The delectable aroma in the air at Transfer Beach is from food trucks that are replacing the familiar summer concession stand after the town opted not to open it at least for this year.
Ladysmith’s Chamber of Commerce stepped up to partner with the town in facilitating the food truck offerings, which started Saturday and includes Thunder’s Truck from Chemainus and TayRex from Ladysmith.
Chamber executive director Mark Drysdale said people will be able to relax and enjoy “delicious gourmet street food” while the kids take off to the playground or go for a dip in the water.
“The real benefit is for the people who visit Transfer Beach to have that wide variety of menu options,” he said. “It’s a more exciting way of providing food and snacks and will hopefully augment the service down there to community members and visitors alike.”
As the warmer weather approached, the town found itself with an opportunity to try something new at Transfer Beach as the lease for the concession had expired and a building condition assessment needed to be completed.
Mayor Aaron Stone said the town will look to measure the public’s level of interest before a made a final decision about the future of the concession.
“We’ll try it out for a year and see how it goes and we’ll do the building assessment and see how much money it needs,” he said. “We don’t want to tear it down and say that was a bad idea and have to build a new concession.”
The Chamber previously ran the Farmer’s Market at Transfer Beach and was similarly interested in helping bring food trucks to the popular waterfront destination.
To keep the organization straightforward Thunder’s Truck and Tay Rex will be the regular vendors while others such as Bob’s Ice Cream and VI Minis & Dips are rotated in during the summer.
“Those two trucks are going to be the cornerstones,” Drysdale said, adding that a regular hot dog stand is also likely. “They (the food trucks) have the potential to vary their menu from week to week.”
Tay Rex, well known for the past three years on the outdoor concert and festival scene, was open at the beach from Wednesday to Friday this week serving up Mexican fare including tacos, burritos and nachos to name just a few of the menu options.
Co-owner and chef Peter Verstoep said social media accounts have been buzzing with interest since announcing their regular presence on the local waterfront.
“I think it’s a good thing. It gives people variety and a different quality of food,” he said. “It’s really fast and it’s fresh - each morning we start from scratch.”
Thunder’s Truck will be parked down Transfer Beach this weekend and has everything from curry chicken to fish tacos or even a hand-pattied burger.
A Facebook page is also in the works to keep people informed on day-to-day vendors as well as any specials. The food trucks will be open daily from 11 am to 7 p.m.
Stone said street food is extremely trendy and he’s open to the idea of having a food truck fair to draw people to spend a day exploring the town.
“What we’re trying to do is attract more activity, vibrancy and action to Ladysmith,” he said.