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No food truck in Franklin Square posted better sales today than the Fojol Bros. That’s great news for the truck, but it would be even better if there had been some competition.
The lackluster snowstorm that shuttered the local and federal governments also scared most the food trucks away. Just after noon, when the lunch rush typically begins in usually food truck-heavy Franklin Square, the Fojol Brothers food truck was the lone vendor there. (The truck was in its assigned spot, as determined by the new food truck lottery system.)
As of 12:15 p.m., the truck had only served six customers, according to the Fojol Bros. employee I spoke with, who identified himself as the director of operations but, for some reason, wouldn’t give his name. He said he was only working the truck today because most of the other employees didn’t want to come in.
He said he expected to see 30 to 50 customers today, compared to the 130 the truck gets on an average day in that spot. And he was surprised by the complete absence of other vendors.
“I used to live in Russia, this is summer for me,” he said. “I expected at least a few more trucks to be here.”
The only customer out in Franklin Square just after noon said he saw that Fojol Bros. was open by following Food Truck Fiesta, which tracks mobile vendors in real time, on Twitter. “I was betting that there would be no line, and I was correct,” said Larry Cynkin.
According to Food Truck Fiesta, there were a handful of other trucks open for business today: Pars Kabob in L’Enfant Plaza; TaKorean, Red Hook Lobster Pound, and DC Doner in Metro Center; Tin Heaven in Farragut; The Rolling Ficelle in West End; Sang on Wheels at 17th and K; and Crepes Parfait in Friendship Heights.
Photo by Darrow Montgomery.