NEW ORLEANS – Frencheeze food truck owner Jason King feels it’s time to settle down. After many years of navigating the New Orleans food truck scene and offering an on-the-go eclectic and delectable menu of sandwiches and other items, King is making a permanent stop at the new Pythian Market.
“We are ready for it and it’s a great location,” King said. “Another reality is that the food truck scene is getting saturated, and this allows us to go into the part of the CBD that doesn’t allow food trucks. Plus, with so many food choices, the market will provide the vibe of a food truck roundup but with tables and air conditioning.”
The market will feature 19 vendor stalls and will be housed in the historic Pythian Building, located downtown at 234 Loyola Ave. Green Coast, ERG Enterprises and Crescent City Community Land Trust are redeveloping the building into a mixed-use property with retail, office space, health care and workforce and market rate housing. King, a Boston transplant, will be operating two stalls with the second being a juice bar.
“You realize as you get older that you can really enjoy a salad and it’s only a couple hundred calories,” King said. “Until recently, I’d never eaten healthy for enjoyment.”
The juice bar, aptly called Squeezed, will present a wide array of salads, smoothies and fresh juices. King, who created a food truck business plan while attending Howard University’s combined MBA/JD program, jumped into the food truck business in 2012 when he first arrived in New Orleans.
His wife Myrialis, who is the founder of Foundation Preparatory Charter School, encouraged him to buy an empty $1,500 step van and outfit it. She also became his grilled cheese test subject, eating more than 100 grilled cheese sandwiches in a month. And while King, who is an unabashed foodie, likes eating healthier these days, he’s also excited about the culinary combinations the new market will offer.
“For downtown workers, who want to walk to lunch, it means many options.” King said. “For instance, if you want a great grilled cheese and a great taco, you get in this line and I’ll get in this line and we’ll pair it up.”
The Pythian Building and market will open in 2017.
