SPECIAL REPORT: Food truck madness hits El Paso

Food trucks have hit the streets of El Paso County in the hundreds. Those who run them and those who eat the grub that comes out of them say they’re not going away anytime soon.

“It’s very fast, convenient. You can get it anywhere. I love the fact that the trucks are mobile and you can find them all over the city. They don’t just stay in one place,” one woman said at the El Paso Downtown Artist and Farmers’ Market.

Foodies often find their favorite trucks on Facebook, Twitter or the new app Food Chasers where operators post the day’s location. ABC-7 wanted to know if the traveling eateries are safe.

Interim Food Safety Manager Santiago Varela said there are 384 active mobile food service permits in El Paso County. Owners are held to standards just as strict as the thousands of restaurants inspectors have to monitor.

“Failing score is a 69 or below. That would require re-inspection,” Varela said. “A good inspection score would be an 80 and above.” Varela said trucks are inspected at least every 12 months, but some inspections can be spur of-the-moment if someone files a complaint.

ABC-7 was told to advise customers to check the city of El Paso Department of Public Health food inspection website to find a truck’s latest inspection score, but when certain food trucks’ names were checked before posting this story, records for those trucks couldn’t be found.

Sgt. Cheddar’s truck owner and operator Pedro Cortez said inspection scores are not the only sign telling people where it’s safe to eat.

“If it’s good and nice on the outside, it should be the same on the inside. A lot of nicer looking trucks tend to be nicer inside as well,” Cortez said.

Cortez and Stuffed truck owner Carlos Vela often set up shop together.

“It’s gotten really good. We’ve gotten close to each other,” Vela said. “We get together once a month to discuss how we can get better and attract more people to the gatherings.”

Food fans say there can’t be enough trucks.

As for the future of the industry? Many food truck owners and operators like Vela and Cortez said they hope to open their own restaurants someday. Until then, the two are happy with the flexibility of being able to set up shop wherever they want due to the city’s mobile permit ordinance that has become more lenient in recent years.