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Chicago Tribune
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Food Truck Festival draws summertime crowd to downtown Aurora
Diamond Black of Oak Park works in Aurora and enjoys supporting the local food truck festival that has been held downtown for a number of years. On Friday, she was happy to see the popular option back for a second time this year. 'I came to the one they had here in May and it's great to see this back just two months later,' Black said. 'This gives people the chance to explore cuisines they might not have in their area. I don't know a lot of places where I can get a walking taco by my house. This is probably the tamest thing you can find here. Some of the things are really out there.' Thousands of Aurora residents and those from surrounding communities enjoyed more than 30 food-on-the-go options Friday as the city of Aurora's Special Events Division offered its first-ever summer Food Truck Festival, which kicked off at 5 p.m. on Benton Street between River and Broadway. The summer event joined the longstanding spring Food Truck Festival held a couple of months ago during the first week in May, and the fall Food Truck Festival to be held in September. The autumn version was held for the first time last year. Visitors to the festival on Friday could visit a plethora of food trucks featuring burgers, barbecue, Italian street food, tacos, pizza and grilled cheese as well as pastries, frozen drinks, ice cream and more. Yanath Falcon of Aurora was on hand operating the popular Holy Pierogi food truck and said she 'likes being part of the food culture here.' 'We have been doing this since the city started having food trucks and we like they invite us and keep things going,' Falcon said. 'On a good night we'll sell over 500 pierogis.' Christina DiCristofano, coordinator for this year's fest in May and again in July, spoke before the event and promised it would be 'just as big and with as many food trucks as we had the first time.' 'We have a lot of the same vendors back and a few new things we've thrown in to keep things fresh and updated,' she said. Jon Zaghloul, communications manager for the city of Aurora, said adding a summer food truck event 'is a testament to the culture and support of the city.' 'The spring food truck festival we've had and the fall truck festival I would argue are some of the most popular food truck festivals in the western suburbs,' he said. 'Adding one here for the summer is a reflection truly of the demand of residents. People love these food truck fests. They're well attended all the time. It's just a great opportunity for people to come together and sample a delicious and diverse array of cuisine.' Zaghloul added that the popular food truck fests continue to act as a magnet drawing people to Aurora from as far away as the city of Chicago and beyond. 'I would say a lot of people who come to these fests are from surrounding areas and I have met others that came from the city of Chicago because they hear about the food trucks and find it enticing with 30 different ones lining up in downtown,' he said. 'A lot of them are very popular food trucks that people in the city know about, and they come here. Food brings everybody together.' Looking ahead, Zaghloul said it would not be impossible to imagine making a food truck festival a monthly thing through the spring and summer months in Aurora. 'Assuming this continues to be successful and we have enough resources on hand I don't see why this would not expand in the future if the demand continues to be there,' he said. Paula Zimmerman of Aurora said she likes that the city is expanding the number of food truck events. 'I like that you can try a lot of different things and it's easy and it's fast,' she said. Bob Matteson said he has come at least twice before to the local food truck fest. 'I live close by and it's good food and Holy Pierogi is well-known in the Aurora area amongst the food truck set,' he said. 'I think the food truck culture grows because there are places that have a huge following.'
Chicago Tribune
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Variety on the menu as 36 food trucks take part in downtown Aurora festival
Aurora resident Cory Whitehead admits he's never one to miss a food truck festival in the city. 'I know they've had these for well over a decade and I've come to every one of them,' Whitehead said as he waited in line Friday evening for a lobster roll during the spring Food Truck Festival in downtown Aurora. 'You kind of learn to come early if you want certain things, like this lobster truck. It's unique. I'll probably hit a few tastes of things and a dessert. We'll meet friends and just get together.' The city's Special Events Division offered the festival, which kicked off at 5 p.m. on Benton Street between River Street and Broadway. For the next four hours, visitors could check out three dozen food trucks including longtime favorites as well as some new entries. Christina DiCristofano, coordinator for this year's fest, said the city would offer another food truck event in the fall. 'We see this as something to bring the community together as well as a way to support local businesses,' DiCristofano said. The fall food truck fest last year boasted just over two dozen trucks, making this spring's event considerably bigger. Clayton Muhammad, chief communications and equity officer for the city of Aurora, said the festival gets people in the mood for the warmer months ahead. 'We're excited,' he said. 'It's one of the first official forays into the summer season for us. Even though we're a month out, it builds that summer vibe downtown with milder weather, food and music. This is the first year the city of Aurora has taken over this spring festival and it's bolder, bigger than ever. Vendors coming from all over-Chicagoland not only showcases our cuisines in the Aurora area, but our culture as well with so many ethnic eateries and food vendors. You get a taste of the world.' Muhammad said 'the diversity of food you can get in a condensed space at a good price' keeps people coming back to the city's food truck festivals. 'It's like the popularity of Taste of Chicago every year as opposed to going to a restaurant, burning gas, waiting for a waiter to come – this is a quick, family-friendly, easy way to sample a lot of food at great prices,' he said. Visitors like Whitehead arrived early in order to minimize the wait time at some of their favorites as a welcome blast of sunshine greeted other early arrivers like Brandi Harris and her husband Roy Harris of Aurora. 'I've come multiple times and I think we're going to get some chicken and we'll probably try some barbecue from somewhere and maybe get some ice cream,' Brandi Harris said . 'We try to support the same people we like but also try something new.' Roy Harris said last year he enjoyed the pizza and, like Whitehead, was planning on having a lobster roll. 'Most years we hit about five places,' he said of the fest. Mary Grace Wolf of Aurora brought her daughter Emerson, 7, to the bash on Friday evening. 'My daughter is really excited for french fries. We like the tamales and the nachos and the Holy Pierogis – that's a highlight,' she said. 'We definitely have our favorites. I like these festivals because of the variety and love coming to downtown Aurora and getting out of the house.'
