POCATELLO — Numerous local food truck vendors will be back at the Downtown Pavilion every Monday night for the second annual Pocatello Food Truck Round About starting April 5.

The weekly Food Truck Round About features at least one dozen local food truck vendors including Grandma’s Pantry, Thanks a Brunch, Lemon Smashers, The Picnic Basket and, among others, Shooters Tavern outlaw BBQ and catering. The trucks park at the pavilion each Monday through September from 4 p.m. to at least 8 p.m.

“The pandemic last year was definitely the catalyst for this event with everything getting canceled and most of the food trucks around here losing a major source of their income.” said Kimberly Zenger, who co-owns Grandma’s Pantry with her husband, Brian. “We had such a great turnout with this event last year that all of the vendors came together to host it again.

Zenger said a change to this year’s event includes vendors staying later into the evening. She said no vendor will leave the event before 8 p.m. and most will remain on site until dusk or until the crowd begins to dissipate.

What makes the weekly Food Truck Round About so unique is that it both provides local food truck vendors with an opportunity to drum up some business on a relatively slow day or evening, being Mondays, but it also provides the local community with an easy meal option at the beginning of the week.

“This event provides a great family environment with numerous vendors with a wide array of menu items,” Zenger said. “When you go to a restaurant, you are limited to the items they have on their menu, but at the Round About you could eat a corndog, a gourmet peanut butter and jelly sandwich or Mexican street tacos.”

The grub at the Round About scales the gamut, from vendors that offer only speciality drinks or lemonade, to those who serve up slabs of barbecued meat to others who are sure to satisfy those sweet tooth cravings. Some vendors, specifically Thanks A Brunch, offer vegetarian and vegan options as well.

“We are absolutely excited for this to happen again,” said Haiden Siepert, co-owner of Thanks A Brunch. “The Round About on Monday is awesome because usually that is a very slow day for us and other food truck vendors and it can be tough to get people out on that day. Last year, Brian Zenger decided he wanted to be open more and I’m glad he brought it back this year. He did an amazing freakin’ job with it.”

Kimberly Zenger thanked Historic Downtown Pocatello and its executive director, Stephanie Palagi, for assisting in ensuring this event can return in 2021. Further, Kimberly Zenger said Palagi informed her the pavilion will be getting brand new picnic tables this year and she couldn’t be happier about it.

Palagi said working with the Food Truck Round About organizers has been a delightful experience and she was definitely impressed with how smooth last year’s event was to organize and host.

“Historic Downtown Pocatello is beyond excited to see events return to Downtown this spring,” Palagi said. “The food truck roundabout found good success last summer, we are excited to welcome them back and look forward to another successful year.”

Any food truck or mobile food vendor interested in joining the Food Truck Round About is encouraged to contact Brian Zenger at 208-530-1512 or visit the event’s Facebook page, facebook.com/PocatelloFoodTruckRoundUP.