2014 was a banner year for Traverse City food trucks. Now, with the winter season approaching, vendors are exploring options for the long off-season – from putting trucks into storage to focusing on brick-and-mortar restaurants to serving up fare in a new indoor pop-up space planned for downtown TC.

At The Little Fleet on East Front Street, eight full-time food trucks that occupied the bar's parking lot this summer will vacate the property by the end of this week. Owner Gary Jonas says that while his original vision was to keep the trucks open during winter months, attempts to do so last season “made it clear it wasn't going to work.”

“By December, the trucks' pipes were all frozen,” Jonas says. “Then, when the trucks were closed (but still in the lot), people were confused. They kept asking when they would open. So this year it's a hard out for the trucks, and we'll use the lot for customers coming to the bar.”

Several vendors plan to put their trucks in storage for the winter, according to Jonas, with most expected to return next spring to either The Little Fleet or other Traverse City locations. (Jonas plans to rotate the lot's lineup on an annual basis to “keep things fresh.”)

Other area vendors say they plan to brave the cold for special occasions: Roaming Harvest's Simon Joseph will be “sneaking around for some of the (local) winter events,” while Sombrero Verde's Spencer Boyles says his Latin cuisine may appear “at occasional events or catering jobs” throughout the winter before he reopens full time in the spring outside InsideOut Gallery.

It's a plan that also suits toy and t-shirt vendor Beau Warren of TNT Truck. “I'm definitely going to try and get to some events this winter,” he says. “There's a lot less competition (during the off-season).” On quieter days, Warren has another use in mind for the vehicle: “We're going to use it for (merchandise) storage, because there's so much space in there,” he laughs. 

For many vendors, winter represents merely a shift in focus. The Anchor Station owner Michael Peterson says he'll have his hands full with his brick-and-mortar restaurants Siren Hall in Elk Rapids and Lulu's Bistro in Bellaire. Brandon Seng of Goodwill Industries' Mi Fresh Start tells The Ticker he will continue to mentor workforce trainees at various locations and events throughout the winter, until the organization's food truck “comes back out next spring.”

And at least a handful of vendors will keep the spirit of food trucks alive at The Little Fleet this winter. Next month, Jonas will launch a new program called LTO (Limited Time Only). Using his EZ Cheesy food truck – which will be brought indoors for the winter – as a base, Jonas will host a rotating cast of pop-up restaurants each month from November to February. The truck will be custom-outfitted with a slipcover that can be changed to reflect the menus and logos of each new restaurateur, who will serve dinner and the occasional brunch every Monday through Saturday for their 30 days.

“It continues our concept of not taking the restaurant food scene so seriously and having fun with it,” explains Jonas. 

Jonas hopes LTO could eventually act as a winter continuation of the bar's bustling summer truck scene. Jonas' planned 2014 LTO lineup is:

November, Koko's Cafe – Vegan chef Korrie Chichester, who recently moved back from New York City, plans to serve her unique plant-based dishes.
December, White on Rice – Former Red Ginger sushi chef Eric Kolden steps into the spotlight with his own take on the Asian staple.
January, Fortuna's – The Little Fleet owners tap into their Sephardic roots, offering up favorite family Middle Eastern dishes.
February, TBD – The Little Fleet Bartender Fernando Meza will bring the heat with authentic Mexican cuisine.