Longtime resident intends to open Foodapalooza in Cedar Park

New plans are in the works to bring a food truck park to Cedar Park on the east side of Parmer Lane near FM 1431.

Levi Lambert, a Cedar Park resident and the man behind the Foodapalooza food truck park concept, said he intends to have the park up and running by February 2014.

"We have to get approval through planning and zoning and City Council and then go through permitting," he said. "We don't want to open in the dead of winter. So we will start construction in December with a soft opening in February and a grand opening by March."

Larry Holt, Cedar Park assistant director of economic development, said the preliminary plan is to create a planned-use development for the 2-acre site.

"That tool has allowed us to take a property and specify design standards we would like to see over and above what's required for the zoning," he said. "It's particularly appropriate for projects with some unusual characteristics."

Foodapalooza is more than a few independent food trucks parked on a grassy knoll, Lambert said. The site is slated to have free wireless Internet so patrons can order food from their mobile phones from up to eight food trucks. All of the trucks will be owned and operated by Lambert and his staff, each with different offerings including sliders, beer and wine, Mexican food and ice cream.

The idea to create what he calls an upscale food truck park came from Lambert's cooking background, he said, which includes degrees in culinary arts and food and beverage management. As a family man, Lambert said he hopes to build a picnic area, playground, splash pad, volleyball court and an outdoor film screen—all in an effort to become a dining and entertainment destination for families.

"Everything to me has a tie back into the family and my roots and growing up in Cedar Park. The trucks are named after members of my family," he said. "It still needs to capture that food park feel but just overdone, upscale and out of this world."

Avery Ranch update

In October, Waterstone Development announced plans to bring a food truck park to Avery Ranch by spring 2013. Jay Yates, owner of Curly's Perfect Pig food truck in Round Rock, said he previously pursued establishing a food truck park on the property just north of the Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex on Parmer Lane. Yates said the two parties are no longer working together, but he still hopes to bring a food truck park to the Avery Ranch community.