Taking a rare break during a busy day, Patrick Hunt leaned against his food truck and chatted about the success of the Hermiston Food Pod.

The pod, a collection of food trucks gathered at 240 S.W. Third Street, across from the post office, is full. Its nine trucks are present and open for business. The final holdout was Krack Burger, which opened Friday, April 15.

Hunt manages the pod, coordinating the individual business owners and acting as a liaison with the city of Hermiston.

“I’m grateful to the community for making this happen,” Hunt said. He added that he was appreciative to the city government, too.

The pod had been closed so the city could renovate the property. Plumbing and electricity were added, making it possible for additional trucks to set up shop. In recent months, the pod reopened, with between two and four trucks present at any given time.

Hunt’s mobile restaurant, Southern Twain BBQ, was among the few that opened early. At the restaurant, he cooked and served sausages, sandwiches, nachos and more. Slowly but surely, more trucks were added until the lot was full.

The current fleet of trucks offers a variety of food. One can pick up barbecued ribs, grilled hamburgers, kalua pork, tacos, biscuits and gravy and more, depending on the particular truck from which one wants to dine.

Hunt said the diversity of foods was important to him. Many restauranteurs wished to open at the pod, he said. He added that he turned some down, just because he wanted to avoid having redundancies.

“We can’t have too much of the same stuff,” he said. “There were vendors who wanted to offer more tacos and I had to tell them that I was sorry, but we weren’t going to do that.”

Such a situation, he said, would have made things worse for both customers and vendors.

He said that his goal is to create fun. A Hermiston resident, Hunt said he wished for the pod to be a lively place for people — kids and families, in particular, to gather. Music plays, and banners wave. The pod, he said, is an attraction for people who might not have anything else to do.

“If we can play music and have a place for people to go, maybe they won’t get into so much trouble,” he said.

Customers enjoy pod

Rosa Alonzo, Umatilla resident, made a special trip to eat at the food pod on Friday. She said, though she likes Magui’s, one of the nine trucks, the best, she will choose different restaurants when she arrives. While she eats at one, the people who accompany her often get food from different places before sitting down at one of the benches at the pod.

“We come out here quite a bit,” she said. “We enjoy the variety of foods.”

Hermiston residents Shay Godden and James Wiggins were at another table on Friday. They heard of the Filipino food at the pod. Though they only rarely came to the pod previously, they dined there on Friday to try lumpia.

While there, they said they were enjoying the atmosphere.

“It’s kind of like the fair,” Godden said. Wiggins, who has worked at various fairs, agreed. Like the fair, the pod is lively, they said.

Vendors stories

Godden and Wiggins obtained their Filipino food from Maureen Dickens, owner of Twisted Filipino Variety Cuisine.

Dickens said she is from the Philippines, where her family operated restaurants. It gave her experiences with food and a love of the restaurant business.

“Ever since I was little, we had a restaurant,” she said.

Three weeks in business, she said this is her first restaurant in the U.S. She offers foods from her native country, Hawaii, America and more.

Her American offerings, she said, include chicken tenders, which are popular.

Her husband, she said, is retired, and she is semi-retired, which is why she said she prefers food truck work over opening a regular restaurant. It is easier, though still hard, she said.

Tim Wilson, Krack Burger owner, was taping a menu to his truck on Friday, his first day of operations. Foods, such as burgers, hotdogs, shakes and ice cream, were all on that menu.

“I’m new to the food truck industry, but not to the restaurant business,” Wilson said.

He said he had a restaurant in the Tri-Cities that was bought out by his ex-wife.

“She didn’t want a partner, and I totally understand,” he said.

Now a Hermiston resident, he said he is excited for this business venture. Restaurants are fun, he said, and food trucks are booming. He said he expects to do well.

Berenice Rodriguez, of Alma’s Express, said she is optimistic, too. She serves smoothies, nachos, burgers, biscuits and gravy, breakfast burritos and more, and she said business is good.

“We wanted to have our own business and not work for anybody else,” she said. Having worked for others at restaurants and other trucks, she said she has long wanted to have her own business and not be beholden to someone else.

Kalani Morales, a worker at Bobablastic, offers orange chicken, churros, boba tea and more. She said that this business is good for her. She has a job at Panda Express in Hermiston. By also working at the pod, she can earn extra income while enjoying herself, too.

“I like it, I really do,” she said. “It’s fun.”

Dalene Hadley, of the Grizzly Grill, offers grilled cheese sandwiches, corn dogs, fries and more. She said she has been operating this business for around 10 years, but has frequently moved during that time. Now, she said, she plans to stay still, with the exception of a few upcoming events.

“I like it,” she said. “The people here are really good, and it’s less work.” Being in a fixed location, she does not have to bother much with hooking and unhooking utilities.

Throughout the renovations, one truck was able to stay open because it operates on the other side of a short fence from the other restaurants.

Tacos Garcia is the restaurant. The owner is Rigoberto Garcia.

Garcia said he is happy to see a filled pod. Yes, they are within a short distance of his food truck. And, yes, he said, some customers may choose to eat at other food trucks instead of his. Still, according to Garcia, the pod attracts many customers, bringing many diners to his truck for his wide selection of tacos, burritos and more.

“There’s enough for all of us,” he said of the customers. “And I like my neighbors. There’s business for everybody.”

More changes to the pod are coming, Hunt said. According to Hunt, live bands will perform starting in the middle of May.

The pod is open seven days a week, 11 a.m. to around 7 p.m., though not all vendors are open each day. Some vendors might expand to offer breakfast, Hunt said.