New food truck court off downtown Modesto has Mexican, seafood, BBQ, and more coming
Three years after the successful opening of Modesto’s first dedicated food truck court, Grub Hubs, a new food trailer park has opened about a mile away on Ninth Street.
La Placita Food Truck Park, at the corner of Ninth Street and Tully Road, opened three months ago and has been offering hungry diners a diversity of options — with even more choices to come soon.
The owner of the new venture is no stranger to food trucks.
Jorge Elizalde has spent 28 years selling used cars through his business Tio’s Auto Sales, and since the pandemic has partnered with Alfonso Meraz (who also owns his own namesake business, Fonzi’s Tacos) to custom-build food trucks. In fact, a handful of their trucks are currently at Grub Hubs, including Braulio’s Bistro, Tailgaters and Sweet Lab.
Through that work, Elizalde said he realized the need for more safe and permanent places for food trailers to park and serve customers in the area. The pandemic saw many new and existing chefs jump into mobile dining as an alternative to brick-and-mortar restaurants.
“There’s been a big burst in food trailers,” he said. “The old idea of them as roach coaches has changed. These new ones are bigger, nicer and have been a huge success.”
Elizalde took out a long-term lease on the corner spot, within throwing distance of Modesto Junior College, and converted it to have space for nine food trailers with electrical hookups, water access, a secure gate and plenty of nighttime lighting.
The court currently has five trailers, serving a mix of Mexican food, seafood and barbecue. Elizalde said more are coming, including Filipino food, Mediterranean food and dessert. He could have filled the court already with more Mexican-based trailers. Instead, he wanted more variety so people could come several days in a row and eat something different each time.
The trailers have found customers who wandered over from MJC as well as as businesses in the largely industrial strip of North Ninth. That includes Mariscos Algo Bien (which translates from Spanish to “seafood restaurant something good”). Owner Danny Corona brought all his recipes from the Sinaloa state of Mexico, famed for its seafood.
“This is my first food truck, and I liked this location near the college and everything,” Corona said.
Dishes on his truck include ceviches (raw seafood marinated in citrus for $15 to $22), aguachiles (shrimp marinated with citrus, cucumber and spices for $20), as well as other seafood dishes. If you’re looking for cooked seafood, don’t miss the restaurant-quality camarones zarandeado (butterflied head-on grilled shrimp with a spicy sauce and melted cheese for $20).
The court’s other trucks, including Taqueria y Mariscos Cielo Azul, Los Karnales Birria Tacos, Ricky’s Tacos and Smokin & Tippin BBQ, have a range of dishes for almost any budget.
The new trucks offering Filipino, Mediterranean and other foods should open in the court shortly after the start of the year. Elizalde is also working to bring more parking to the compact court — and possibly expanding into the vacant lot behind the property.
“I named it La Placita, which means town square. In Mexico when you go to a small town, you ask for the placita because it means the center of town where people and food can be found,” Elizalde said.
La Placita, at 302 N. Ninth St., is open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. For more information, call 209-985-0426.
This story was originally published December 15, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
