Ann Arbor food truck series inspires cultural exchange in Old West Side neighborhood

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, residents of Ann Arbor’s Old West Side neighborhood say their community was close-knit, characterized by neighbors laughing with each other on streets and porches. But pandemic lockdowns put a pause on all that. On one hot summer day in 2020, Nadine Hubbs, a Women’s and Gender Studies professor at the University of Michigan, was staying in her house in the Old West Side. All of a sudden, Hubbs heard the sound of mariachi music slipping through her open window, leading her to discover what would become one of historic neighborhood’s new charms: its local food trucks.

“I knew it was mariachi music because I studied Mexican American country music bands,” Hubbs said. “I came down here and I saw the (food) truck. And then my neighbor, John Carson, who is in the (U-M) History Department, was walking by with food. I must have been sitting on my porch and I asked what’s up and they explained to me, and then John gave me the email so that I could join their email group.”

Hubbs had stumbled across one of the trucks in her neighborhood’s “food truck series,” where local vendors whip up different food options in the back of their trucks along Murray Avenue to serve to residents. The event was first organized by Art & Design professor Rebekah Modrak and real estate broker Marygrace Liparoto. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Modrak said she was inspired to start the food truck series after witnessing the challenges so many local food businesses experienced during the pandemic.

“My husband and I used to like going to Ray’s Red Hots,” Modrak said. “During the pandemic, we went over to get a hot dog, and they told us that they were really struggling. They mentioned that they have this food cart and that it can go out into neighborhoods, so we invited them to come to Murray Avenue on a Tuesday and sell hotdogs. It was hugely successful. Everyone came out because we (had) all been in our homes and were just so excited to have something happening on the street.”

Modrak said the list of food trucks that come to the neighborhood has now expanded to include 14 different vendors, including cuisines such as Latin American, Asian and Soul food. Throughout the year, Modrak said, the trucks cycled through a rotation with a different one coming to the neighborhood every Tuesday — even in the winter. Modrak said they are also working to increase vegetarian options.

“We kind of lean towards having more trucks that have vegetarian options, so they have kind of like slightly healthier food,” Modrak said. “There is a completely vegan comfort food truck that now comes … To be honest, it’s gotten to the point where we almost have more trucks than we can handle.”

Among the vendors who frequent the neighborhood is El Mariachi Loco, a local food truck selling traditional Mexican food which is often accompanied by live mariachi music. Gabriel Hernandez Maya, the owner of the truck, has been living in Ann Arbor and working in the food industry for more than 26 years. Hernandez Maya has established a regular presence both on Murray Avenue and at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market in Kerrytown.

“It was fun doing business (on Murray Avenue),” Hernandez Maya said. “During the summertime, they sometimes invite mariachi bands to play music. You know, Mexican food plus Mexican music.”

Liparoto told The Daily that Hernandez Maya’s dedication to serving the neighborhood exemplifies the relationship the residents have built with Ann Arbor food vendors over the years. She said residents know that they can always rely on El Mariachi Loco to provide them with a warm taco, even on a cold winter night.

“There was once when we had a power outage overnight in winter,” Liparoto said. “That might not even (have been) a Tuesday. I called (Hernandez Maya) and he came so everyone could have a meal at their doorsteps.”

Despite Murray Avenue being more than 10 blocks away from Central Campus, U-M students have also made the trek to visit the food trucks on occasion, Hubbs said. She said she enjoyed the cross-cultural relationships she has built with students over diverse cuisine options thanks to the food trucks.

“I remembered last year when Fork In Nigeria came,” Liparoto said. “I remembered it so well because I met so many people, especially (U-M) graduate students from nearby countries in West Africa who shared with me what they thought was the same or different. Many students knew each other and it really became a socializing event.”

The weekly food truck events have also provided student entrepreneurs, such as Rackham student Mary Garza, with the opportunity to showcase their creativity and share their cultures. Garza is the founder of pop-up bakery Mi ReinA2 Patisserie, named in honor of her Mexican-born grandparents: her grandfather would refer to her grandmother as “mi reina,” or “my queen.”

“I was perfecting my pumpkin empanada, which was my grandpa’s favorite sweet bread,” Garza said. “Whenever I sit down with something sweet and a hot drink, I like to think of my grandpa. When (my grandparents) passed away during my time here (at the University), I kind of felt like I was losing the connection to my culture. I’m taking that back into my studies, into what my dissertation focuses on and this business.”

Garza said running her bakery has connected her to the broader Ann Arbor community and she has received support from fellow bakers to help her jump through the regulatory hoops of operating out of a home-based kitchen. Garza said the restrictions come from the Michigan Cottage Food Law which restricts the food items that can be sold out of home-based kitchens. Garza said she has received offers from other bakers to share space in commercial kitchens, which would allow her to expand her operation.

“A lot of the bakers around town operate in shared kitchens,” Garza said. “I got offers to share kitchens or to go set up at other events. I don’t feel like a threat to anyone getting started and, you know, everyone in the area kind of has their own niche. And so (Ann Arbor) seems to be a pretty supportive environment.”

According to a schedule of the upcoming food truck options obtained by The Daily, the organizers have planned out their lineup of vendors from now until March. Students and residents can experience a peek into the Ann Arbor street food scene at the intersection of Murray Avenue and Liberty Street between 5:00 and 7:30 p.m. every Tuesday.

Daily Staff Reporter Chen Lyu can be reached at lyuch@umich.edu.