CLEVELAND, Ohio — As hot as it is outside, it’s even hotter for some workers serving up food in the heat. Extreme temperatures have posed a challenge for vendors at the height of food truck season.
“It’s at least 20-30 degrees average temperature more in here than it is inside. I have one box fan and the windows,” said Reno Barber, the manager of Cheesy Dave’s.
The food truck was one of two featured during Food Truck Friday in Bay Village.
“We have our regular mac n cheese, our Wisconsin mac n cheese or we can have toppings on them,” Barber said, explaining the cheese-centric menu.
Three more food trucks were participating in a Friday event near Willard Park in downtown Cleveland.
“We’ve got a bunch of different hot dogs, brats, refreshers - like lemonade - and then shakes, obviously,” said Daylen Madison of Franks and Shakes.
Madison was grateful for a shaded parking spot in downtown Cleveland Friday.
“The building blocking the sun definitely helps,” he said. “It’s probably, I don’t know, 15 degrees cooler now because of that.”
The vendors have been taking additional precautions during a stretch of extreme temperatures as event season ramps up.
“When it’s not busy, you just come out here, stand in the shade, try to get out of the cooker real quick,” said Madison.
“I wipe [my face], change gloves and occasionally if I have a lull in the line, I go and [splash] cold water. And that’s all I can do,” said Barber.
Most of the food trucks were running several fans, and workers were drinking more fluids. Barber said his team splits their work into several shifts and makes sure to check in on each other.
“I called yesterday when I was off, just to check to make sure he was alive,” he laughed.
He said despite the discomfort of working in a food truck on a hot day; he enjoys the work and freedom it provides the business.
“We go to a different place every day, meet different people, so we’re not stuck in one spot. It may be a little bit harder, but it’s a life,” he said.
Some customers said they appreciate the heat because they know the season won’t last.
“It’s wonderful,” said Kathy Allison. “I wish we could bottle it up and open it up in winter.”
Downtown Cleveland, Inc. hosts food truck events most weekdays during the summer. You can find the schedule by clicking here.
