Food trucks, like these at Hall Office Park, will soon have a home in downtown Frisco.[/caption]

Food trucks will soon have a designated home in Frisco.

During its May 3 meeting, Frisco City Council approved a lease for a food truck park at First and Main streets called Frisco Rail Yard.

The food truck park, which will have a railroad theme, is expected to be open for business by the end of June.

5th Street Patio Cafe co-owners Tamme Leff, Greg McDonald and Kristy McDonald are the founders of Frisco Rail Yard.

Leff said the reason she and her other co-founders want to bring a food truck park to Frisco is to fill a need in the community and to bridge the gap between old downtown and new downtown Frisco.

“There’s not anything there in downtown where you can just grab something quick,” she said. “Most of the restaurants are full service. There’s a lot of workers around that area, and they just want to go grab something quick, sit at a table and grab a quick lunch and get back to work.”

Leff said she has visited other food truck parks, such as Truck Yard in Dallas, and said she loves the relaxed feel of the dining venues.

“It just gives you that feeling of sitting in someone’s backyard, and it’s just comfortable,” she said.

Frisco Rail Yard will be able to accommodate up to six food trucks and a freestanding drink counter, which will serve alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, pending a permit from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. 5th Street Patio Cafe will have a permanent food truck at the park, but it will not include any existing menu items from the restaurant.

Crave Cookie, a dessert food truck owned by Leff, will also be a regular truck at Frisco Rail Yard, and it will introduce a new cookie recipe with bananas, avocado and coconut oil as the base ingredients.

Food trucks also will offer breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

“My restaurant really specializes in breakfast, and we’re packed on Saturdays and Sundays,” Leff said. “We have a long line. There are some new breakfast restaurants that have opened, but Frisco is just growing and it’s just crazy.”

Another aspect of Frisco Rail Yard is live music. The park will host local bands and open mic nights on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Leff said the co-owners are also already planning special events to host at the food truck park.

“We’re going to be one of those places that always has something going on, whether it’s a really cool band that people like or a special event, and we want to give back to the community,” Leff said.

The land where Frisco Rail Yard will be located is owned partially by the city and the Frisco Community Development Corp. The FCDC approved the lease for the land
April 21.

The land will be leased for $500 per month as well as 4 percent of gross sales revenue with a cap of $10,000 per month. The lease lasts for three years.

The city is considering Frisco Rail Yard as a short-term test for a business concept to provide information for the city to better regulate this type of development.