as needed. However, she said, “we’ve all got this distant thing down now.”

“It’s a chance for people to connect in a safe and healthy way,” Walsh said. “It’s like, during the shutdown, people were having, some of the streets were doing happy hour on Friday nights. So, just getting a chance to see people. That’s what so many people miss.”