Between 11th Street Station and Lola’s Place, downtown Durango is bustling with food trucks, live music and street food. But what about the north side of town?
To address this apparent scarcity, the Union Social House, located at 3062 Main Ave., is opening northern Durango’s first food truck court.
“I wanted to create something interesting to customers, (and) give them good food choices,” said Carol Clark, owner of the Union Social House. “Creating a food court also offers an opportunity for all these small businesses to (operate).”
The food court consists of three trucks: A Dough Be, which serves wood-fired pizza; Mi Viejo Taqueria, which offers Mexican food; and Sherpa Momo Ghar, an authentic Nepali cart.
“Together, our trucks offer a nice eclectic mix of food people would be driven to, (it’s) not just the same thing available somewhere else,” said Louis Mentillo, owner of A Dough Be.
Clark first had the idea to add a food truck court to Union Social House in late 2022.
Clark began applying for permits and advertising space for the trucks in December. She said she posted to Facebook and Craigslist from Denver to Albuquerque.
Eventually, the listings led her to Javier Rojas, who owns Mi Viejo Taqueria; Neema and Lakpa Sherpa, who run Sherpa Momo Ghar; and Mentillo.
“When I was looking for trucks, the three of them kind of morphed together,” Clark said.
Despite operating out of independent facilities, Mentillo said food truck employees all work closely together, sharing a commissary kitchen and other common spaces. The physical proximity of the vendors mixed with their shared desire to see the court succeed created a close-knit community at Union Social House.
“It’s wonderful,” Neema Sherpa said. “It’s such an organic, beautiful team.”
All three trucks are operated by first-time business owners, and Clark said the collaborative, supportive nature of the group has helped get everybody off the ground.
“It's been a learning and rewarding experience every single day,” Sherpa said. “(It’s) a lot of hard work, but it’s satisfying when you see your customers happy with the food you prepare.”
For the Sherpas, opening their truck is a dream come true.
“It was one of Lakpa’s dreams to open a food truck, and it was my dream to own something and work for myself and have a family business, so we kind of got that middle ground,” Neema said.
With the truck, the Sherpas hope to bring authentic Nepali flavor into the already diverse culinary pallet of Durango. Their menu includes momos, which are Himalayan-style gourmet dumplings, and curry bowls.
“We make the (momo) fillings fresh from scratch, no artificial ingredients,” Sherpa said. “We want to deliver simple, authentic, flavorful, healthy Nepali food.”
Neema has been making momos her whole life and describes the process as a family ordeal, with one person making the dough, another the filling.
For the Sherpas, sharing their food with their customers is a way of infusing their culture into the community.
Mentillo first started construction on his truck in 2007. Two years, later he had a structure fully equipped with a cooler, prep table, serving counter and a wood-fired pizza oven.
“I've always been passionate about cooking. I opened a pizza truck because I thought it would be fun, something I was interested in,” he said. “I opened it without really knowing exactly what I was doing.”
Mentillo ran A Dough Be out of Albuquerque for five years until he relocated to Durango in 2018 and left it behind.
As the truck sat vacant for seven years, Mentillo contemplated selling it.
“I hadn't really even though about bringing it up here until I found the location that was right for it,” he said.
When Clark told Mentillo she was looking for a wood-fired pizza truck in December, he agreed to tour the venue.
Once he had eyes on the site, Mentillo was sold.
“It’s a great location, not only geographically, but it's a beautiful place,” he said. “People don’t realize we have this cool location because its tucked away on the north side of town, but I think the food trucks are starting to open people’s eyes.”
A Dough Be has been operational for a month, and Mentillo said he is still getting his menu and staff established.
“I’m excited to keep going because I know it's just going to keep getting busier and busier,” he said.
Martha Rojas and her husband Javier Rosas opened Mi Viejo Taqueria on May 9.
“I wanted to be my own boss,” said Rojas, who had been staying at home taking care of her family before opening the truck.
Rojas works the truck with Eliseo Contreras, who has been a professional chef for over two decades.
“I can make Mexican food, Italian and sushi,” he said. “I know a lot of things in the kitchen.”
Mi Viejo Taqueria’s menu includes chips and guacamole, chimichangas and $3 street tacos that can be the ideal cuisine for the dynamic dining nature of Union Social House.
Since opening, Contreras said business has been steady.
“Sometimes it’s slow, sometimes we’re busy,” he said. “We’re still getting it figured out.”
As summer heats up and business picks up, Rojas hopes to keep Union Social House and the food truck court on people’s radar.
“I want people to come and know that this place is a good time,” she said.
Union Social House will host a food truck court grand opening Saturday.
All three trucks have been operational for almost a month and used their soft launches as a way to ease into business, Clark said.
Sherpa is looking into offering promotional discounts for the grand opening while Mentillo hopes to have his menu solidified in time for the event.
While exact details have not been finalized, Clark said the grand opening will feature live music, extended lunch hours and food specials.
lveress@durangoherald.com
This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Sherpa Momo Ghar.
