Rain or Shine, Babcock Ranch Food Truck Fridays Celebrate Community 

 

 

I showed up to Food Truck Fridays in Babcock wondering if the food and friends event would be walloped by the weather.

It was a muggy summer day, the week before the 4th of July weekend. The skies were ominously grey. Portending rain.

A sparse crowd braved the June heat in the Founder’s Square lakefront set against a bandstand.

The yard between the two roof enclosures in the front and the stage in the back was missing children.

If this were January or February, the green lawn would be crawling with kids. Tossing a football or kicking soccer balls. Adults taking in the live music in lawn chairs. Nursing beers and conversation.

A few would be dancing by the bandstand.

It was summer. Down season for Babcock Food Truck Fridays.

I removed my phone from my pocket. Found the recording app for interviews.

I was on the clock. Had to talk to people before the rain really kicked in.

 

Babcock Ranch Food Truck Fridays: Always Good Vibes

I looked around. Saw an impressive setup on the southeast corner lawn. Beautiful new golf carts hugging the turf. Bright red and yellow tent with slick signage.

Jason Leibman, Owner of Solar City Carts, told me what makes Food Truck Fridays unique in the first solar-powered town in the United States.

“We love Food Truck Fridays because it brings the community together and families come out,” Jason observed. “Some businesses are usually here. There’s food trucks. There’s music. There’s always good vibes.”

Solar City Carts specializes in new golf carts with warranties. They also handle upgrades and repairs.

Business is good. Solar City is opening a new 6,000-square-foot showroom at the end of the year in the new Babcock commercial district, which is currently under development.

Jason was off. Had to chat with some prospective customers.

Raindrops started falling. Pretty soon it would be a deluge. Summer in Florida.

 

Food Truck Event in Babcock Is Community, Not Big City Anonymity

Patricia Pareiak looking forward to the nation’s birthday.

 

I took refuge under one of the roof enclosures, where I met Patricia Pareiak, who spoke of community too.

She hadn’t heard my conversation with Jason but hit a similar note. She stressed how she liked getting to know people in the community at events like this.

She moved to Babcock in May and comes to Food Truck Fridays every week with her grandson, daughter and son-in-law.

She knows almost everyone on her street. She lived in Chicagoland for 30 years and didn’t know almost any of her neighbors.

Patricia had her hair tied back with a star-spangled ribbon. She was looking forward to Food Truck Friday on the 4th of July next week. 

Hopefully, the weather would cooperate. The crowds would be much bigger. Maybe in the thousands.

It started pounding rain. A loud weather alarm horn sounded, ending the interview.

 

Babcock Ranch Food Truck Guests Abide in the Lush Landscaping of Founder’s Square

Renee Paricio and Olivia Calliman celebrate Food Truck Friday despite the rain.

 

I retreated to the center of the roof enclosure. Visitors pulled tables in from the edges and the belting rain.

I talked to two Babcock visitors. Renee Paricio is a realtor from Cape Coral. She had a warm plate from one of the food trucks that she was shielding from the rain.

Her friend Olivia Calliman sipped from a blended drink. Olivia is from Bonita Springs and was supporting her boyfriend Kyle who owns the nearby Price Panzarottis food truck — the first electric-powered food truck surely in Florida if not the world.

Renee brought up a familiar refrain, observing how cool it would be to live in Babcock and “ride your bike or golf cart from home and have a good time with your neighbors.”

She dug the live music even though the band decided to sit out the rainstorm.

Olivia, when asked what she would borrow from Babcock if she had to organize her own Food Truck Friday, opted for the landscaping. She liked the majestic palm trees lining Founder’s Square.

Renee and Olivia suggested that I go visit Kyle and his father, Jack, of Price Panzarottis food truck.

 

Food Truck Owner: “Amazing Customer Clientele”

Kyle and Jack Price are in the fifth generation of serving Sicilian delectables.

 

I made a run for their food truck on the southwest corner of Founder’s Square. My flip flops smacked against my feet as I careened through the wet grass and walkways slicked with rain.

I took refuge under the awning of Kyle and Jack’s food truck.

Panzarotti is a delicacy of Sicily. Similar to a calzone but with a vodka-based sauce. Kyle and his father bring the food to Southwest Florida from South Jersey where the family business goes back five generations.

“We focus on one-of-a-kind food,” Kyle remarked. “We’re really good at making it. They say when you have a specialty, focus on that.”

Kyle is a firm believer in Babcock Food Truck Fridays from the vendor end.

“So we love it here,” he said. “We’ve been coming here for a little over a year now, and we’ve been in business for two years. And this is definitely one of the places where you fight to get in. Amazing customer clientele.”

 

These Food Truck Vendors Dig Babcock

Some Babcock residents complain their favorite food trucks are disappearing because of high entry fees charged by the community HOA. Kyle dismisses that.

“We come out here and do very well on a Friday.”

The Price Panzarottis food truck also visits two new parks in the center of Babcock, MidTown, on Saturdays. Feeding parents and children at play.

Jack ducked into the truck, grabbing some samples from Kyle to hand out to the crowd. It’s not just Panzarotti. Kyle suggested trying their two types of cheesecake.

The rain started to subside. It was time to make a run for my car.

 

Food Truck Fridays in The Ranch: Eat Your Heart Out Norman Rockwell

I took one last look around. The crowd was smaller due to the rain and summer heat. I noticed very few people leaving, though.

Everyone was just waiting for the rain to stop and for the music to turn up. The good vibes to return.

The community continuing to connect, build and thrive.

 

If you dig the Babcock vibe and are considering buying in the community, check out the realty group that has sold over 250 new construction homes:

• Let’s talk Babcock.
• Let’s tour Babcock.
• Ask questions in our free Moving to Babcock Ranch Facebook Group.
• Call Team John Garuti at (239) 251-2371.