They’re ubiquitous in cities like LA and Portland: “pods” composed of several food trucks surrounding a number of busy picnic tables. Las Vegas’ attempts at a truck pod have been admirable (rest in peace, Vegas StrEATS), but they’ve rarely stuck around longer than a day, or exceeded two or three trucks. That changes when Urban Foodcourt, a permanent street food pod with room for up to 10 trucks, opens at the corner of Main Street and Colorado Avenue in the Arts District, May 5 at 5 p.m.
The project’s creative partners—Metroplex Realty president Paul Murad and “community curator” Loren Qualls—promise a vibrant pod, with a live music stage, shaded seating (“Eventually—the weather’s actually pretty nice right now,” Murad says), and a changing roster of street food vendors serving lunch, dinner and, most important, late-night bites. Murad himself will be glad of the latter, having recently come out of a Majestic Repertory Theatre play with a hunger and few options: “It became evident that something like Urban Foodcourt was needed, because nothing was open.”
The owners of the property were instrumental in bringing Buffalo Exchange to the Arts District, Murad says, and want to keep Urban Foodcourt going strong until the neighborhood develops around it. “Then it’ll pick up and move to wherever else it’s needed,” he says.
This story originally appeared in the Las Vegas Weekly.