Main Street Batesville Announces New Downtown Business: The Food Lot
Main Street Batesville has announced the latest business development for the ever-growing downtown district: a food truck park.
The future park, called The Food Lot, which will transform two vacant lots at the corner of Central and College, according to owners Steve and Wendy Lewis, Shailendra Singh, and Jyoti Chaudhary. The park is currently under construction and plans are to open for businesses in late March or early April.
Already popular developments in many larger cities, food truck parks allow mobile restaurants a place to permanently locate for a fee. Such parks typically include water and electric hookups, as well as outdoor seating and sometimes restroom facilities – all amenities that the trucks on their own are usually unable to offer customers.
“We want to have tables for people to sit and hang out,” Wendy Lewis described of the facility. “And we want to be as year-round as possible.”
Batesville city ordinance, as is normal in many cities, requires transient businesses to obtain a permit and to move periodically, not occupying the same place for more than the permit’s set amount of time. Special zoning was approved by the city for the food truck park so that the trucks could remain in one place.
Owner Steve Lewis hopes the park will bring both beautification and vibrancy to the long-abandoned corner. He said a good power-washing is in the works, along with a potential wall mural, and possibly other landscaping/beautification efforts in the longer term. “We have to get it up and running, and then hopefully continue to re-invest back into it.”
The downtown historic district has experienced a resurgence of economic growth and community interest in recent years, as revitalization efforts are spear-headed by the Main Street Batesville organization. The organization offers grants and services to businesses locating downtown.
The park will have stations for 8 businesses, available at monthly or daily rate. For more information, call 870-834-1375 or visit The Food Lot’s Facebook page.
