Downtown Gilroy was packed with people on July 8, all hungry to sample from 10 food trucks at the inaugural Moveable Feast event at Fifth Street Live.
Moveable Feast is a food truck collective based in San Jose. Making the trip to Gilroy last Friday were Akita Sushi, BBQ Kalbi, Brothers Gow Chow, H. Butler’s BBQ, Ketch It Seafood, Los Jarochos Grill, Siam Loco Wraps, Treatbot, Waffle Amore, and Grilled Cheese Bandits.
“We were in line for a long time for the Korean barbecue,” said Yvonne Isles, who came with her family all the way from Los Banos. She said she’d heard of the collective because she works in San Jose, and got wind of the event through Facebook.
“The Facebook Event page said that about 2,500 people were interested,” said Gilroy Downtown Business Association event coordinator Melanie Corona. “I think we ended up getting about 4,000.”
The long lines didn’t deter attendees from enjoying the Fifth Street Live festivities.
“It was like a massive block party,” said Moveable Feast founder Ryan Sebastian. “Families brought their chairs out, enjoyed great food, great music. A real sense of community. It was the best block party I’ve ever been to.”
Food trucks were parked in Gourmet Alley and on Fifth Street between Monterey Road and Eigleberry Avenue. Morgan Hill-based band the Emphatics performed live while the crowd ate, drank and danced.
According to Sebastian, Gilroy is the furthest south Moveable Feast has been in Santa Clara County.
“It was the perfect storm for downtown Gilroy,” Corona said. “Amaretto had their annual fashion show, which is always a well-attended event. The District had a great band playing that night, and something was going on at Old City Hall. There were lots of complementary events happening.”
Sebastian met some of the local restaurateurs and business owners downtown and said everyone was excited about the event.
Corona said that the GDBA is always concerned with how the downtown businesses are doing.
“We don’t want to take away from their success or their Friday night, but I don’t think that was a problem at all,” she said.
Moveable Feast wasn’t the only business to turn a crowd. Restaurants like Old City Hall, the Milias Restaurant, and Garlic City Cafe were full houses—maybe too full?
“I think it’s a good thing for Gilroy, but it’s on the wrong day,” said The Milias restaurant owner Adam Sanchez.
Sanchez said that every Friday is busy downtown, and that parking is packed as it is. The long wait times at his restaurant caused frustration for all parties.
The event could have significant economic potential for downtown Gilroy. And while there’s talk of continuing Fifth Street Live and Moveable Feast after the summer, nothing has been finalized yet.
“We just had our first one so, we’re going to look at the first one or two to see, ‘Is this making sense? Is this making the live music series more successful?’” Sebastian said. “The answer is absolutely yes.”
Corona is happy with how the inaugural event turned out. She said that two City Council members came out to help.
“Roland Velasco was pouring beer and wine for us at our beverage booth, and Dan Harney brought his family down.”
Corona is also grateful for how the community embraced the event.
“People want downtown Gilroy to thrive,” she said. “That means we have a thriving and successful community.”
If you missed it, you have another chance. The Feast returns Friday, July 15, starting at 5 p.m.
