Food trucks could be coming to Rainbow Falls, Hapuna Beach and other state parks around the island.
The Board of Land and Natural Resources will on Friday consider a request by the DLNR State Parks Division to open a bidding process for food trucks to be allowed to operate in 18 state parks throughout Hawaii, including five on the Big Island.
The Big Island parks named in the proposal are the Wailuku River, Akaka Falls, Kekaha Kai and Wailoa River state parks, and the Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area.
According to the proposal by the State Parks Division, winning bidders would be able to enter three-year contracts to operate within a specific park, with an option to extend the contract for an additional three years. Depending on the site, certain parks may be able to support multiple food trucks.
The proposal suggests that allowing food trucks at these parks “will help to satisfy the increasing public demand for additional services, such as food and beverage, and in the process generate additional revenue, support small businesses, and encourage sustainable and environmentally responsible concession contracts.”
The document goes on to add that having food truck employees actively working within the often-understaffed parks can serve as a deterrent against crimes such as vehicle break-ins.
Currently, the only food services active within state parks are month-to-month vending machine agreements at certain neighbor island parks and restaurant service at Kokee State Park on Kauai. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, however, there were concessions available at Hapuna Beach and at Kekaha Kai parks.
The DLNR presumes within the proposal that the operation of food trucks within state parks will “probably” have minimal effect on the environment, and will therefore be exempt from the need to conduct an environmental assessment. However, the BLNR will also decide Friday whether to grant that exemption.
Should the BLNR approve the request, it could be a boon for food truck operators.
“I’m definitely in support of it. We don’t have enough places where we’re allowed to set up,” said Kaiana Trask, owner of food truck Bite The Eye, which operates intermittently out of the Prince Kuhio Plaza parking lot.
Trask said food truck operators often depend on private property owners who allow them to set up on their properties.
He said he has asked the county whether he can operate at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, to no avail.
“There’s basically no place we’re allowed to go,” Trask said. “I’ve been a fisherman all my life, and I remember my dad being told to leave from selling fish on the side of the road.”
Troy Nakamoto, owner of Hilo food truck Tacos Jalisco, said he would probably not pursue a state park contract if one was available, because he has already purchased a lot on which to operate.
“It would probably mean a decrease in my business, actually,” Nakamoto said, adding that his truck can receive 200 or more customers daily thanks to its current location. But he added that most trucks fortunate enough to get a state park location could benefit tremendously.
The BLNR will discuss the issue at 9 a.m. Friday.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.