A once-vacant 7,000-square-foot lot in Walker’s Point was recently transformed into Milwaukee’s first food truck park.
Zócalo Food Park opened in July at 636 S. Sixth St. It includes six local vendors: Bowl Cut, a new Asian rice bowl concept; Fontelle’s, a burger-and-fry eatery; Mazorca LLC, a taco truck that first opened in Walker’s Point in 2017; Scratch Ice Cream, a local ice cream producer that operates a vendor stand at Crossroads Collective food hall on Milwaukee’s East Side; and Ruby’s Bagels, a new scratch-made bagel concept.
Ruby’s Bagels is the first participant in Zócalo’s Incubator Food Truck Program, which aims to support local food industry startups as they scale their business.
“If someone has an idea for a concept that they want to prove out, a trailer or a truck is a really great way to see if that works,” said real estate developer Sean Phelan, who operates the park with Jesús González.
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- Zócalo’s 15 staff members, including Esteban Rivera, are responsible for maintaining the grounds.
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- As operators, Phelan and González said they want to build a culture of belonging for the park’s employees, vendors and customers.
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- The property’s existing two-story building was fully renovated and opened in mid-August as the park’s tavern.
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- Fontelle’s is a new concept from the creators of Milwaukee-based FreshFin Poké.
