PEORIA, Ariz. — Gourmet food trucks have been the rage among the urban creative class for about two years, so I’m late to the keyboard on this. But those who don’t live in an urban core still might be unaware of the trend – and the crucial role that social media plays in the business model.

Unlike the beat-up “roach coaches” that have serviced construction sites for decades, or even the late-night pizza/sandwich trucks that stop outside college dorms, today’s brightly colored gourmet food trucks specialize in a particular type of food and

Paul Cionczyk stands beside his Epic Hot Dogs truck.

often prepare it to order in their mobile kitchens. Many of them also try hard to use local ingredients in their fare. They park in different areas every day, using Twitter and Facebook to let customers know their locations.

While Downtown Phoenix is their bread and butter (figuratively), locations such as Arizona State University’s downtown campus and the Phoenix Public Market, their mobility lets them road trip (literally) across Greater Phoenix to reach new customers or attend special events.

I experienced the gourmet food truck phenomenon for the first time today when three set up for lunch across from the Peoria Sports Complex, spring training home of Major League Baseball’s San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners, before today’s Mariners game vs. the Cincinnati Reds. I found out about the impromptu food court on Twitter. Just as the individual proprietors tweet their daily locations, the PHX Street Food Coalition retweets the announcements and also promotes multi-truck gatherings.

I knew from Twitter that the trucks would set up around 11 a.m. in front of the 3rd Place event facility at 83rd Avenue and Mariners Way – the south end of Peoria’s entertainment district. As you probably deduced from the name “Mariners Way,” the location is across the street from the parking area for spring training games.

I didn’t get hungry until about 1:30 p.m., alas. I didn’t know how long the trucks would remain at the site, so I replied to a couple of their tweets, asking how long they’d be there. Within minutes, I received a response from Paul Cionczyk, proprietor of Epic Hot Dogs, saying he planned to stay until 2 p.m. “Let us know if you’re coming and running late and we’ll stick around for you,” he tweeted. Perfect!

“Cool! I’ve been wanting to try you out,” I responded. “I’m going to bike over, so I’ll be there about 2-2:15.”

When I arrived, huffing and puffing, Cionczyk was waiting. Two other trucks remained as well: Pizza People and Luncha Libre. Since it was past the lunch rush and the ballgame had started, Cionczyk had time to make me a custom order – a

Luncha Libre specializes in Arizona-inspired food.

steamed dog wrapped in bacon with cheddar cheese melted over it. Mmmm … bacon!

Cionczyk also had time to chat about his business. I asked whether it was worth his while to wait around for me. He said this was the food trucks’ first foray to the northwestern part of the city, so it was more about extending awareness of his brand and the food-truck concept than about profit. Various gourmet food trucks will park across from the Peoria Sports Complex throughout spring training. Luncha Libre proprietor Tim Cobb has posted a schedule on his Facebook page. Additional information is available on the coalition’s Facebook page.

Obviously, the food-truck business model depends heavily upon social media. They have to tell customers where they are, or they’ll do very little business. There simply aren’t many places in Greater Phoenix where they could expect a big walk-up crowd. Beyond that, the personal response from Cionczyk cemented my resolve not only to get over there but also to make one if his gourmet hot dogs my lunch choice for the day. I’ll try to sample fare from some of the other trucks as the month progresses.

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Stuart J. Robinson does writing, editing, media relations and social media through his freelance practice, Lightbulb Communications. He also blogs about Hawaii Five-0 and other shows for the TV Tyrant website.

Tags: 3rd Place, Arizona State University, Cincinnati Reds, Epic Hot Dogs, Facebook, Luncha Libre, Peoria AZ, Peoria Sports Complex, Phoenix Public Market, PHX Street Food Coalition, Pizza People, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Twitter