T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY From left to right, Marshalltown Central Business District (MCBD) Design Committee Co-Chair Jim Johnson, MCBD Executive Director Deb Millizer and fellow Design Committee Co-Chair Travis Hornberg pose for a photo in front of the new archway at the Cartwright Pavilion near the intersection of State Street and 2nd Avenue. The area will be the home of a food truck court pilot project tentatively set to launch on June 30.

Since Marshalltown Central Business District (MCBD) Executive Director Deb Millizer first proposed the idea at a city council meeting back in April, excitement has been building around the future food truck court to be located in the Cartwright Pavilion at the intersection of State Street and 2nd Avenue, where the twice a week downtown farmer’s market is currently held on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Fast forward a few months, and the area has been transformed with decorative lighting, a new archway, flower beds and more. Millizer, flanked by MCBD Design Committee Co-Chairs Travis Hornberg and Jim Johnson, was enthusiastic about the progress and the chance to bring food trucks downtown on days when many local brick and mortar restaurants are closed — Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

“We wanted to do placemaking. We wanted to create a place where people could gather. Food trucks bring people together. We have all of this space down here that was being utilized six hours a week (for the farmer’s market), so it gave us an opportunity to use (it) down here,” she said.

Johnson and Hornberg said the reconstruction of State Street was another key reason to show off the area.

“We’re trying to do more with less money is kind of what we’re doing, but we want it to not look like that. We want to make it look like a Des Moines type experience. I think we nailed that,” Hornberg said.

Central Iowa Machine Shop constructed the archway at a discounted rate, and Aaron Kinkade donated both his time and his money to put up the lights while also helping with painting. The tentative soft opening date for the court is June 30, and the plan is to start with three food trucks a week and rotate them to offer a wider variety of culinary options.

“If that goes well, then we can grow it more,” Millizer said. “We’re also planning on bringing yard games down here. We have the bandshell that we were able to acquire from the county. We want to have music down here… It’s a pilot (program), so it’s all going to progress. It’s all subject to change.”

Ideally, Millizer would like the trucks to be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Sunday to Tuesday, but she won’t be upset if they choose to stay later than that. Johnson added that they could decide to shorten the hours on Sundays depending on the level of demand. And as efforts to rebuild, revitalize and grow the downtown area in the aftermath of two natural disasters continue, she’s happy to provide one more unique reason for patrons to visit.

“We really want people to gather downtown. Food brings people together. People want to be in nice spaces. We all went through a lot during COVID where we had to disconnect from each other. We all want to come back together. This piece gives us the ability to bring people down here, enjoy the downtown, build memories downtown,” Millizer said. “We want them to shop downtown while they’re here as well, but really, people want to be in places that they feel welcome and it’s comfortable and it’s aesthetically pleasing. They want to spend time there, and so this piece of that is just making another spot where people can come and gather, enjoy food, friends and company and just be in the midst and build memories together.”

As Hornberg previously mentioned, the improvements are aimed at giving residents a taste of a big city experience, and he was happy that it could be done with volunteers and donated time and money at a relatively low overall cost. There’s also a bike path running along State Street, which Johnson hopes will eventually be connected to the rest of the city’s trails.

Citing The Flying Elbow as a prime example, Millizer is optimistic that one of these food trucks can become the next great brick and mortar restaurant in Marshalltown. And last but not least, it won’t just be the same old fare every time: the tentative plan for the court is one Mexican option, one American and one dessert within the initial rotation of three trucks.

“We’re always trying to keep a variety, so it won’t just be the same type of food,” Johnson said.

Stay tuned to the MCBD Facebook page for more updates.

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.