Food trucks roll into Gypsum, with some help from the town | VailDaily.com

News News | Aug 17, 2024

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The intersection of Valley Road and U.S. Highway 6 in Gypsum is usually busy. But there are days when a number of drivers stop at one of the half-dozen food trucks at the intersection.

Itzy Hernandez, owner of Itzy’s Coffee, has worked at the intersection since she was in high school, starting as a barista for Gracie’s Coffee before buying the business and giving it a new name. She said she’s seen a good bit of growth over the past couple of years.

There are 13 food trucks and trailers currently licensed to operate in the town of Gypsum. Here’s where they’re parked:• Valley Road and U.S. Highway 6 (6)• Glider way (2)• Oak Ridge Court (1)• Trail Gulch Road (1)• 100 Cooley Mesa Road (1)• Airpark Drive (1)• Oak Ridge Court (1)

“The more people hear about the options, the more they want to try it out,” Hernandez said. “We’re building community among these businesses here.”

On a recent Monday, Jackie and Thomas Fraser were sitting down with lunch from Tacos y Mariscos El Pariente. Thomas Fraser is a Gypsum firefighter, and is a frequent visitor to the food corner, which now has a half-dozen trucks and trailers.

“I’ve had them all; there’s nothing I wouldn’t order,” he said. And, while there are more and less-busy days, he said “More people are figuring out this exists.”

Rocky Mountain Taco is also a popular truck — trailer, actually — at the intersection.

Rocky Mountain Taco co-owner Dan Purtell said customers had long told him and his partners they’d like to see a downvalley location for the business, but had trouble finding a spot. But the owner of the intersection parcel reached out and a deal was struck.

“It’s across the street from the high school and it looked kind of promising,” Purtell said.

Gypsum’s busiest intersection is the hub for mobile food vendors, but there are others scattered around town.

There’s The Full Belly BBQ near the Interstate 70 interchange. Backcountry Wings and Pork Station have space, including a cornhole setup, near Cowboy Catering’s operation on Glider Way, and Pizza Station’s operation is set up near Eagle River Brewing on Airpark Drive. The Cowboy Kitchen has a truck set up next to AutoZone near Costco.

Some of the proliferation of trucks is due to a little help from the town code.

“Our mindset is it’s a difficult valley to start a business,” Gypsum Town Manager Jeremy Rietmann said. Rietmann, who worked for the Vail Valley Partnership before coming to Gypsum, noted that given the cost of rent, giving younger or small business owners the ability to be nimble — and literally mobile in some cases — can help those owners sift through good and bad ideas.

“It’s a way for people to try out businesses on a small scale, to figure out the market,” Rietmann said.

The way the town code is written, mobile vendors can set up shop in any non-residential area, and leave their rigs parked. That means those vendors can provide a consistent presence.

“You can’t disappoint (customers) too many times or they’ll choose the next place,” Rietmann said.

Another big factor is the fact that Gypsum is changing. It wasn’t too long ago that the town was very much a bedroom community.

“There are a lot more people in town in the day in the last few years,” Rietmann said. Given the expansion of businesses near the Eagle County Regional Airport, there are “way more (people) than you’d expect” in town during the work day,” he added.

More people means more opportunity. More opportunity means entrepreneurs are rolling into town to see if they can take advantage of it.

“It’s got potential,” Purtell said.

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