This story first appeared in the Midcoast Update, a newsletter published every Tuesday and Friday morning. Sign up here to receive stories about the midcoast delivered to your inbox each week, along with our other newsletters.
Nearly two years after a fire destroyed a longtime Belfast event space on Route 1, its owner is preparing to unveil a food truck park on the site later this year.
The business, named Cheeky Food Truck Park, will debut on Memorial Day and be run by Belfast-based entrepreneur Kristine Wentworth. The park can host up to five food trucks at a time, and will be open for lunch and dinner through October.
The location holds a special family history for Wentworth, as her father bought the building, then called Haymarket North, in the 1970s. That later became Wentworth Event Center before its total loss due to an electrical fire in July 2023, displacing Waldo Community Action Partners as well as Wentworth’s other business, Oak Nut Property Management.
“It’s going back, a little bit, to the roots of where that property was just a turnout where people came and picnicked and hung out, but a little more curated,” Wentworth said. “So we’re going back in time, a bit, with that.”
Cuisines at the food truck park will range from barbecue to crepes, and the list of interested applicants is beyond capacity, leaving Wentworth with many options to choose from. In order to be considered, applicants must provide their state license, proof of insurance, and tell a little about themselves and their businesses.
So far, three vendors have been selected and will serve food on the park’s opening day.
“I have a passion for entrepreneurship and small business, so I decided it would be a fun mix to bring small foodie businesses in and provide a spot for the community to enjoy the space,” Wentworth said.
The park has obtained Planning Board approval for the site plan and is seeking further collaboration with Belfast Parks & Recreation. There is allotted space for five vendors to be hosted on-site at a time.
Wentworth also has ambitions to add a craft cocktail bar after her food truck park is established. In its current plans, Cheeky is a dry campus, but, if approved in the future, a new building that hosts a bar would be incorporated into the hub.
It’s been a year since Wentworth dreamed up this new initiative, and she is excited and optimistic about the outcome.
“It’s important to me that the property is shared, that it’s open to the community,” Wentworth said.
