Over the weekend, it was announced that a new ‘food truck court’ concept will be coming to The Landing in Downtown Fort Walton Beach.

• The food truck court will be located on the slab that used to be the old Emerald Coast Science Center/Venture Hive location.

The City of Fort Walton Beach currently owns the property located at 139 Brooks Street SE. The property has been vacant since the demolition of the building and most recently has served as a parking area for golf carts in the Downtown area.

• The Downtown FWB Organization is spearheading the idea and it is set to kickoff on Wednesday, November 2, with Okaloosa Donuts from 10am-1pm.

Events Coordinator for the organization, Ashley Sukalski, told Get The Coast on Monday morning that the idea came about after the Fort Walton Beach City Council’s decision to not approve Props Brewery’s new taproom location at the same spot.

There has been a growing desire in the downtown footprint for more dining options, especially during lunch time, and the organization will use it as a way to fund their overall marketing efforts.

Sukalski says that even before COVID, there was a need for parking maps, dining guides and other promotional material. While the organization does make some revenue from their regular events such as the Art Walk and Farmer’s Markets, it hasn’t been enough to really take their marketing to the next level.

• And as Sukalski looks to bring back larger events like the Mudbug Festival, she says the cost to put on these events has doubled.

“In order to get the tents for the Mudbug Festival, it went from $800 to almost $2,600 out of pocket before we even sold a ticket,” she said. “We just don’t have it.”

That’s when she had the idea to approach the City of Fort Walton Beach about letting the organization do a temporary use of space, much like they already do for the farmer’s market, and bring in food trucks during the week.

“There’s not that many places on Brooks Street to get lunch and the places that are open are pretty busy,” said Sukalski. “The food truck court would only be open during lunch and only during the week. Not the weekend.”

The Organization was issued a permit for the entire month of November and she’s hoping it will be extended through December. This will give the organization a good idea if it will be a success…and if it will be worth the time and effort.

Sukalski says the idea isn’t to compete with existing businesses downtown, but to bring in food trucks that compliment the area. No single food truck can set up more than three times a week, and they will be rotating through different cuisines, trucks and businesses.

• “While the regular crowd may end up trying new food trucks, we anticipate a greater group of people visiting the downtown district and seeing ALL of the wonderful businesses and restaurants that have a permanent residence downtown,” she said.

Sukalski added that even the hours of operation were designed to have a minimal impact to open businesses. The food truck court will be open Monday-Friday from 10am-4pm.

As for the cost, the Organization is charging $45 per day and the food trucks are required to provide their own power. If the non-profit organization can keep it going for a few months, Sukalski says it will boost their marketing efforts ahead of the upcoming Brooks Bridge Construction Project.

“I feel like this is a win-win,” she said. “During the week, there’s a ton of parking downtown because people don’t come downtown as much, or if they do, it’s to run an errand. Hopefully, at least for the foot traffic, we can capture that market and then expose them to everything else that goes on downtown. That’s my real goal with it.”

If you own a food truck and are interested in serving lunch downtown, you can email the Downtown FWB Organization at events.downtownfwb@gmail.com.