Food trucks provide path to brick-and-mortar places for several Rockford-area restaurateurs
Rockford Region Restaurant Week runs Jan. 25 through Feb. 4 as a celebration of the area’s culinary scene. We’re getting in the spirit at the Rock River Current, too. Throughout Restaurant Week we’ll be sharing stories, photos and features about the Rockford area’s foodie scene and restaurant industry.
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Mahmud and Said Zatar’s first restaurant concept on Seventh Street didn’t take hold the way they wanted.
It was 2012, and Olivo Restaurant served a mix of cuisines from Middle Eastern to Mexican.
“Restaurant business wasn’t easy to just build up from there,” Mahmud Zatar said. “We didn’t do the amazing idea we wanted with the menu that we had, so we learned our lesson.”
The brothers took the lessons they learned on the road, first with grills they would pack up and bring to different locations. Then, in 2019 they opened their first food truck, and their following started growing.
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Olivo Taco food trucks, and its three tacos for $5 deal, started gaining enough traction for the brothers to grow the business with both more trucks and sit-down locations.
Now Olivo has seven food trucks in Rockford, and three brick-and-mortar locations in the region. It also has food trucks in Des Plaines, Las Vegas and Arizona.
Building a successful food truck first was a key to success.
“You build the community, you build the support and you get to know what people are looking for,” Mahmud Zatar said.
More restaurants in the region are taking the same path as the Zatar brothers, starting with food trucks to build a following before opening sit-down spaces.
In 2024, Whiskey Hotel Barbecue will open its first restaurant in Roscoe, Disco Chicken will open in downtown Rockford and The Olive Branch, which also started an online kitchen in Loves Park, plans to open in Beloit, Wisconsin.
Those openings follow moves in late 2023 by Bop Bop Korean BBQ & Rice Bowl, which went from food truck to indoor Rockford City Market restaurant, and Cheezy’s Grilled Cheese, which opened inside BJ’s Place in south Rockford.
“It’s an ideal process for startups without a lot of financial backing,” said Karen Hobbs ofKH Food Safety Consulting & Services, which has worked with Bop Bop and other food trucks. “A food truck is ideal because you’re not tangled with a lease or big financial responsibility.”
Hobbs said food trucks can still be expensive investments, but less so than brick-and-mortar locations. So starting with a truck lets restaurateurs learn the operation before making their biggest investment.
In the past five years, there have been at least nine Rockford-area food trucks that have opened or will soon open brick-and-mortar locations.
That’s not counting places such as TNT Funnel Cakes, which started as a tent before opening a brick-and-mortar spot, or Woodfire Pizza, which started with an oven on wheels before opening downtown, or Cantina Taco, which operated a City Market tent, then a restaurant, followed by a food truck and then its second restaurant location.
Here are nine food trucks turned brick-and-mortar restaurants.
Bop Bop Korean BBQ & Rice Bowl
About: Bop Bop debuted as a food truck at Rockford City Market last May, and in mid-December it opened its first brick-and-mortar space inside the indoor Rockford City Market.
The restaurant specializes in Korean street food such as potato and mozzarella corn dogs, galbi rice bowl and beef bulgogi.
Where: 116 N. Madison St., Rockford
Whiskey Hotel Barbecue
About: Whiskey Hotel Barbecue started as a food truck outside Schnucks in Roscoe last fall.
Now, pitmaster Will Hendrickson is preparing to take over the former Sabor Bar & Grill in Roscoe.
The full restaurant is expected to open in spring, but you can get catering from Whiskey Hotel in time for the Super Bowl next week. To order catering, go HERE.
Where: 5522 Elevator Road, Roscoe
Ambiance Cuisine Cocktails & Catering
About: Ambiance Cuisine Cocktails & Catering was born out of T & C’s Cooking Creations food truck.
The vibrant red food truck had brought soul food to the city since 2021. In April 2023, owner Tisha Hannah opened her first sit-down restaurant focused on modernized Creole soul food.
Where: 307 S. Main St., Rockford
The Olive Branch
About: The Olive Branch has brought Greek food across the region in its food truck since 2017. In January, it opened its first online kitchen based out of Carlson Ice Arena. You can order food to pick up and carryout at Carlson or get it delivered via Door Dash.
They’re also working on opening a restaurant called Kalamata in the former Fresco Fajita House space in Beloit, Wisconsin.
Where: Carlson Ice Arena, 4150 N. Perryville Road, Loves Park. (Coming later this year: 315 S. State St., Beloit, Wis.)
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Olivo Taco
About: Olivo Taco’s first food truck started in 2019 on West State Street. It opened its first brick-and-mortar location about a year later on College Avenue.
Olivo now has seven Rockford food trucks and brick-and-mortar shops in Rockford, Belvidere and Freeport.
Where: 330 College Ave., Rockford; 603 S. State St., Belvidere; 116 W. Douglas St., Freeport
Thai Jasmine Rice & Noodles
About: Thai Jasmine Rice & Noodles opened its brick-and-mortar restaurant in October 2022 after less than two years operating at a food truck. It gained its following at places like Rockford City Market and Food Truck Tuesday. The restaurant specializes in Thai cuisine including Som Tam Kortmuar, Pad Thai and Tom Yum Kong.
Where: 5839 Forest Hills Road, Rockford
Disco Chicken
About: Disco Chicken started as a food truck in May 2019, and this year owner Paul Sletten plans to open its first sit-down space in the former Taco Betty’s in downtown Rockford.
Disco Chicken will also include parts of Sletten’s other food trucks, Bad Humor Ice Cream and VeeDubs mobile cocktail bar.
Where: 212 E. State St., Rockford
Cheezy’s Grilled Cheese
About: Cheezy’s Grilled Cheese started in summer 2023 after owners Josh Wilson and Dustin DiBenedetto built out a 16-foot trailer for their first food truck. Then, in winter, they opened their first year-round location inside BJ’s Place on Rockford’s south side. They hope to grow with another brick-and-mortar in the future.
Where: 2842 11th St., Rockford
Candy Cloud
About: Candy Cloud, which specializes in made-to-order canned specialty drinks, started operating out of a vintage trailer. It grew its following at Rockford City Market. In March 2022, it opened its first brick-and-mortar in Rockford. Then, in October, owners Alex and Paityn Edwards began accepting franchise applications.
There are now stores in Rockford and South Elgin and ones coming soon in Middleston, Wisconsin, Glenview, Willoughby, Ohio, and Smyrna, Tennessee.
Where: 6286 E. State St., Rockford; 474 Randall Road, South Elgin
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas
