With the Madame BBQ food truck in Howard County, Nikki McGowan delivered lunch to many workers in areas with lots of offices and not so many lunch spots, like Columbia Gateway Drive. But even when it’s lunch-on-the-go, she found there was still a demand for healthy food.
(Editor’s note: Maybe they’ll roll up to the #BIW16 kickoff with The Gathering food truck collective…)
“People’s tastes and priorities are changing in terms of health and food,” said McGowan, who also did some testing and got feedback on what healthy food the younger generation likes through the cooking classes she runs with Madame Cours de Cuisine.
Enter Mindgrub.
That’s the dev agency run by Todd Marks, who is McGowan’s husband. This fall, the couple are rolling out the Mindgrub Cafe Food Truck, with the aim providing a lighter, healthy form of mobile munchies directly to workers. McGowan said they’ll have pressed sandwiches and bowls, as well as a coffee-roasted veggie side that seems designed to do the opposite of making you want to take a nap after lunch.
“The thought is to bring brain food to knowledge workers,” said Marks, who oversees a growing team of such workers at the company’s Locust Point offices.
The #MindgrubCafe #foodtruck is serving up some savory #brainfood at 1215 Fort Ave today! pic.twitter.com/Dz8RhfEYEb
— Mindgrub (@mindgrub) September 9, 2016
A few floors below, McGowan is overseeing construction on a commissary kitchen that will fuel the food truck. There’s also room for other food businesses, and it’s adjacent to Diamondback Brewing’s new operation.
For Mindgrub Cafe, the kitchen will provide space for prep, as well as space for cooking classes. Marks and McGowan also see the truck providing food for drop catering, lunches and events like runs.
There’s also a way it helps feed the digital business. Marks said the truck will also provide marketing for Mindgrub, and the firm is developing an app for ordering.
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