Lacey gives new food truck depot a warm welcome

Lacey’s newest dining destination began with sell-out successes.

Those who arrived toward the end of lunchtime on the Lacey Food Truck Depot’s first two days of operation last week were out of luck: All of the food was gone.

“That’s been our best location so far,” said Shanell Sullenberger of Five-O Island Grindz, which has been selling Hawaiian food since October 2019.

Sullenberger and her twin sister, Kiana, who grew up in Hawaii, sell a rotating menu of Hawaiian food including kalua pork, sushi-like Spam musubi and cupcakes in such exotic flavors as guava and passionfruit.

The Sullenbergers brought twice as much food to the depot for their second day there and sold out again, she said.

So happy are they to be part of a pod of trucks in an inviting location that they’re planning to bring the truck to the Depot, at the intersection of Lacey Boulevard Southeast and Lebanon Street, every Tuesday and Thursday for now, with the possibility of adding more days later.

“I like the Lacey location a lot,” Shanell Sullenberger told The Olympian. “We’re hoping that will be our permanent location.”

And the Sullenbergers are far from the only ones who are excited about what’s happening at the depot. “People were happy to be out safely in the community,” said Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder. “They were smiling with their eyes. We’ve been sort of locked away indoors for over a year, and it’s hard on people.

“It’s funny,” he told The Olympian. “I feel like there’s been this worry that it wasn’t going to be successful. I had no doubt that it was going to be successful. Food trucks give people a great variety of food, including food that they might not normally try, and it’s so easy to look at your options and decide what you want.”

Currently, food trucks are scheduled to be at the site Tuesdays through Fridays, with hours varying by the day.

The site’s amenities include a playground and a replica of the train depot that stood on the site from 1891 until the late 1940s. The new depot, completed in the fall, offers covered seating and restrooms, with plans underway to add historical information and details about plans for the Lacey Museum and Cultural Center, which also will be in what the city is calling the Depot District.

And there’s more to come, including a pop-up market next month and live music later in the summer.

So popular was the launch of the Food Truck Depot that even Ryder, who’d been pushing for a place for food trucks in Lacey since 2014, was caught unaware and missed out on lunch on opening day. He learned his lesson and got there early the next day, in time to order a meal from Uncle Pete’s BBQ.

“That was delicious,” Ryder said. “I had a pulled pork sandwich and some potato salad and baked beans.”

Lacey Food Truck Depot

• What: Lacey’s first food truck court is now open with a rotating array of trucks selling barbecue, tacos, funnel cakes and Hawaiian specialties.
• When: Currently, trucks will be on site beginning at 11:30 a.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, with the schedule set to expand.
• Where: Lacey Boulevard Southeast and Lebanon Street, Lacey
• More information and schedule: https://www.locationlocationlacey.com/resources/restaurant-location-selection-guide/food-truck-depot-pilot-program/